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Fox (James A.) papers
SC1516
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: James A. Fox papers
Identifier/Call Number: SC1516
Physical Description:
24 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1933-2010
Physical Location: Special Collections and University
Archives materials are stored offsite and must be paged 36-48 hours in advance. For more
information on paging collections, see the department's website:
http://library.stanford.edu/spc
Materials are open for research use. Audio-visual materials are not available in original
format, and must be reformatted to a digital use copy.
James A. Fox (1944-2019) was an associate professor of anthropology at Stanford University,
specializing in historical linguistics and the indigenous languages of Central America. Fox
was born in Spokane, Washington, and grew up in Hardin, Montana. Fox earned his Bachelor of
Arts in German from Brigham Young University in 1969. He got a master's degree from the
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in 1970. He earned another master's
and his doctorate in linguistics from the University of Chicago in 1974 and in 1978.
At Stanford, Fox has led nearly six dozen trips to locations around the world, including
Guatemala, Easter Island and Norway, through the Stanford Alumni Association's Travel Study
Program. He received the 2016 Richard W. Lyman Award, which recognizes faculty for their
"extraordinary service" to the alumni association programs.
Among Fox's achievements are his decipherments of ancient Mayan written texts, which became
the first pre-Columbian records that scholars could read and understand. He also conducted
extensive linguistic fieldwork in Guatemala and Mexico, including a study of Ayapa Zoque, a
nearly extinct language spoken by a handful of people in the state of Tabasco in Mexico.
[identification of item], James A. Fox papers (SC1516). Department of Special Collections
and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
The contents of this collection include course materials, lecture notes, research files,
publications, and audiovisisual media relating to Fox's work on Pre-Colombian Central and
South American languages. A signifcant portion of the materials, including flash cards and
audio recordings, are primarily related to spoken Quiche and Quichua.
While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to
examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made
available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission or reproduction
beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or
assigns. See: http://library.stanford.edu/spc/using-collections/permission-publish
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Anthropological linguistics
Linguistics.
Anthropology -- Study and teaching.
Mayan languages
Stanford University. School of Humanities and Sciences