Joseph Skerrett
Joseph T. Skerrett (1943 – July 25, 2015)[1] was an American literary critic and professor of English at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.[2] Much of his work centers on black studies, and his best-known book is the 2001 anthology Literature, Race and Ethnicity: Contesting American Identities.
Skerrett was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1943, and earned a Bachelor's degree at Saint Francis College in 1964.[3] He then earned an M.A. in creative writing at Johns Hopkins University in 1965, and a Ph.D. in English at Yale University. His work at Yale focused on 20th century African-American literature.[4]
Skerrett joined the University of Massachusetts, Amherst English Department in 1973.[4] In 1974, Skerrett helped found and launch a new journal, MELUS: Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States, which brought attention to a diversity of American literatures, and their "interfaces."[5]
Publications
- Editor, Literature, Race and Ethnicity: Contesting American Identities (Longman, 2001)[3]
- Editor, MELUS (journal)[3]
Awards
- UMass Chancellor's Award for Multiculturalism, 1996[3]
- Honorary Doctorate of Literature, Saint Francis College, Brooklyn, New York, 1998[3]
References
- ↑ "Joseph T. Skerrett (1943-2015), Obituary", Daily Hampshire Gazette, July 31, 2015.
- ↑ Chambers, Marcia (June 8, 1978). "Macchiarola Said to Be Planning Wide Shakeup at Education Board...". New York TImes. p. A1. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "UMass Amherst English Professor Joseph Skerrett Receives Honorary Degree", UMass Amherst Press Release, July 14, 1998.
- 1 2 "In Memoriam: Joseph T. Skerrett, 1943-2015", The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, Aug. 12, 2015.
- ↑ Editors, Oxford University Press, "40 Years of MELUS" (2014).
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