Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

Publication of personal materials from the collection requires permission from the donor until 2033. The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives ( specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marshall W. Fishwick Collection, Ms1985-007, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The initial donation from the Marshall W. Fishwick Collection was received by Special Collections and University Archives in 1985. The majority of the collection was donated in 2007.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Marshall W. Fishwick Collection began in 2016 and was completed in June 2018. Additional material (boxes 72-75) was processed in March 2022.

Biographical Note

Marshall William Fishwick was born July 5, 1923, in Roanoke, Virginia. After receiving his BA from the University of Virginia in 1943, Fishwick served with the American Fleet during World War II. He then went on to receive his MA from the University of Wisconsin in 1946, followed by his PhD from Yale University in 1949.

In 1949, Fishwick began teaching at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, where he remained until 1962. He served as director of the Wemyss Foundation from 1962 to 1964, chaired Lincoln University's Art and American Studies departments from 1964 to 1970, and taught at Temple University from 1970 to 1976. From 1976 until his retirement in 2003, Fishwick taught at Virginia Tech, where he founded the American Studies and Popular Culture programs.

Fishwick co-founded the Popular Culture Association with Ray B. Browne and Russel B. Nye in 1970 and began the journal International Popular Culture. He wrote and contributed to more than 40 books, and received eight Fulbright Awards and multiple grants, which allowed him to teach abroad throughout Europe and Asia. He was a member of the Guild of Scholars of the Episcopal Church and historiographer of the Diocese of Southwest Virginia. One of Fishwick's highest accomplishments as a multidisciplinary scholar was starting the academic movement in popular culture studies.

Fishwick married his third wife and Virginia Tech colleague Ann La Berge in 1995. He had four children with his first wife and two stepdaughters.

Marshall Fishwick died in Blacksburg, Virginia, on May 22, 2006.

Source:

Smith, Leanne E. "Marshall W. Fishwick (1923–2006)." In Encyclopedia Virginia . Accessed December 2, 2019. https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Fishwick_Marshall_W_1923-2006

Scope and Content

This collection contains course and teaching related materials, photographs, manuscripts, audiovisual and electronic material, scrapbooks, and the professional and personal correspondence of Marshall William Fishwick, professor of Humanities and Communication Studies at Virginia Tech, 1976-2003.

Note: Audiovisual and electronic materials from this collection, including VHS and cassette tapes, film, floppy disks, slides, and negatives are inventoried separately. A spreadsheet of these materials by format is available (file will automatically download).

Arrangement

Series I: Papers are in their original order. Folders were replaced and filed in new boxes in the order in which they were received. Series II: Audiovisual and Electronic Materials is subdivided by material type. Note: Boxes 1-13, 70-71, and 75 contain audiovisual and electronic materials from this collection, including VHS and cassette tapes, film, floppy disks, slides, and negatives. A spreadsheet of these materials by format is available for download and searching (file will automatically download). Series III: Oversize Materials

Separated Material

The following books were removed and cataloged for the Special Collections Rare Book Collection:

The following journals and serials were removed and cataloged for the Special Collections Rare Book Collection:

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Faculty and staff
• Popular culture -- United States
• University History
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute (1944-1970)
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (1970-)
• World War, 1939-1945

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Marshall W. Fishwick Collection by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).