Overview
Stephen Gilman (1917-1986), Hispanist, was professor of Romance Languages and Literatures at Harvard University from 1955 until his retirement in 1985. His papers document his teaching career at Harvard, Princeton, and Ohio State Universities, his time as a graduate and undergraduate student at Princeton, his research and publishing activities, his service during World War II, and his personal life, particularly his familial relationships. The collection includes correspondence, teaching materials, writings and lectures, photographs, and undergraduate and graduate essays.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1938-1989 and undated
Creator
- Gilman, Stephen (Person)
Language of Materials
English, Spanish
Researcher Access
The Papers of Stephen Gilman are open for research with the following exceptions: Personnel and student records are closed for 80 years. Restrictions are noted at the series and folder level. Requires further review by the archivist; please see reference staff for details.
Extent
13.63 cubic feet (23 document boxes, 4 record cartons, 2 legal document boxes, 2 half-document boxes, 1 half-legal document box, 1 pamphlet binder )The Papers of Stephen Gilman document his teaching career at Harvard, Princeton, and Ohio State Universities, his time as a graduate and undergraduate student at Princeton, his research and publishing activities, his service during World War II, and his personal life, particularly his familial relationships.
The collection contains personal and professional correspondence, with lots of family correspondence dating from the 1940s and 1950s, including description of travel in the early 1950s in Japan, China, South America and Africa, as well as letters from professional colleagues and former students. It also contains some letters from Gilman's service during World War II.
His teaching materials include lecture notes, reading lists, examinations, handouts, and other course materials from his time at Harvard from 1955 to 1985, as well as at Princeton University from 1946 to 1948, and Ohio State University from 1948 to 1950. Gilman’s papers include drafts and manuscripts of articles, essays, papers, and books, including for his posthumous work, The Novel According to Cervantes; notes for informal talks and introductions for other speakers; and offprints of articles written by Gilman. There are also research notebooks, which include notes on the life and works of classical authors of Spanish literature.
Other materials found in the collection include heavily annotated books; certificates and diplomas; undergraduate and graduate essays written by Gilman while a student at Princeton University; a guest book and photograph album from Gilman’s retirement reception in 1984; photographs; poetry; and obituaries. A significant portion of the material found throughout the collection is written in Spanish.
Biographical note on Stephen Gilman
Stephen Gilman (1917-1986), Hispanist, was professor of Romance Languages and Literatures at Harvard University from 1955 until his retirement in 1985. In 1940, Gilman graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University, and three years later, he earned his PhD.
In 1943, Gilman married Teresa Guillén, daughter of Spanish poet Jorge Guillén and sister of literary scholar Claudio Guillén. Gilman then served three years in the United States Army as a second lieutenant in the Pentagon. Upon completion of his Army service in 1946, Gilman became an assistant professor of Spanish at Princeton University. In 1948, he accepted a professorship at Ohio State University, where he remained until 1956, when he went to Harvard; he become Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures in 1957.
Gilman was a leading authority on Spanish literature and published several notable books throughout his career. In 1984, King Juan Carlos of Spain awarded him the Spanish Arts and Letters Prize for his contributions to Hispanism. Gilman retired from Harvard in 1985; he died the following year.
Biographical note on Teresa Guillén Gilman
Teresa Guillén Gilman (1922-2010) was born in Paris in 1922 to Germaine Cahen and Spanish poet Jorge Guillén. Her family left Europe in 1939 after Francisco Franco’s rise to power during the Spanish Civil War forced her father out of Spain, and the family moved to Massachusetts in 1940. Teresa graduated from Wellesley College in 1943, earning a degree in French literature in two years. The same year, she married Stephen Gilman; the couple had three children.
Gilman supported the careers of her father, her brother, writer and literary scholar Claudio Guillén (1924-2007), and her husband in many ways; she typed manuscripts and often hosted gatherings for colleagues, artists, and intellectuals. After their deaths, she helped organize their papers and coordinated the publication of her parents' correspondence. She was made a Dame of the Order of Isabel la Católica in 2010 for her services to Spanish culture. Gilman died in 2010.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in seven series:
- Correspondence, 1956-1985 (HUGFP 115.6)
- Manuscripts, circa 1940-1985 (HUGFP 115.41)
- Research materials, circa 1960-1985 (HUGFP 115.45)
- Course materials, circa 1942-1985 (HUGFP 115.65)
- Student notebooks, circa 1939-1948 (HUGFP 115.70)
- [Correspondence, lecture notes, manuscripts, notes, and offprints], 1945-1986 and undated (HUGFP 115.71)
- [Personal archive], 1938-1989 and undated (HUGFP 115.72)
Acquisition
Specific acquisition information, when available, is noted at the series level:
- Gift of Teresa Gilman, May 4, 1987; Accession 11082
- Gift of Teresa Gilman, March 30, 2006; Accession 17325
- Gift of Teresa Gilman, June 21, 2018; Accession 2019.008
Inventory update
This document last updated 2023 February 21.
Processing Information
This finding aid was created by Olivia Mandica-Hart in March 2021. Information in this finding aid was assembled from legacy paper inventories and container management data. The collection was not re-examined by the archivist.
The Papers of Stephen Gilman papers were received by the Harvard University Archives in a disordered condition. Strict divisions of material were not
always possible, and in such circumstances, the original order was
maintained.
Creator
- Gilman, Stephen (Person)
- Title
- Gilman, Stephen. Papers of Stephen Gilman, circa 1938-1989 and undated : an inventory
- Status
- completed
- Author
- Harvard University Archives
- Date
- March 2, 2021
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hua15021
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard University Archives Repository
Holding nearly four centuries of materials, the Harvard University Archives is the principal repository for the institutional records of Harvard University and the personal archives of Harvard faculty, as well as collections related to students, alumni, Harvard-affiliates and other associated topics. The collections document the intellectual, cultural, administrative and social life of Harvard and the influence of the University as it emerged across the globe.
Pusey Library
Harvard Yard
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2461
archives_reference@harvard.edu