Michael Warner
Encyclopedia
Michael Warner is a literary critic, social theorist, and Seymour H. Knox Professor of English Literature and American Studies at Yale University
. He also writes for Art Forum, The Nation
, The Advocate
, and The Village Voice
. He is the author of Publics and Counterpublics, The Trouble With Normal: Sex, Politics, and the Ethics of Queer Life
, The English Literatures of America, 1500-1800, Fear of a Queer Planet, and The Letters of the Republic. He also edited The Portable Walt Whitman and American Sermons: The Pilgrims to Martin Luther King, Jr.
Earlier in his career, Warner taught at Northwestern University
and then at Rutgers University
. He received his Ph.D. in English from Johns Hopkins University
in 1985.
Warner, who is gay
, is highly influential in the fields of Early American literature
, social theory
, and queer theory
. His first book, The Letters of the Republic: Publication and the Public Sphere in Eighteenth-Century America, established him as a leading scholar in Early American literature, print culture, and public sphere
theory. He later became a public figure in the gay community
for his book The Trouble with Normal
, in which Warner contended that queer theory
and the ethics of a queer life serve as critiques of existing social and economic structures, not just as critique of heterosexuality and heterosexual society. His most recent work, Publics and Counterpublics is a collection of essays on the politics of communication in advanced capitalistic societies, or Habermasian public sphere
theory.
Warner is currently working on the history of secularism
in early America, from the early eighteenth century to the Civil War, culminating with the work of Walt Whitman
, a writer on whom many of his interests converge.
Warner is, along with Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
and Judith Butler
, considered one of the founders of queer theory
.
He lives in New York City
; New Haven, Connecticut
; and Barton, Vermont.
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. He also writes for Art Forum, The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
, The Advocate
The Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
, and The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
. He is the author of Publics and Counterpublics, The Trouble With Normal: Sex, Politics, and the Ethics of Queer Life
The Trouble With Normal (book)
The Trouble with Normal: Sex, Politics, and the Ethics of Queer Life is a non-fiction book that discusses the role of same-sex marriage as a goal for gay rights activists, written by Michael Warner. It was published in 1999 by The Free Press, an imprint of Simon and Schuster. It was re-published in...
, The English Literatures of America, 1500-1800, Fear of a Queer Planet, and The Letters of the Republic. He also edited The Portable Walt Whitman and American Sermons: The Pilgrims to Martin Luther King, Jr.
Earlier in his career, Warner taught at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
and then at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
. He received his Ph.D. in English from 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...
in 1985.
Warner, who is gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, is highly influential in the fields of Early American literature
American literature
American literature is the written or literary work produced in the area of the United States and its preceding colonies. For more specific discussions of poetry and theater, see Poetry of the United States and Theater in the United States. During its early history, America was a series of British...
, social theory
Social theory
Social theories are theoretical frameworks which are used to study and interpret social phenomena within a particular school of thought. An essential tool used by social scientists, theories relate to historical debates over the most valid and reliable methodologies , as well as the primacy of...
, and queer theory
Queer theory
Queer theory is a field of critical theory that emerged in the early 1990s out of the fields of LGBT studies and feminist studies. Queer theory includes both queer readings of texts and the theorisation of 'queerness' itself...
. His first book, The Letters of the Republic: Publication and the Public Sphere in Eighteenth-Century America, established him as a leading scholar in Early American literature, print culture, and public sphere
Public sphere
The public sphere is an area in social life where individuals can come together to freely discuss and identify societal problems, and through that discussion influence political action...
theory. He later became a public figure in the gay community
Gay community
The gay community, or LGBT community, is a loosely defined grouping of LGBT and LGBT-supportive people, organizations and subcultures, united by a common culture and civil rights movements. These communities generally celebrate pride, diversity, individuality, and sexuality...
for his book The Trouble with Normal
The Trouble With Normal (book)
The Trouble with Normal: Sex, Politics, and the Ethics of Queer Life is a non-fiction book that discusses the role of same-sex marriage as a goal for gay rights activists, written by Michael Warner. It was published in 1999 by The Free Press, an imprint of Simon and Schuster. It was re-published in...
, in which Warner contended that queer theory
Queer theory
Queer theory is a field of critical theory that emerged in the early 1990s out of the fields of LGBT studies and feminist studies. Queer theory includes both queer readings of texts and the theorisation of 'queerness' itself...
and the ethics of a queer life serve as critiques of existing social and economic structures, not just as critique of heterosexuality and heterosexual society. His most recent work, Publics and Counterpublics is a collection of essays on the politics of communication in advanced capitalistic societies, or Habermasian public sphere
Public sphere
The public sphere is an area in social life where individuals can come together to freely discuss and identify societal problems, and through that discussion influence political action...
theory.
Warner is currently working on the history of secularism
Secularism
Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
in early America, from the early eighteenth century to the Civil War, culminating with the work of Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman
Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
, a writer on whom many of his interests converge.
Warner is, along with Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick was an American academic scholar in the fields of gender studies, queer theory , and critical theory. Her critical writings helped create the field of queer studies...
and Judith Butler
Judith Butler
Judith Butler is an American post-structuralist philosopher, who has contributed to the fields of feminism, queer theory, political philosophy, and ethics. She is a professor in the Rhetoric and Comparative Literature departments at the University of California, Berkeley.Butler received her Ph.D...
, considered one of the founders of queer theory
Queer theory
Queer theory is a field of critical theory that emerged in the early 1990s out of the fields of LGBT studies and feminist studies. Queer theory includes both queer readings of texts and the theorisation of 'queerness' itself...
.
He lives in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
; New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
; and Barton, Vermont.
Works
- The Portable Walt Whitman, Edited by Michael Warner (New York: Penguin, 2003).
- Publics and Counterpublics (Cambridge: Zone Books, 2002).
- The Trouble with NormalThe Trouble With Normal (book)The Trouble with Normal: Sex, Politics, and the Ethics of Queer Life is a non-fiction book that discusses the role of same-sex marriage as a goal for gay rights activists, written by Michael Warner. It was published in 1999 by The Free Press, an imprint of Simon and Schuster. It was re-published in...
(New York: The Free Press, 1999; Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 2000). - American Sermons: The Pilgrims to Martin Luther King, Jr. (New York: Library of America, 1999).
- The English Literatures of America (Routledge, 1997) with Myra Jehlen.
- Fear of a Queer Planet: Queer Politics and Social Theory (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1993).
- The Letters of the Republic: Publication and the Public Sphere in Eighteenth-Century America (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1990).