(University of Wisconsin–Madison
A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...
), Memon was an accomplished scholar, translator, Urdu Short Story writer, and the editor of ''The Annual of Urdu Studies''.
Memon retired from the University of Wisconsin after 38 years of service but remained active as a scholar: besides working on translation of Urdu works into English, he served on the editorial board of '' Pakistaniaat: A Journal of Pakistan Studies'' and was also an advisor to the Urdu Project.
Biography
Memon was born in Aligarh, India in 1939. In 1954, his family moved to Karachi, