Quentin Anderson
Encyclopedia
Quentin Anderson was an American literary critic and cultural historian at Columbia University
. His research focused on 19th-century American authors, especially Henry James
, Ralph Waldo Emerson
, and Walt Whitman
, and their attempts to define American identity as both connected to and differentiated from European precedents.
. The son of playwright Maxwell Anderson
, he moved with his father to Palo Alto, California
and then San Francisco after the latter was dismissed from his high school teaching job for his pacifist views. The family then moved to New York City
, where Quentin spent his formative years. During the Great Depression
, he worked as a mechanic, a grave digger, and as a stage extra on Broadway
.
Quentin thereafter began his long career in academia. He studied with Jacques Barzun
and Lionel Trilling
at Columbia College
, where he earned his B.A. in 1940. After serving in the civilian defense corps in Rockland County, New York
, he earned his M.A. at Harvard in 1945 before returning to Columbia to complete his Ph.D. in 1953. He was named a full professor at the university's English Department in 1961 and chaired a disciplinary committee following the protests of 1968
. In 1978 he was named the Julian Clarence Levi Professor in the Humanities and was granted a senior fellowship by the National Endowment for the Humanities
in 1973-4. From 1979-80 he was a fellow at the National Humanities Center
. He died of heart failure in 2003.
He was known as an inspirational conveyor of knowledge during his time as professor at Columbia. His book The Imperial Self (1971) was a widely heralded and debated account of the shaping of American identity as revealed by nineteenth-century American literature.
Anderson lived at 29 Claremont Avenue
.
and Abraham Anderson) and a daughter by his first marriage (Martha Haskett Anderson). At the time of his death, he had one grandson, Chase Quentin Anderson.
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...
. His research focused on 19th-century American authors, especially Henry James
Henry James
Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
, Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
, and Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman
Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
, and their attempts to define American identity as both connected to and differentiated from European precedents.
Biography
Quentin Anderson was born in Minnewaukan, North DakotaMinnewaukan, North Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 318 people, 148 households, and 87 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,157.0 people per square mile . There were 199 housing units at an average density of 724.1 per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 86.16% White, 9.75%...
. The son of playwright Maxwell Anderson
Maxwell Anderson
James Maxwell Anderson was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist and lyricist.-Early years:Anderson was born in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to William Lincoln "Link" Anderson, a Baptist minister, and Charlotte Perrimela Stephenson, both of Scots and Irish descent...
, he moved with his father to Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
and then San Francisco after the latter was dismissed from his high school teaching job for his pacifist views. The family then moved to New York City
New 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...
, where Quentin spent his formative years. During the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, he worked as a mechanic, a grave digger, and as a stage extra on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
.
Quentin thereafter began his long career in academia. He studied with Jacques Barzun
Jacques Barzun
Jacques Martin Barzun is a French-born American historian of ideas and culture. He has written on a wide range of topics, but is perhaps best known as a philosopher of education, his Teacher in America being a strong influence on post-WWII training of schoolteachers in the United...
and Lionel Trilling
Lionel Trilling
Lionel Trilling was an American literary critic, author, and teacher. With wife Diana Trilling, he was a member of the New York Intellectuals and contributor to the Partisan Review. Although he did not establish a school of literary criticism, he is one of the leading U.S...
at 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...
, where he earned his B.A. in 1940. After serving in the civilian defense corps in Rockland County, New York
Rockland County, New York
Rockland County is a suburban county 15 miles to the northwest of Manhattan and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area, in the U.S. state of New York. It is the southernmost county in New York west of the Hudson River, and the smallest county in New York outside of New York City. The...
, he earned his M.A. at Harvard in 1945 before returning to Columbia to complete his Ph.D. in 1953. He was named a full professor at the university's English Department in 1961 and chaired a disciplinary committee following the protests of 1968
Columbia University protests of 1968
The Columbia University protests of 1968 were among the many student demonstrations that occurred around the world in that year. The Columbia protests erupted over the spring of that year after students discovered links between the university and the institutional apparatus supporting the United...
. In 1978 he was named the Julian Clarence Levi Professor in the Humanities and was granted a senior fellowship by the National Endowment for the Humanities
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH is located at...
in 1973-4. From 1979-80 he was a fellow at the National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center
The National Humanities Center is an independent institute for advanced study in the humanities. It is the only major independent institute for advanced study in all fields of the humanities in the United States. The NHC operates as a privately incorporated nonprofit and is not part of any...
. He died of heart failure in 2003.
He was known as an inspirational conveyor of knowledge during his time as professor at Columbia. His book The Imperial Self (1971) was a widely heralded and debated account of the shaping of American identity as revealed by nineteenth-century American literature.
Anderson lived at 29 Claremont Avenue
Claremont Avenue
Claremont Avenue is a relatively short street in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York. It begins at 116th Street and runs north for a length of eleven blocks until Tiemann Place . The eastern side of Claremont Avenue features the heavily fortified backside of the Barnard College campus...
.
Major works
- Making Americans (1992) ISBN 0151559414
- The Imperial Self (1971) ISBN 0394718240
- The American Henry James (1957) ISBN B0006AUYTQ
Family
Anderson married Thelma Anderson in 1947. He had two sons (Maxwell L. AndersonMaxwell L. Anderson
Maxwell L. Anderson is the Melvin & Bren Simon Director and CEO of the Indianapolis Museum of Art in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. On January 9, 2012, Anderson will assume the role of the Eugene McDermott Director of the Dallas Museum of Art, following a five-and-a-half-year tenure at the...
and Abraham Anderson) and a daughter by his first marriage (Martha Haskett Anderson). At the time of his death, he had one grandson, Chase Quentin Anderson.