Interview with Fred Stout : Stanford Urban Studies at 50 Oral History Project
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- In this oral history, Fred Stout, the executive director of Stanford’s Urban Studies Program from 1973 to 1977 and longtime lecturer in the program, recounts his involvement with Urban Studies from its earliest days through the present. Tasked with developing the student initiated experiment into a true major, Stout explains his approach to this responsibility, recalling his collaboration with faculty committee members; the creation of the program’s introductory course and junior seminar; and the year-long review process that placed the program on firm financial footing. He recalls how the Stanford initiative compared to urban studies programs at other institutions, which bolstered his commitment to a curriculum that emphasized “intellectual fundamentals” rather than pre-professional training. Stout describes organizing community engagement opportunities, such as a summer program in which students supported efforts to prevent the development of South Park in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood. He also details his own volunteer and advocacy work, including his position as a national staff coordinator for Vietnam Summer in 1967; community organizing around housing affordability in San Francisco; and his role as the executive director of the nonprofit Media Alliance. Additionally, Stout recounts creating his seminal anthology The City Reader; the impact of Lewis Mumford, Paul Goodman, and others on his thinking; and how the field has changed over the years. Finally, Stout reflects on his shifting personal politics, his approach to teaching, and the application of urban studies to students’ own communities and senses of citizenship.
Description
| Type of resource | sound recording-nonmusical, text, still image |
|---|---|
| Extent | 1 audio file; 1 text file; 1 photograph |
| Place | Stanford (Calif.) |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
| Date created | August 10, 2020 |
| Language | English |
| Digital origin | born digital |
Creators/Contributors
| Interviewee | Stout, Frederic, 1943- | |
|---|---|---|
| Creator | Stout, Frederic, 1943- | |
| Interviewer | Kahan, Michael | |
| Interviewer | Meurice, Nova | |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Subjects
| Subject | Stout, Frederic, 1943- |
|---|---|
| Subject | Cities and towns > Study and teaching |
| Subject | College teachers |
| Genre | Interview |
Bibliographic information
| Biographical profile | Fred Stout is the co-author and co-editor (with Michele Marincovich and Jack Prostko) of The Professional Development of Graduate Teaching Assistants (Anker Publishing, 1998) and a contributor to The Encyclopedia of the City and The Encyclopedia of Urban Studies. Stout is co- editor (with Richard LeGates) of The City Reader, a widely cited anthology of contemporary and classic readings in Urban Studies now in its fourth edition from Routledge Press, and of Early Urban Planning 1870-1940, a nine-volume series of writings by seminal urban thinkers such as Ebenezer Howard and Charles Mulford Robinson. Stout holds an MA from Harvard and has taught Urban Studies at Stanford since the 1970s. |
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| Transcript |
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| Finding Aid |
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| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/pj875wd8782 |
| Location | SC1580 |
| Repository | Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections and University Archives |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- The materials are open for research use and may be used freely for non-commercial purposes with an attribution. For commercial permission requests, please contact the Stanford University Archives (universityarchives@stanford.edu).
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
Collection
Urban Studies at 50
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