Albert Douglas Van Nostrand was born in Babylon, Long Island. He graduated from Amherst College in 1943 and went on to receive his MA and PhD from Harvard. From 1949 to 1951, he was a teaching fellow at Harvard. In 1951, he joined the faculty at Brown University, was promoted to Associate Professor in 1956, and became chairman of the English department in the 1970's.
In addition to his duties as professor at Brown, he was host of the NBC educational television series, "The American Scene", a 13-part series on the American novel, and "A Prospect of Literature." In the early 1970's, he received a grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities to travel the country to present his multimedia presentation, "Exiles in the House" about communication between the generations.
One of his lasting legacies as an educator is the creation of the functional writing model, which focuses on "drilling students in the art of getting a coherent argument down on paper."
There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
A. D. Van Nostrand papers, MS-1UF-V1, Brown University Archives.
The papers of Professor A. D. Van Nostrand include articles, correspondence, newsletters, programs, publicity and promotional materials, scripts, sound recordings, and textbooks relating to his career as an educator at Brown University and as host of several NBC educational television series.
The papers of the Center for Research include correspondence, briefing papers, bulletin, and publicity information. The textbooks concern the teaching of writing. The earliest material includes articles he wrote as a student at Amherst College and while serving in the Navy. The miscellaneous materials consist of his dissertation on the novels and plays of Booth Tarkington, introductions Van Nostrand wrote for Spanish editions of books, his hononary degree awarded from Doane College in 1979, the program from his 50th reunion at Amherst College, and a program from the Brown Glee Club's "Behold Man" which he wrote.
Of note are the scripts and audio from the NBC educational television series, "The American Scene" and "A Prospect of Literature," as well as material from his multimedia presentation "Exiles in the House."
This collection is arranged into the following series:
This collection was donated by A. D. Van Nostrand in October 2006.
Additional materials are anticipated for this collection.
Brown University Library catalog record for this collection: