Scope and arrangement
The Jonathan Schell papers date from 1948 to 2014 (bulk dates 1967-2003), and contain files from Schell's career as a journalist, author, and teacher; his research files; his education files; and personal materials including correspondence, journals, and photographs. Schell's papers chronicle his career as a writer and educator who was critical of war, nuclear proliferation, and United States foreign policy, revealing his research methods, writing process, and teaching objectives. There are also files documenting Schell's education and his personal relationships with friends and family.
The Jonathan Schell papers are arranged in five series:
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1967-2007
Schell's Writing files hold materials from his career as a journalist and author. Files are arranged chronologically within the following categories: Journalism; Books; Speaking Engagements; Speechwriting; Unpublished Manuscripts; and Unidentified Manuscripts.
Much of the journalism files hold records from Schell's twenty year tenure as a contributor at the New Yorker. This includes notes, research, drafts, manuscripts, galleys, proofs, correspondence, and press from such articles as, "The Village of Ben Suc," "Quang Ngai and Quang Tin," "The Time of Illusion," "The Fate of the Earth," "The Abolition," and "History in Sherman Park," as well as the numerous "Notes and Comments" pieces that Schell authored and edited, many of which were uncredited. The manuscripts range from early handwritten fragments to annotated typescript drafts. Later iterations of these same articles are found in the edited Proofs and Galleys. The content of Schell's writing for the New Yorker garnered an abundance and diversity of reaction from readers, ranging in tone from enthusiastic praise to outrage. The most divisive pieces were Schell's writings on Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal in both "The Time of Illusion" and the "Notes and Comments."
Files from Schell's post-New Yorker journalistic career are less thorough, and tend to contain only the final or near final versions of articles, along with small amounts of correspondence. There are unannotated electronic versions of Schell's articles for The Nation, as well as documentation from his tenure as a fellow with The Nation Institute. Schell also kept the final typed versions or photocopies of his articles for Newsday and New York News Day.
Books files from the first two decades of Schell's writing career have contracts, administrative materials, and correspondence related to his published books, all of which first appeared as serialized pieces in the New Yorker. The research, notes, drafts, and manuscripts for The Village of Ben Suc, The Military Half, The Time of Illusion, The Fate of the Earth, The Abolition, and History in Sherman Park are found in the New Yorker files. Records for The Fate of the Earth also contain additional letters from readers, press reaction, reviews, and court papers related to plagiarism charges filed against Schell by the German writer, Günther Anders.
The most well-documented books are those from later in Schell's career, particularly The Gift of Time, which contains transcripts of interviews conducted by Schell, and The Unconquerable World, which comprises years of research and numerous iterations of the manuscript. The Unconquerable World manuscripts include handwritten drafts, annotated typescripts, and electronic drafts grouped into chapters. All these versions and formats of the manuscript reveal the manner in which the book evolved over the course of a decade.
Schell appeared at many events and gave numerous lectures in conjunction with his writing. The texts of his lectures and remarks are present in the Speaking Engagements files. These files also hold invitations, correspondence regarding event logistics, and letters thanking Schell for his participation.
The Speechwriting files hold a small selection of documents related to speeches Schell wrote for the presidential campaigns of Eugene McCarthy, George McGovern, and Walter Mondale. This includes notebooks, drafts of speeches, and correspondence with the campaigns.
There is a group of titled manuscript drafts from the 1960s to 1990s which were not published, and which are held in the Unpublished Manuscripts files. There is a larger group of manuscripts which were either unpublished drafts, or early indecipherable working versions of Schell's published works. These materials are filed with the Unidentified Manuscripts, and span almost the entirety of Schell's professional writing career.
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1960s-2007
While Schell's writing files from Series I contain some notes and research, he also kept separate research files that were not connected to specific projects. This research material encompasses the content of Series II. Schell conducted extensive research on the topics he most often wrote about, such as nuclear proliferation and United States foreign policy, generating substantial lists of sources, research summaries, and copious notes. With the exception of some unlabeled notebooks and assorted notes, the bulk of the series is arranged alphabetically by subject matter. The subject files contain a mixture of annotated clippings, notes, and marked up essays, providing insight into the types of sources Schell utilized, issues he investigated, and his research methodology.
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1987-2004
Files pertaining to courses Schell taught at colleges and universities are held in Series III. This includes materials from his employment at Harvard University, Emory University, Princeton University, New York University, Wesleyan University, and Yale University. The Yale files are the most thorough, and contain course packets, syllabi, and lecture notes. The rest of the teaching files hold correspondence, syllabi, notes, and a small selection of anonymous student course evaluations.
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1948-20016.5 linear feet (11 boxes)
Records documenting Schell's education at the Dalton School, The Putney School, Harvard University, and International Christian University comprise Series IV. There are report cards, teacher feedback, and some written assignments present from The Dalton School and Putney School files. The Harvard records include correspondence, notebooks, course work, exams, commencement materials, and Schell's Diploma. The International Christian University files consist of journals and notebooks describing life in Japan, course work, sketchbooks, and resources related to Schell's studies of Japanese.
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1957-2014
Series V comprises files pertaining to Schell's personal life and family. The series contains a copy of Schell's birth certificate, correspondence, journals, sketchbooks, manuscripts written by friends, passports, photographs, and remembrances of friends and family.
The Correspondence is the most abundant component of the series, and includes both an assortment of personal letters dating from the 1960s to 2000s, as well as communications which Schell organized by correspondent name. A large portion of these letters are between himself and his immediate family. There is also a sizeable group of letters from the artist, Robert Del Tredici, with original artwork and photographs enclosed.
The Manuscripts files contain drafts of work by friends who shared their writing with Schell. These include plays and writings by Deborah Eisenberg, Tom Hayes, and Wallace Shawn. Some of the manuscripts are accompanied by letters, but they do not typically include any feedback from Schell.