Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Rolf Knight fonds
General material designation
- Multiple media
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- Source of title proper: Title based on contents of the fonds.
Level of description
Fonds
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Statement of scale (cartographic)
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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
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Physical description area
Physical description
1.35 m of textual records
Publisher's series area
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Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Rolf Knight (1936-2019) was a Canadian author who wrote regional and working class histories of British Columbia. Rolf Knight obtained his B.A. from the University of British Columbia in 1959. He completed graduate work in anthropology at UBC (M.A., 1962) and Columbia University (Ph.D., 1968). He went on to teach at Simon Fraser University and the University of Toronto.
Since 1972, he has published several books pertaining to working class history. Honours received by Knight include a Certificate of Merit from the Canadian Historical Association for work concerning regional history, an award from the British Columbia Historical Federation for his autobiography of Homer Stevens in 1992, and the George Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award for B.C. Literature received in 2017. He passed on 22 June 2019.
Custodial history
Scope and content
The fonds consists of manuscripts, research files, and printed material relating to Knight's activities as a student and university professor in the field of anthropology, as well as his writing as a Canadian historian. Included are: correspondence with and applications to publishers and universities; a typescript copy of Knight’s memoirs and manuscript copies of "A Very Ordinary Life" (1974), "Indians at Work" (1978), “Along the No. 20 Line” (1980), “Homer Stevens” (1992), Not a Philosophical Atheism” (2012), and "Nativism and Americanism" (2013), among Knight’s other publications; research data and bibliographies gathered as part of Knight’s research and writing; book reviews of Knight’s works, as well as Knight’s reviews of others’ publications; transcripts and sound recordings of Knight’s interviews with Bob Chestnut, Harvey Murphy, and John Smith; and photographs used in Knight’s “Along the No. 20 Line” (1980).
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
The fonds was received from Rolf Knight in several donations, occurring in 1980, 1981, 1985, 1992, 1998, 2018, and 2019.
Arrangement
Records received in 1998 were arranged by Knight prior to donation, and their original order has been maintained.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
Access restrictions apply to some of the material.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Finding aids
Inventory available.
Generated finding aid
Associated materials
Accruals
No further accruals are expected.
General note
Content warning: Some fonds material, including that related to “Not a Philosophical Atheism” (2012) and “Fascism, Jewish Chauvinism and the Holocaust Revival” (2007), contains antisemitic content.
Alternative identifier(s)
Standard number area
Standard number
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Murphy, Harvey, d. 1977 (Subject)
- Smith, John (Subject)
- Chester, Bob (Subject)
- Stevens, Homer (Subject)
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Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Finding aid updated by Ashlynn Prasad in 2018 to reflect new accruals.
Finding aid updated by Claire Williams in 2019 to reflect new accruals.
Finding aid updated by Gabriella J. Cigarroa in Summer 2024 to reflect 2019 accrual.