Arnold Rampersad
Encyclopedia
Arnold Rampersad is a biographer and literary critic. The first volume of his Life Of Langston Hughes
was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. He was born in Trinidad and Tobago
.
He is currently Professor of English and the Sara Hart Kimball Professor in the Humanities at Stanford University
. He was Senior Associate Dean
for the Humanities
from January 2004-August 2006. As Senior Associate Dean, he was responsible for the full array of departments in the humanities, including Art & Art History, Asian Languages, Classics, Comparative Literature, Drama, French and Italian, German Studies, Linguistics, Music, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Slavic Languages and Literature, and Spanish and Portuguese.*
Professor Rampersad was a member of the Stanford
English Department from 1974 to 1983, before accepting a position at Rutgers University
. Since then he taught there and at Columbia
and Princeton
before returning to Stanford in 1998.
His teaching covers such areas as nineteenth- and twentieth-century American literature
; the literature of the American South; American
and African-American autobiography; race and American literature; and the Harlem Renaissance
. From 1991 to 1996, he held a MacArthur "genius grant" fellowship. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
and of the American Philosophical Society
. In 2007, he published a biography of Ralph Ellison
(1914 - 1994).
He is also the half brother of Roger Toussaint
, the president of Transport Workers Union
Local 100.
In addition, he has edited several volumes including the following:
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...
was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. He was born in Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
.
He is currently Professor of English and the Sara Hart Kimball Professor in the Humanities at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. He was Senior Associate Dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
for the Humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
from January 2004-August 2006. As Senior Associate Dean, he was responsible for the full array of departments in the humanities, including Art & Art History, Asian Languages, Classics, Comparative Literature, Drama, French and Italian, German Studies, Linguistics, Music, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Slavic Languages and Literature, and Spanish and Portuguese.*
Professor Rampersad was a member of the Stanford
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
English Department from 1974 to 1983, before accepting a position at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
. Since then he taught there and at Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
before returning to Stanford in 1998.
His teaching covers such areas as nineteenth- and twentieth-century American literature
American literature
American literature is the written or literary work produced in the area of the United States and its preceding colonies. For more specific discussions of poetry and theater, see Poetry of the United States and Theater in the United States. During its early history, America was a series of British...
; the literature of the American South; American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and African-American autobiography; race and American literature; and the Harlem Renaissance
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s. At the time, it was known as the "New Negro Movement", named after the 1925 anthology by Alain Locke...
. From 1991 to 1996, he held a MacArthur "genius grant" fellowship. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
and of the American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
. In 2007, he published a biography of Ralph Ellison
Ralph Ellison
Ralph Waldo Ellison was an American novelist, literary critic, scholar and writer. He was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Ellison is best known for his novel Invisible Man, which won the National Book Award in 1953...
(1914 - 1994).
He is also the half brother of Roger Toussaint
Roger Toussaint
Roger Toussaint was the President of Transport Workers Union Local 100, the union of New York City Transit Authority employees in New York City and is now Vice President of Strategic Planning for the parent union, an international organization.-Early life:Toussaint emigrated to New York from...
, the president of Transport Workers Union
Transport Workers Union
Transport Workers Union may refer to:* The Transport Workers Union of America* The Transport Workers Union of Australia* The Swedish Transport Workers' Union...
Local 100.
Books
- The Art and Imagination of W.E.B. DuBois (Harvard, 1976)
- The Life of Langston Hughes (Oxford, 2 vols., 1986, 1988)
- Days of Grace: A Memoir (Knopf, 1993), co-authored with Arthur AsheArthur AsheArthur Robert Ashe, Jr. was a professional tennis player, born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. During his career, he won three Grand Slam titles, putting him among the best ever from the United States...
- Jackie Robinson: A Biography (Knopf, 1997)
- Ralph EllisonRalph EllisonRalph Waldo Ellison was an American novelist, literary critic, scholar and writer. He was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Ellison is best known for his novel Invisible Man, which won the National Book Award in 1953...
(Knopf, 2007)
In addition, he has edited several volumes including the following:
- Collected Poems of Langston Hughes,
- the Library of AmericaLibrary of AmericaThe Library of America is a nonprofit publisher of classic American literature.- Overview and history :Founded in 1979 with seed money from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation, the LoA has published over 200 volumes by a wide range of authors from Mark Twain to Philip...
edition (2 vols.) of works by Richard Wright, including revised individual editions of Native SonNative SonNative Son is a novel by American author Richard Wright. The novel tells the story of 20-year-old Bigger Thomas, an African American living in utter poverty. Bigger lived in Chicago's South Side ghetto in the 1930s...
and Black BoyBlack BoyBlack Boy is an autobiography by Richard Wright. The author explores his childhood and race relations in the South. Wright eventually moves to Chicago, where he establishes his writing career and becomes involved with the Communist Party.... - Slavery and the Literary Imagination (as co-author)
- Race and American Culture (co-editor with Shelley Fisher Fishkin) - of the book series published by Oxford University PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
- Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes (co-editor with David Roessel) (Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2006)