Benjamin T. Spencer
Encyclopedia
Benjamin T. Spencer (1904-1996) was a scholar of American literature and a professor at Ohio Wesleyan University
.
He graduated form Kentucky Wesleyan College
, and received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Cincinnati
.
Spencer wrote wodely on American literature and on Shakespeare but is best remembered for his great book, The Quest for American Nationality; An American Literary Campaign (1957.) In 2008, Robert Milder described it as, “an informed and still eminently serviceable account of the multifront ‘campaign’ for a national literature.”
The annual The Benjamin T. Spencer Lecture is given at Ohio Wesleyan University
in his memory and the Benjamin T. Spencer Professorship in Literature is named in his honor.
Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five — a consortium of Ohio liberal arts colleges...
.
He graduated form Kentucky Wesleyan College
Kentucky Wesleyan College
Kentucky Wesleyan College is a private Methodist college in Owensboro, Kentucky, a city on the Ohio River. KWC is just 40 minutes east of Evansville, Indiana, 2 hours north of Nashville, Tennessee, 2 hours west of Louisville, Kentucky, and 4 hours east of St. Louis, Missouri...
, and received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
.
Spencer wrote wodely on American literature and on Shakespeare but is best remembered for his great book, The Quest for American Nationality; An American Literary Campaign (1957.) In 2008, Robert Milder described it as, “an informed and still eminently serviceable account of the multifront ‘campaign’ for a national literature.”
The annual The Benjamin T. Spencer Lecture is given at Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five — a consortium of Ohio liberal arts colleges...
in his memory and the Benjamin T. Spencer Professorship in Literature is named in his honor.
Books
- The Quest for Nationality: An American Literary Campaign (1959)
- Patterns of Nationality: Twentieth-Century Literary Versions of America (1981)