Jeffrey Mehlman
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey Mehlman is a literary critic and a historian of ideas. He has taught at Cornell University
and Johns Hopkins University
, and is currently University Professor and Professor of French Literature at Boston University
. He has held visiting professorships at Harvard University
, the University of California at Berkeley, CUNY Graduate Center
, Washington University in St. Louis
, and MIT
. Over a number of years, he has been writing an implicit history of speculative interpretation in France
in the form of a series of readings of canonical literary works.
In addition, Mehlman's numerous translations, beginning with his collection French Freud
(Yale French Studies
48, 1973), have played an important role in the naturalization of French thought in English.
as “one of the very brilliant and entertaining books of the last years” (back cover) and hailed as a “tour de force” by Gregory Ulmer
in his article on the “ten best experimental essays written in English in the category of ‘literary criticism’ in the past half-century”. Legacies: Of Anti-Semitism in France has been translated into French and Japanese and was the subject of a polemic involving the journals Tel Quel
and La Quinzaine littéraire, spilling onto the first page of Le Monde
, when it appeared in French in 1984. (Mehlman’s position in the book has since been vindicated in a volume by Jacques Henric. George Steiner
, reviewing Walter Benjamin
for Children in the Times Literary Supplement, saluted in the book “a scholastic acuity and wit resembling that of Benjamin himself,” hailing the “sparkle” of its “erudition and playful intelligence.” Finally, Stanley Hoffman wrote in Foreign Affairs
of Émigré New York that “previous attempts by literature professors to tackle culture have not always resulted in works as mind-stretching and entertaining as this.”
and Fulbright
Fellowships. In 1994, he was appointed Officer of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques by the French government.
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
and Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, and is currently University Professor and Professor of French Literature at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
. He has held visiting professorships at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, the University of California at Berkeley, CUNY Graduate Center
CUNY Graduate Center
The Graduate Center of the City University of New York brings together graduate education, advanced research, and public programming to midtown Manhattan hosting 4,600 students, 33 doctoral programs, 7 master's programs, and 30 research centers and institutes...
, Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
, and MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
. Over a number of years, he has been writing an implicit history of speculative interpretation in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in the form of a series of readings of canonical literary works.
Published works
- A Structural Study of Autobiography: Proust, Leiris, Sartre, Lévi-Strauss (Cornell University PressCornell University PressThe Cornell University Press, established in 1869 but inactive from 1884 to 1930, was the first university publishing enterprise in the United States.A division of Cornell University, it is housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage....
, 1974) - Revolution and Repetition: Marx, Hugo, Balzac (University of California PressUniversity of California PressUniversity of California Press, also known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish books and papers for the faculty of the University of California, established 25 years earlier in 1868...
, 1977) - Cataract: A Study in Diderot (Wesleyan University PressWesleyan University PressWesleyan University Press is a university press that is part of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. The Press is currently directed by Suzanna Tamminen, a published poet and essayist...
, 1979) - Legacies: Of Anti-Semitism in France (University of Minnesota PressUniversity of Minnesota PressThe University of Minnesota Press is a university press that is part of the University of Minnesota.Founded in 1925, the University of Minnesota Press is best known for its books in social and cultural thought, critical theory, race and ethnic studies, urbanism, feminist criticism, and media...
, 1983) - Walter Benjamin for Children: An Essay on His Radio Years (University of Chicago PressUniversity of Chicago PressThe University of Chicago Press is the largest university press in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including The Chicago Manual of Style, dozens of academic journals, including Critical Inquiry, and a wide array of...
, 1993) - Genealogies of the Text: Literature, Psychoanalysis, and Politics in Modern France (Cambridge University PressCambridge University PressCambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
, 1995) - Émigré New York: French Intellectuals in Wartime Manhattan, 1940-1944 (Johns Hopkins University PressJohns Hopkins University PressThe Johns Hopkins University Press is the publishing division of the Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. The Press publishes books, journals, and electronic databases...
, 2000) - Adventures in the French Trade: Fragments Toward a Life (Stanford University PressStanford University PressThe Stanford University Press is the publishing house of Stanford University. In 1892, an independent publishing company was established at the university. The first use of the name "Stanford University Press" in a book's imprinting occurred in 1895...
, 2010)
In addition, Mehlman's numerous translations, beginning with his collection French Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
(Yale French Studies
Yale French Studies
Yale French Studies is an academic journal published biannually by Yale University Press and connected with the French department at Yale University. It was established in 1948 and is edited by Alyson Waters....
48, 1973), have played an important role in the naturalization of French thought in English.
Critical reception
A Structural Study of Autobiography was described by Tom Conley as “the first major English-language study incorporating structuralism as method and goal.” Revolution and Repetition was saluted by Paul de ManPaul de Man
Paul de Man was a Belgian-born deconstructionist literary critic and theorist.He began teaching at Bard College. Later, he completed his Ph.D. at Harvard University in the late 1950s...
as “one of the very brilliant and entertaining books of the last years” (back cover) and hailed as a “tour de force” by Gregory Ulmer
Gregory Ulmer
Gregory Leland Ulmer is a professor in the Department of English at the University of Florida and a professor of Electronic Languages and Cybermedia at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland.- Career :...
in his article on the “ten best experimental essays written in English in the category of ‘literary criticism’ in the past half-century”. Legacies: Of Anti-Semitism in France has been translated into French and Japanese and was the subject of a polemic involving the journals Tel Quel
Tel Quel
Tel Quel was an avant-garde magazine for literature, founded in 1960 in Paris by Philippe Sollers and Jean-Edern Hallier.-Overview:...
and La Quinzaine littéraire, spilling onto the first page of Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
, when it appeared in French in 1984. (Mehlman’s position in the book has since been vindicated in a volume by Jacques Henric. George Steiner
George Steiner
Francis George Steiner, FBA , is an influential European-born American literary critic, essayist, philosopher, novelist, translator, and educator. He has written extensively about the relationship between language, literature and society, and the impact of the Holocaust...
, reviewing Walter Benjamin
Walter Benjamin
Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin was a German-Jewish intellectual, who functioned variously as a literary critic, philosopher, sociologist, translator, radio broadcaster and essayist...
for Children in the Times Literary Supplement, saluted in the book “a scholastic acuity and wit resembling that of Benjamin himself,” hailing the “sparkle” of its “erudition and playful intelligence.” Finally, Stanley Hoffman wrote in Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs is an American magazine and website on international relations and U.S. foreign policy published since 1922 by the Council on Foreign Relations six times annually...
of Émigré New York that “previous attempts by literature professors to tackle culture have not always resulted in works as mind-stretching and entertaining as this.”
Awards
He has held both GuggenheimGuggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
and Fulbright
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...
Fellowships. In 1994, he was appointed Officer of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques by the French government.