Eugenio Donato papers, 1970-1983

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Summary

Creators:

Abstract:

This collection contains publications, manuscripts, notes, annotated sources, subject files, and curriculum vitae of former University of California, Irvine French and Comparative Literature professor, Eugenio Donato.

Extent:

2.5 Linear Feet (3 boxes)

Language:

English .

Preferred citation:

Eugenio Donato papers. MS-C009. Special Collections and Archives,The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.

For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains a sample of the late academic work of University of California, Irvine French and Comparative Literature professor, Eugenio Donato. Materials in this collection include publications, manuscripts, notes, annotated sources, subject files, and curriculum vitae. The majority of the papers relate to Donato's posthumously published book The Script of Decadence, a study of nineteenth century theories of representation in the work of Gustave Flaubert. Some material on Hegel, Derrida, and deconstruction is also included.

Biographical / historical:

Eugenio Donato, Professor of French and Comparative Literature, at the University of California, Irvine, was an Armenian-Italian literary critic, particularly noted for his work on The Structuralist Controversy: The Languages of Criticism and the Science of Man with Richard Macksey.

Donato was born on August 17, 1937 in Cyprus to an Italian father and an Armenian mother. Though he spent his youth in Alexandria, Egypt, where he received his French Baccalaureates-lettres, he began his undergraduate studies at UCLA before moving to New York to attend Columbia University. After graduating from Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics in 1956, Donato taught French and Mathematics at Portsmouth Priory in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.

In 1960, Donato began his PhD in Romance Language at the Johns Hopkins University under the direction of Rene Girard. Donato completed his degree in 1965 with a dissertation entitled, "From Marivaux to Voltaire: an Essay in the Definition of a Literary Style." Remaining at Johns Hopkins as an assistant professor, Donato participated in the famous 1966 Johns Hopkins conference "The Language of Criticism and the Science of Man," whose guests included Jacques Derrida, Paul de Man, and J. Hillis Miller. In partnership with Richard Macksey, Donato edited the proceedings of the conference into a volume entitled The Structuralist Controversy: The Languages of Criticism and the Science of Man . This conference and work gave a "radically new orientation to humanities studies in North America."

During his career, Donato taught at Cornell University (1963-1964), Johns Hopkins (1964-1968), and SUNY Buffalo (1968-1764) where he directed the program in Comparative Literature. Donato came to UCI in 1978. He taught in the departments of French and comparative literature, and was the chair of the departments of French and Italian.

Eugenio Donato died on September 19, 1983. His book The Script of Decadence: Essays on the Fictions of Flaubert and the Poetics of Romanticism, a study of nineteenth century theories of representation in the work of Gustave Flaubert, was published posthumously in 1993. The Eugenio Donato Chair of Comparative Literature at the University at Buffalo is named in his honor.

Source The Regents of the University of California."University of California: In Memoriam - Eugenio Donato, French and Italian: Irvine." Calisphere, http://texts.cdlib.org/view?docId=hb4d5nb20m;NAAN=13030&doc.view=frames&chunk.id=div00045&toc.depth=1&toc.id=&brand=calisphere (Accessed 2014/5/11).

Chronology
Date	Event
1937 August 17	Born in Cyprus.
1954	Began undergraduate study at UCLA. Received Baccalaureates-lettres.
1956	Received Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics, Columbia University. Began teaching French and mathematics at Portsmouth Priory.
1960	Began graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University.
1963-1964	Assistant Professor of Romance Literatures, Cornell University.
1965	Completed PhD in Romance Languages, Johns Hopkins University.
1966	The Structuralist Controversy: The Languages of Criticism and the Science of Man, edited with Richard Macksey.
1968-1976	Associate Professor of French and Comparative Literature, SUNY Buffalo.
1970-1972	Professeur Agrege de Litterature Comparee, University de Monteal.
1973-1977	Director, Program in Comparative Literature, SUNY, Buffalo.
1976-1978	Professor of Comparative Literature, SUNY Buffalo.
1978	Chairman of the Departments of French and Italian, UC, Irvine. Professor of French and Comparative Literature, UC, Irvine.
1983 September 19	Died in Irvine, California.
1993	The Script of Decadence: Essays on the Fictions of Flaubert and the Poetics of Romanticism posthumously published.

Acquisition information:

Transferred to Special Collections and Archives by John Carlos Rowe in 1997. Gift of Sarah Donato, 1998.

Processing information:

Accessioned by Carol McEwan, 2011. Processed by Alexandra Bisio, 2015.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged in four series:

Series 1. Writings, 1970-1983, .7 linear feet
Series 2. Notes and sources, 1970-1983, 1 linear foot
Series 3. Subject files,1970-1983, .7 linear feet
Series 4. Curriculum vitae, 1970-1983, .1 linear feet

All series are in their original order.

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:: Critical theory -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- California -- Irvine
Critical theory -- Archives.
Literary critics.
Names:: University of California, Irvine
Flaubert, Gustave

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Property rights reside with the University of California. Copyrights are generally retained by the creators of the records and their heirs, unless transferred to the University of California. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where the UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

For information on use, copyright, and attribution, please visit: http://special.lib.uci.edu/using/publishing.html