Barbara Herrnstein Smith (born 1932) is an American

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

and

theorist A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may be s ...

, best known for her work ''Contingencies of Value: Alternative Perspectives for Critical Theory''. She is currently the

Braxton Craven Braxton Craven (August 22, 1822 – November 7, 1882) was an American educator. He served as the second president of the institution that became Duke University from 1842 to 1863 and then again from 1866 to 1882. The institution was known as Unio ...

Professor of Comparative Literature and English and director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in Science and Cultural Theory at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

, and also Distinguished Professor of English at

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

Biography

Smith briefly studied at

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

, studying biology, experimental psychology, and philosophy. She then earned her B.A. (''summa cum laude'') in 1954 and her Ph.D. from

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , pro ...

. Brandeis University reports Smith earned her doctorate in 1965, and Duke University reports she earned her doctorate in 1963. From 1961 to 1973, Smith taught at

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont. Founded in 1932 as a women's college, it became co-educational in 1969. It claims to be the first college to include visual and performing arts as an equal partner in ...

. She accepted a faculty position at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1973. In 1987 she joined the

faculty, and also joined

in 2003. Smith has also occupied numerous short-term and honorary posts. She was a fellow at the

Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) is an interdisciplinary research lab at Stanford University that offers a residential postdoctoral fellowship program for scientists and scholars studying "the five core social a ...

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

and at the Institute for Advanced Study in

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

Scholarship and work

Smith is a well-known writer, most particularly for her 1983 work on

critical theory A critical theory is any approach to social philosophy that focuses on society and culture to reveal, critique and challenge power structures. With roots in sociology and literary criticism, it argues that social problems stem more from soci ...

, ''Contingencies of Value: Alternative Perspectives for Critical Theory''. In this work, she attempts to situate the various liberal, conservative, and other views of "values" within her "metametatheory" of contingencies, an

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

-influenced theoretical approach. She uses her theory to address literary, aesthetic, and other types of values, attempting to discern whether any objective standards may be applied. Other works include ''Poetic Closure: A Study of How Poems End'', ''Belief and Resistance: Dynamics of Contemporary Intellectual Controversy'', and an edition of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's sonnets; she has published numerous books and articles on

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

, and

. In recent years she has been doing considerable work on science and the humanities, including ''Scandalous Knowledge'' and her 2006

Terry lectures The Dwight H. Terry Lectureship, also known as the Terry Lectures, was established at Yale University in 1905 by a gift from Dwight H. Terry of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Its purpose is to engage both scholars and the public in a consideration of rel ...

at Yale, ''Natural Reflections: Human Cognition at the Nexus of Science and Religion.''

Published works

*''Discussion of Shakespeare's Sonnets'' (ed.) (1964) *'' Poetic Closure: A Study of How Poems End'' (1968) *''Shakespeare's Sonnets'' (ed.) (1969) *''On the Margins of Discourse: The Relation of Literature to Language'' (1978) *'' Contingencies of Value: Alternative Perspectives for Critical Theory'' (1988) *''The Politics of Liberal Education'' (ed., with Darryl J. Gless) (1991) *''Mathematics, Science, and Postclassical Theory'' (ed., with Arkady Plotnitsky) (1997) *''Belief and Resistance: Dynamics of Contemporary Intellectual Controversy'' (1997) *''Scandalous Knowledge: Science, Truth and the Human'' (2006) *''Natural Reflections: Human Cognition at the Nexus of Science and Religion'' (Terry Lectures) (2010) *''Practicing Relativism in the Anthropocene: On Science, Belief, and the Humanities'' (2018)

Awards and recognitions

* Christian Gauss Award for ''Poetic Closure'',

Phi Beta Kappa Society The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ar ...

(1968) * Explicator Award (1968) for ''Poetic Closure'' *

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

(1977) * Fellow,

(1986) * Member,

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholar ...

(1986–1987) * President,

Modern Language Association The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "st ...

(1988) * Honorary Mention for ''Contingencies of Value'',

American Association of University Professors The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States. AAUP membership includes over 500 local campus chapters and 39 state organizations. The AAUP's stated mission is ...

(1989) * "Best Special Issue" for "The Politics of Liberal Education" in ''South Atlantic Quarterly'',

The Council of Editors of Learned Journals The Council of Editors of Learned Journals emerged from a series of informal gatherings of editors at the Modern Language Association of America (MLA). The gatherings were concerned with the same issues that are the subject matter of the organizatio ...

(1990) * Fellow,

National Humanities Center The National Humanities Center (NHC) is an independent institute for advanced study in the humanities. The NHC operates as a privately incorporated nonprofit and is not part of any university or federal agency. The center was planned under the auspi ...

(1992–1993) * Critic's Choice Award for ''The Politics of Liberal Education'', The American Educational Studies Association (1992) * Fellow, The Davis Center for Historical Studies at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

(1992-1993) * Fellow, The Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center (1995) * Fellow (elected),

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

(1999) * Honorary Fellow,

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

(2001) * Dwight H. Terry Lecturer,

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

(2006) * Lifetime Achievement Award, The

Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts The Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts (SLSA) is a United States-based academic organization whose members "share an interest in problems of science and representation, and in the cultural and social dimensions of science, technology, a ...

(2010)

References

* Klingenstein, Suzanne (1 March 2009)
"Literature Scholars in the United States".
''Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia.'' Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved 20 July 2014.

External links