Academic Departments. History Department. J. Howell Smith Oral Histories Collection
J. Howell Smith was a WFU history professor, 1965-2007. This collection contains oral histories conducted by WFU students, as well as a few University and Winston-Salem history items. Record types include interviews on audiocassettes, videocassettes, compact discs (CDs), and floppy disks, printed and digital transcripts, release forms, student papers related to their interviews, and administrative materials related to projects. Some recordings are available in Special Collections and Archives' Digital Collections.
Biographical and Historical Note
J. Howell Smith was raised in Farmersville, Texas. He earned a bachelor's degree from Baylor University (1959), a master's degree from Tulane University (1961), and a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1968) with funding from a Rockefeller Foundation program to send more scholars to the American South. He also completed coursework at Howard University, in 1969. Smith joined the WFU History Department in 1965 and remained until his retirement in 2007, when he became a professor emeritus. He began teaching about non-southern history topics in his first few years at Wake Forest, including African-American history; in 1968, English professor Dr. Thomas Gossett and Smith began offering January term trips to Washington, D.C., and New York's Harlem neighborhood centered on African-American life.
Sources: Fyten, David. "2007: Retiring: Howell Smith, professor of history." Wake Forest University. Accessed at https://commencement.news.wfu.edu/2000s/c2007/2007-retiring-smith/ Moderator. "Prof. James Howell Smith, PhD." Marquis Who's Who Top Educators. Accessed at https://marquistopeducators.com/2020/02/26/james-howell-smith/
Collection Overview
The oral histories in this collection were conducted by WFU students as part of Smith's class offerings. The interviews appear to have been conducted primarily between 1992 and 2004. Record types include interviews on audiocassettes, videocassettes, compact discs (CDs), and floppy disks, printed and digital transcripts, release forms, student papers related to their interviews, and administrative materials related to projects.
Some materials are from earlier dates and include speeches from WFU professors on various media and local publications.
This collection has been minimally processed and some items are in formats that are difficult to access.
Administrative Information
- Publication Information
- Processed by Finley Turner and Stephanie Bennett, 2021
- Access Restrictions
- Collection is open for use. Materials on audio and visual media may not be accessible.
- Copyright Notice
- The nature of the WFU Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Archives and Special Collections of ZSR Library claims only physical ownership of most materials. The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to the U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
- Preferred Citation
- Academic Departments. History Department. J. Howell Smith Oral Histories Collection (RG16.12.3), Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.