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Andrew H. Delbanco

アンドリュー・デルバンコ

Andrew H. Delbanco

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1952-01-01 （White Plains, New York, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Judaism
Residence History
White Plains, New York → Cambridge, Massachusetts → New York City (Columbia University)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Professor
Active Years
1981-
Affiliations
Columbia University, Teagle Foundation (president), National Humanities Center (former trustee), PEN American Center (former vice president)
Memberships
American Philosophical Society, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Society of American Historians
Influenced By
American classic authors (e.g., Herman Melville)
Nominations
Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Biography) finalist (Melville: His World and Work)

Education

Ethical Culture Fieldston School
Country: United States
Secondary school (preparatory)
Harvard University
Faculty of Arts and Sciences / English
Degree: BA (summa cum laude)
Period: 1970s
Year of Graduation: 1973
Country: United States
Undergraduate degree in English, graduated summa cum laude.
Harvard University
Faculty of Arts and Sciences / English
Degree: MA
Period: 1976
Year of Graduation: 1976
Country: United States
Graduate MA.
Harvard University
Faculty of Arts and Sciences / English
Degree: PhD
Period: 1976-1980
Year of Graduation: 1980
Country: United States
PhD awarded; thereafter engaged in academic writing and teaching.

Awards

Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
2019
Work: The War Before the War: Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America's Soul from the Revolution to the Civil War
Organization: Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards
Result: 受賞
Mark Lynton History Prize
2019
Work: The War Before the War
Organization: Columbia Journalism School / Nieman Foundation at Harvard
Result: 受賞
National Humanities Medal
2012
Organization: President of the United States / National Endowment for the Humanities
Result: 受賞
Lionel Trilling Book Award
Work: The Puritan Ordeal; Melville; The War Before the War (multiple years)
Organization: Columbia University student committee
Result: 受賞
Great Teacher Award
2006
Organization: Society of Columbia Graduates
Result: 受賞
Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities
2022
Organization: United States government (National Endowment for the Humanities)
Result: 招聘・登壇

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The War Before the War: Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America's Soul from the Revolution to the Civil War

2018 History / Non-fiction

A narrative history tracing how fugitive slaves and the conflicts over law and conscience contributed to America's path to the Civil War, focusing on judges, clergy, writers, and politicians.

SlaveryLaw vs. ConsciencePrelude to the American Civil War

Melville: His World and Work

2005 Biography / Literary criticism

A critical study of Herman Melville that examines his life and work, arguing for Melville's unique combination of New England moral gravity and New York irreverence.

BiographyAmerican literatureAuthor study

The Puritan Ordeal

1989 History / Religious studies

Approaches New England Puritanism as a religious movement seeking moral stability in the context of nascent capitalism.

ReligionMoralitySocial history

Bibliography

  • William Ellery Channing: An Essay on the Liberal Spirit in America (1981)
  • The Puritans in America (editor, 1985)
  • The Puritan Ordeal (1989)
  • The Death of Satan: How Americans Have Lost the Sense of Evil (1995)
  • Required Reading: Why Our American Classics Matter Now (1997)
  • The Real American Dream: A Meditation on Hope (1999)
  • Melville: His World and Work (2005)
  • College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be (2012)
  • The Abolitionist Imagination (2012)
  • The War Before the War (2018)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Scholarly yet accessible argumentative proseBlend of historical narrative and literary criticism
Recurring Motifs
Conflict between conscience and lawReligion and ethicsAmerican tradition and identity

Legacy

A public intellectual whose scholarship and essays on American literature and higher education have influenced debates about liberal arts education and the role of classics in contemporary life.

Academic Societies

  • American Philosophical Society
  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • Society of American Historians

Archives

  • Columbia University archives / special collections (related materials)

In Popular Culture

  • In 2015 gave a mini-lecture on Moby-Dick while riding a roller coaster with Stephen Colbert, a widely shared media moment.

Quotes

  • My aim is to continue and deepen Teagle's support of people and programs committed to bringing the gift of liberal education to all students -- not just the privileged few.
    Source: Statement upon appointment as president of the Teagle Foundation (2018) (2018)

Trivia

  • Married Dawn Ho in 1973; has two children and four grandchildren.
  • The War Before the War won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for its contribution to understanding racism and diversity.
  • Gave a mini-lecture on Moby-Dick while riding a roller coaster with Stephen Colbert in 2015.