Professor James Phelan
Ohio State University, USA
DOCTOR PHILOSOPHIAE HONORIS CAUSA
Professor James Phelan is a literary scholar who is a central figure in the field of narrative theory. He is one of the most cited and influential scholars in the field.
Phelan has written numerous seminal books and articles on narrative theory, and he has received several academic awards. He is a sought-after visiting professor and speaker.
He is considered a central representative of a rhetorical approach to narrative, an approach that originated in the so-called Chicago School of literary criticism. Perhaps the most prominent proponent of this approach was Wayne C. Booth, author of the seminal work The Rhetoric of Fiction. Phelan studied with Booth as a graduate student at the University of Chicago. Phelan’s most influential book is Living to Tell about It: A Rhetoric and Ethics of Character Narration (2005).
Phelan is a key figure in modern narratology. He is the editor of the influential journal Narrative and is on the core faculty of Project Narrative at Ohio State University, a major centre for narrative research that brings together the best concentration of academic expertise in narrative studies in North America. Project Narrative has made Columbus, Ohio one of the most dynamic and exciting places in the world for narrative theory.
Phelan is involved in a number of joint research projects with Aarhus University scholars, for example at the Centre for Fictionality Studies, which is funded by an AU IDEAS pilot centre grant. He has also taught narratology at Aarhus University’s international Summer School for a number of years. He will also participate in an international PhD course in narratology to be offered at Aarhus University starting in 2013. The course is organised by Stefan Iversen. In the spring of 2012, he was a visiting professor at the Department of Aesthetics and Communication at Aarhus University. Several researchers from the department have also participated in Project Narrative at The Ohio State University.
James Phelan – CURRICULUM VITAE
Professor, Department of English, Ohio State University
Education and appointments
2012 - Visiting Professor, Aarhus University
2008 - Distinguished University Professor of English, Ohio State University
2004 - Humanities Distinguished Professor, Ohio State University
1989 - 2004 Professor, Ohio State University
1994 - 2002 Chair, Department of English, Ohio State University
1983 - 1989 Associate Professor, Ohio State University
1977 - 1983 Assistant Professor, Ohio State University
1977 PhD, English Language and Literature, University of Chicago
1973 MA, English Language and Literature, University of Chicago
1972 BA, English Literature, Boston College
Selected honorary titles
2008 Distinguished University Professor, Ohio State University
2007 Perkins Prize, Society for the Study of Narrative Literature, for best book
in narrative studies in 2005 (Living to Tell about lt)
2007 Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching, Ohio State University
2007 Arts and Sciences Research Award for Distinguished Service
2004 Distinguished Scholar Award, Ohio State University
1999 NEH Focus Grant, “Teaching Multicultural American Literature”
1993 Best New Journal Award given by The Council of Editors of Learned Journals to Narrative