Benjamin T. (Townley) Spencer (1904–1996) was a scholar of American literature and a professor at

Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio. It was founded in 1842 by methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five – a consortium ...

. He graduated from

Kentucky Wesleyan College Kentucky Wesleyan College (KWC) is a private Methodist college in Owensboro, Kentucky. The college is known for its liberal arts programs. Fall 2018 enrollment was 830 students. History Kentucky Wesleyan College was founded in 1858 by the Kent ...

, and received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

. Spencer wrote widely on American literature and on Shakespeare but is best remembered for his great book, The Quest for American Nationality; An American Literary Campaign (1957.) In 2008, Robert Milder described it as, “an informed and still eminently serviceable account of the multifront ‘campaign’ for a national literature.” The annual The Benjamin T. Spencer Lecture is given at

in his memory and the Benjamin T. Spencer Professorship in Literature is named in his honor.OWU Online , English , The Benjamin T. Spencer Lecture
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Books

* The Quest for Nationality: An American Literary Campaign (1959) * Patterns of Nationality: Twentieth-Century Literary Versions of America (1981)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Benjamin T. American literary critics 1904 births 1996 deaths 20th-century American non-fiction writers