Overview
Amado Alonso (1896-1952), Spanish-Argentinian philologist, linguist, and literary critic, was Professor of Romance Languages at Harvard University from 1947 until his death in 1952. His papers document Alonso's professional teaching career at the University of Buenos Aires and Harvard University and includes academic and personal correspondence with scholars in the fields of Romance Languages and Linguistics; miscellaneous manuscripts and notes concerning Alonso's work on Literary Criticism, Philology, and the History of Spanish and French languages; and course lists and notes from classes Alonso taught in Philology, Linguistics, and the History of the Spanish language.
Dates
- Creation: 1927-1952 and undated
Creator
- Alonso, Amado (Person)
Language of Materials
English, Spanish
Researcher Access
The Papers of Amado Alonso are open for research with the following exception: Personnel and student records are closed for 80 years. Restrictions are noted at the folder level. Requires further review by the archivist; please see reference staff for details.
Extent
1.8 cubic feet (5 document boxes, 5 microfilm boxes)The Papers of Amado Alonso document his professional teaching career at the University of Buenos Aires and Harvard University from the 1920s until his death in 1952. The collection includes academic and personal correspondence with scholars in the fields of Romance Languages and Linguistics, including author Jorge Luis Borges and poet Pablo Neruda, on whom Alonso wrote extensively, as well as various Harvard figures, such as astronomy professor Bart Bok and Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Reginald H. Phelps. It also contains miscellaneous manuscripts and notes concerning Alonso's work on Literary Criticism, Philology, and the History of Spanish and French languages; and course lists and notes from classes Alonso taught in Philology, Linguistics, and the History of the Spanish language.
Biographical note on Amado Alonso
Amado Alonso (1896-1952), Spanish-Argentinian philologist, linguist, and literary critic, was Professor of Romance Languages at Harvard University from 1947 until his death in 1952. He studied phonetics and linguistics at the Center for Historical Studies in Madrid and continued his work in phonetics at the University of Hamburg. Following his education, he returned to Madrid as professor of Spanish at the Institución Libre de Enseñanza y de Filología from 1924 to 1927. Alonso then moved to Argentina to serve as the Director of the Institute of Philology at the University of Buenos Aires, a position he held from 1927 to 1946. After enduring a week-long imprisonment due to political turmoil in Argentina, Alonso took a teaching position as the Smith Chair of Romance Languages and Literatures at Harvard University, where he remained from 1947 until his untimely death in 1952. While at Harvard, he also founded the Nueva Revista de Filología, a journal published by the Colegio de México. Throughout his career, he published numerous works, including important literary studies on Jorge Luis Borges and Pablo Neruda.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in five series:
- Correspondence, 1927-1952 (HUGFP 80.10)
- Correspondence: negative microfilm copy, 1927-1952 (HUGFP 80.10.1)
- Miscellaneous manuscripts and notes, undated (HUGFP 80.45)
- Course lists and notes, circa 1927-1952 (HUGFP 80.65)
- Miscellaneous manuscripts and notes; Course lists and notes: negative microfilm copy, 1927-1952 (HUGFP 80.70)
Acquisition
Gift of Mrs. Amado Alonso, November 8, 1982; Accession 09594.
Inventory update
This document last updated 2022 March 29.
Processing Information
This finding aid was created by Olivia Mandica-Hart in November 2020. Information in this finding aid was assembled from legacy paper inventories and container management data.
Items originally processed as HUGFP 80.10 Box 4 have been re-processed as HUGFP 80.45 and HUGFP 80.65.
Creator
- Alonso, Amado (Person)
- Title
- Alonso, Amado. Papers of Amado Alonso, 1927-1952 and undated : an inventory
- Status
- completed
- Author
- Harvard University Archives
- Date
- November 5, 2020
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hua84020
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.
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