Joel Elias Spingarn
Encyclopedia
Joel Elias Spingarn was an American educator, literary critic, and civil rights activist.
to a well-to-do family. He graduated from Columbia College
in 1895. He grew committed to the importance of the study of comparative literature as a discipline distinct from the study of English or any other language-based literary studies.
Politics was one of his lifetime passions. In 1908, as a Republican he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1912 and 1916, he was a delegate to the national convention of the Progressive Party
. At the first of those conventions, he failed in his attempts to add a statement condemning racial discrimination to the party platform.
He served as professor of comparative literature
at Columbia University
from 1899 to 1911. His academic publishing established him as one of America's foremost comparativists. It included two editions of A History of Literary Criticism in the Renaissance in 1899 and 1908 as well as edited works like Critical Essays of the Seventeenth-Century in 3 volumes. He summarized his philosophy in The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910. There he argued against the constraints of such traditional categories as genre, theme, and historical setting in favor of viewing each work of art afresh and on its own terms.
From 1904, his role in academic politics marked him as an independent spirit—too independent for the university's autocratic president Nicholas Murray Butler. His differences with the administration ranged from personality conflicts to educational philosophy. Things came to a head in 1910, when he offered a resolution at a university faculty meeting in support of Harry Thurston Peck
, a Columbia professor who had been summarily dismissed by Butler because of a public scandal involving a breach-of-promise suit. That precipitated Spingarn's dismissal just five weeks later.
He became part of a distinguished series of prominent academics who resigned or were dismissed during Butler's tenure as president, including George Edward Woodberry
, Charles Beard
, and James Harvey Robinson
.
Without an academic appointment but of independent means, Spingarn continued to publish in his field much as he had before, writing, editing, and contributing to collections of essays. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and served as a major during World War I. In 1919 he was a co-founder of the publishing firm of Harcourt, Brace and Company
.
He also took up the other cause of his life, racial justice. An influential liberal Republican, he helped realize the concept of a unified black movement by joining the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) shortly after its founding and was one of the first Jewish leaders of that organization, serving as chairman of its board from 1913 to 1919, its treasurer from 1919-30, its second president from 1930 until his death in 1939. In 1914 he established the Spingarn Medal
, awarded annually by the NAACP for outstanding achievement by an African American
. During World War I, according to an NAACP publication, he was instrumental in seeing that "a training camp for Negro officers at Des Moines was established and about 1,000 Negro officers commissioned."
Always interested in gardening, in the years following 1920 he amassed the world's largest collection of clematis
-- 250 species—and published the results of his research on the early history of landscape gardening and horticulture in Dutchess County, New York
. He served as a member of the Board of Managers for the New York Botanical Garden
.
He lived with his wife, Amy Einstein Spingarn, in Manhattan and at their country estate which later became the Troutbeck Inn and Conference Center in Amenia, New York. They had two sons and two daughters. He died after a long illness on July 26, 1939. His will included a bequest to fund the Spingarn Medal
in perpetuity.
Biography
Spingarn was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to a well-to-do family. He graduated from Columbia College
Columbia College of Columbia University
Columbia College is the oldest undergraduate college at Columbia University, situated on the university's main campus in Morningside Heights in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1754 by the Church of England as King's College, receiving a Royal Charter from King George II...
in 1895. He grew committed to the importance of the study of comparative literature as a discipline distinct from the study of English or any other language-based literary studies.
Politics was one of his lifetime passions. In 1908, as a Republican he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1912 and 1916, he was a delegate to the national convention of the Progressive Party
Progressive Party (United States, 1912)
The Progressive Party of 1912 was an American political party. It was formed after a split in the Republican Party between President William Howard Taft and former President Theodore Roosevelt....
. At the first of those conventions, he failed in his attempts to add a statement condemning racial discrimination to the party platform.
He served as professor of comparative literature
Comparative literature
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups...
at Columbia University
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...
from 1899 to 1911. His academic publishing established him as one of America's foremost comparativists. It included two editions of A History of Literary Criticism in the Renaissance in 1899 and 1908 as well as edited works like Critical Essays of the Seventeenth-Century in 3 volumes. He summarized his philosophy in The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910. There he argued against the constraints of such traditional categories as genre, theme, and historical setting in favor of viewing each work of art afresh and on its own terms.
From 1904, his role in academic politics marked him as an independent spirit—too independent for the university's autocratic president Nicholas Murray Butler. His differences with the administration ranged from personality conflicts to educational philosophy. Things came to a head in 1910, when he offered a resolution at a university faculty meeting in support of Harry Thurston Peck
Harry Thurston Peck
Harry Thurston Peck was an American classical scholar, author, editor, and critic.-Biography:Peck was born in Stamford, Conn. He was educated in private schools and at Columbia College, graduating in 1881, where his literary gifts attracted wide attention...
