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Morris Dickstein

モリス・ディックスタイン

Morris Dickstein

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1940-02-23 （New York City, New York, United States）
Died
2021-03-24 （New York City, New York, United States） age 81
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Judaism (raised Orthodox)
Residence History
Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City → Manhattan (residence)

Career

Occupations
literary scholar, cultural historian, professor, essayist, book critic, public intellectual
Active Years
1967-2021
Affiliations
CUNY Graduate Center, Queens College (CUNY), Partisan Review (contributing editor), National Book Critics Circle (board of directors), National Society of Film Critics (member), Association of Literary Scholars and Critics (former president)
Memberships
National Society of Film Critics, National Book Critics Circle (board member), Association of Literary Scholars and Critics
Influenced By
Harold Bloom, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Lionel Trilling, Jacques Barzun

Education

Columbia University
Degree: B.A.
Period: 1957-1961
Year of Graduation: 1961
Country: United States
Yale University
Degree: M.A.
Period: 1961-1963
Year of Graduation: 1963
Country: United States
Yale University
Degree: Ph.D.
Period: 1963-1967
Year of Graduation: 1967
Country: United States
Dissertation advisor: Harold Bloom
Clare College, Cambridge
Period: 1963-1964
Country: United Kingdom
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
Period: 在籍（中退）
Country: United States
Attended while an undergraduate to modernize his Hebrew education; left during final undergraduate semester

Awards

The New York Times Book Review Best Books of the Year (selection)
1977
Work: Gates of Eden: American Culture in the Sixties
Organization: The New York Times Book Review
Result: 選出
National Book Critics Circle Award (Criticism)
2009
Work: Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression
Category: 批評
Organization: National Book Critics Circle
Result: ノミネート
CUNY Distinguished Professor
1994
Organization: City University of New York (CUNY)
Result: 授与

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Gates of Eden: American Culture in the Sixties

1977 cultural history / criticism

A cultural-historical study of American culture in the 1960s, analyzing literature, film, and music to explore cultural change and its implications.

cultural transformation in the 1960spopular culture and politics

Double Agent: The Critic and Society

1992 criticism

A collection of essays exploring the role of the critic in society and the interaction between criticism and social life.

public role of criticismresponsibility of intellectuals

Leopards in the Temple: The Transformation of American Fiction, 1945–1970

2002 literary studies / essay collection

An essay collection on postwar American fiction (1945–1970) that challenges the view of the 1950s as uniformly conformist and highlights radical undercurrents and outsider writers.

transformation of postwar literatureoutsiders and counter-mainstream

A Mirror in the Roadway: Literature and the Real World

2005 literary criticism

A collection of essays examining the relationship between literature and the real world, connecting practice and theory of literary criticism.

literature and realitymethodology of criticism

Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression

2009 cultural history

A broad cultural history of the U.S. during the Great Depression, analyzing film, music, literature, and art to portray how ordinary people lived, suffered, entertained themselves, and endured.

Great Depression culturerelationship between popular and high culture

Bibliography

  • Gates of Eden: American Culture in the Sixties (1977)
  • Double Agent: The Critic and Society (1992)
  • Leopards in the Temple: The Transformation of American Fiction, 1945–1970 (2002)
  • A Mirror in the Roadway: Literature and the Real World (2005)
  • Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression (2009)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
clear, accessible proseanalysis that blends criticism and cultural historyscholarly yet approachable for general readers
Recurring Motifs
intersection of popular and high culturecultural transformation in postwar Americarelationship between literature and society

Health

  • Parkinson's disease
    晩年
    Caused complications in later years and was the cause of death in 2021.

Legacy

One of the leading voices in American literary and cultural studies from the late 20th century into the 21st. Active in both academic and popular venues, he provided perspectives that connected criticism and cultural history. As an educator at CUNY he contributed to institutional development, including founding the Center for the Humanities.

Academic Societies

  • National Society of Film Critics
  • National Book Critics Circle
  • Association of Literary Scholars and Critics

In Popular Culture

  • His work on popular culture, film, and music influenced media reviews and general-interest publications.

Quotes

  • He is one of our best and most distinguished critics of American literature.
    Source: Norman Mailer (cover quote), A Mirror in the Roadway (2005) (2005)

Trivia

  • Founded the Center for the Humanities at the CUNY Graduate Center in 1992.
  • Named CUNY Distinguished Professor in 1994.
  • Served as a contributing editor to Partisan Review from 1972 to 2003.
  • Served on the board of trustees for the Columbia Daily Spectator beginning in 1977.