Louise Cowan born Louise Shillingburg (born December 1916), is a Texas-born critic and teacher, and wife of the late physicist, teacher, and university president Donald Cowan (author of Unbinding Prometheus). In the past, she has taught at Texas Christian University

Texas Christian University

Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...

 and Thomas More College of Liberal Arts

Thomas More College of Liberal Arts

The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts is located in Merrimack, New Hampshire. The college emphasizes classical education in the Roman Catholic intellectual tradition and is named after Thomas More. The school has approximately 100 students.-Founding:...

. Cowan lives in Dallas, where she continues to teach both at the University of Dallas

University of Dallas

The University of Dallas is a private, independent Catholic regional university located in Irving, Texas, established in 1956, which is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. According to U.S...

 and the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture. She is a prominent figure in Dallas society as a mentor and friend to many Dallas dignitaries and as one of the city's leading intellectuals.

Cowan has been vastly influential in the fostering of the liberal arts, helping shape core curricula for several liberal arts universities. In studies of the American South, she is an influential critic of Faulkner, the Fugitive Group, and other Southern writers. A doctoral student of Donald Davidson

Donald Davidson (poet)

Donald Grady Davidson was a U.S. poet, essayist, social and literary critic, and author...

 at Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...

, she became a friend to members of the Southern Agrarians

Southern Agrarians

The Southern Agrarians were a group of twelve American writers, poets, essayists, and novelists, all with roots in the Southern United States, who joined together to write a pro-Southern agrarian manifesto, a...

, and is considered to be the critical heir to their legacy. Her criticism has influenced many who continue to write about the South

Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

. In 1991, she was a recipient of the Frankel Prize. In 2010, she was named on a list of the twenty most brilliant living Christian professors.