, a Columbia professor who had been summarily dismissed by Butler because of a public scandal involving a breach-of-promise suit. That precipitated Spingarn's dismissal just five weeks later.
He became part of a distinguished series of prominent academics who resigned or were dismissed during Butler's tenure as president, including George Edward Woodberry
George Edward Woodberry
George Edward Woodberry, Litt. D., LL. D. was an American literary critic and poet. -Education:Woodberry was born in Beverly, Massachusetts, on May 12th, 1855. The Woodberrys or Woodburys—various spellings of the name exist—immigrated early and, since settlement took root on the North Shore, have...
, Charles Beard
Charles A. Beard
Charles Austin Beard was, with Frederick Jackson Turner, one of the most influential American historians of the first half of the 20th century. He published hundreds of monographs, textbooks and interpretive studies in both history and political science...
, and James Harvey Robinson
James Harvey Robinson
James Harvey Robinson was an American historian.Robinson was born Bloomington, Illinois. He taught history at the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University , becoming a full professor in 1895...
.
Without an academic appointment but of independent means, Spingarn continued to publish in his field much as he had before, writing, editing, and contributing to collections of essays. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and served as a major during World War I. In 1919 he was a co-founder of the publishing firm of Harcourt, Brace and Company
Harcourt Trade Publishers
Harcourt was a United States publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for children and adults. The company was based in San Diego, California, with an Editorial / Sales / Marketing / Rights offices in New York City and Orlando, Florida.In 2007, the U.S...
.
He also took up the other cause of his life, racial justice. An influential liberal Republican, he helped realize the concept of a unified black movement by joining the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
(NAACP) shortly after its founding and was one of the first Jewish leaders of that organization, serving as chairman of its board from 1913 to 1919, its treasurer from 1919-30, its second president from 1930 until his death in 1939. In 1914 he established the Spingarn Medal
Spingarn Medal
The Spingarn Medal is awarded annually by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for outstanding achievement by an African American....
, awarded annually by the NAACP for outstanding achievement by an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
. During World War I, according to an NAACP publication, he was instrumental in seeing that "a training camp for Negro officers at Des Moines was established and about 1,000 Negro officers commissioned."
Always interested in gardening, in the years following 1920 he amassed the world's largest collection of clematis
Clematis
Clematis is a genus of about 300 species within the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Their garden hybrids have been popular among gardeners beginning with Clematis × jackmanii, a garden standby since 1862; more hybrid cultivars are being produced constantly. They are mainly of Chinese and Japanese...
-- 250 species—and published the results of his research on the early history of landscape gardening and horticulture in Dutchess County, New York
Dutchess County, New York
Dutchess County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. The 2010 census lists the population as 297,488...
. He served as a member of the Board of Managers for the New York Botanical Garden
New York Botanical Garden
- See also :* Education in New York City* List of botanical gardens in the United States* List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City- External links :* official website** blog*...
.
He lived with his wife, Amy Einstein Spingarn, in Manhattan and at their country estate which later became the Troutbeck Inn and Conference Center in Amenia, New York. They had two sons and two daughters. He died after a long illness on July 26, 1939. His will included a bequest to fund the Spingarn Medal
Spingarn Medal
The Spingarn Medal is awarded annually by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for outstanding achievement by an African American....
in perpetuity.
Recognition
- Spingarn Senior High School in Washington, D.C.
- In 2009, Spingarn was among 12 civil rights leaders honored with images appearing on 6 American postage stamps issued to mark the centenary of the NAACP.
- But the Moorland-Spingarn Research CenterMoorland-Spingarn Research CenterThe Moorland-Spingarn Research Center is recognized as one of the world's largest and most comprehensive repositories for the documentation of the history and culture of people of African descent in Africa, the Americas, and other parts of the world...
at Howard University is named for his brother ArthurArthur B. SpingarnArthur Barnette Spingarn was an American leader in fight for civil rights for African Americans.Spingarn was born into a well-to-do family. He graduated from Columbia College in 1897 and from law school in 1899...
Works
- As Author—Scholarship
- A History of Literary Criticism in the Renaissance (1899 and 1908)
- The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910 (1911)
- Creative Criticism: Essays on the Unity of Genius and Taste (1917)
- Creative Criticism and Other Essays (1931)
- As Editor
- Critical Essays of the Seventeenth-Century, 3 vols. (1908-09)
- Goethe's Literary Essays (1921)
- As Contributor
- Criticism in America, its Functions and Status: Essays by... (1924)
- Karl Vossler, ed., Mediæval Culture: An Introduction to Dante and his Times (1929)
- As Author—Poetry
- The New Hesperides, and Other Poems (1911)
- Poems (1924)
- Poetry and Religion: Six Poems (1924)
Sources
- B. Joyce Ross, J.E. Spingarn and the rise of the NAACP, 1911-1939 (New York: Atheneum, 1972)
- Marshall Van Deusen, J.E. Spingarn (NY: Twayne Publishers, 1970)