James Sweid Nesteby Papers

Collection

Identifier: MS-0132

Staff Only

Collection Overview

Abstract

The James Sweid Nesteby Papers reflects a portion of Dr. Nesteby's academic work and life as a scholar, including his research process. The papers date from around 1965 to 1992.

Dates

Creation: 1965-1992, undated

Extent

2.9 Cubic Feet (4 archives boxes, 12 card boxes.)

Creator

Nesteby, James Sweid, 1947-1993 (Person)

Scope and Contents

This collection reflects a portion of Dr. Nesteby's academic work and life as a scholar. Researchers will be able to learn about his early academic career through his writings, his time as a Fulbright Scholar in Yemen and Syria, and his work researching the works of authors such as Edgar Rice Burroughs and Mark Twain. His research index cards may provide a deeper understanding of his scholarly approach, the sources he consulted, and his creativity as a writer and poet.

Several letters written by Dr. Nesteby provide some glimpses into his personal life, as a student leader at Mackinac College and conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, but the bulk of the collection focuses on his activities as a scholar.

Biographical / Historical

Dr. James Sweid Nesteby (1947-1993) was an American educator and scholar of popular culture. He received his Ph.D. in English from Bowling Green State University in 1978 with an interdisciplinary minor in American Popular Culture Studies. His dissertation was titled "The Tarzan Series of Edgar Rice Burroughs: Lost Races and Racism in American Popular Culture". Nesteby taught at Bowling Green State University as well as in Germany and Yemen before becoming a Fulbright Scholar from 1981-1983, lecturing in American Literature at the University of Aleppo in Syria. He did a second Fulbright stint at the University of Damascus in Syria from 1987-1989. He spent the last several years of his life teaching at Chengchi National University in Taipei.

Nesteby was a student leader at the short lived Mackinac College from 1966-1969. Years later, in a letter to one of his former Mackinac professors, Nesteby makes mention of being held at Fort Knox while a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War.

While a Fulbright professor in Aleppo, Syria, Nesteby collaborated on a tourist guide for the city with fellow traveler Dr. Daniel C. Snell, which is also part of our collection.

Conditions Governing Access

No known access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright and other restrictions may apply to the materials in this collection. Researchers using this collection assume full responsibility for conforming to the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright, and are responsible for securing permissions necessary for publication or reproduction.

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The materials in this collection were transferred to the Browne Popular Culture Library by Dr. Nesteby beginning in 1986, with the remainder donated by his family after his death in 1993.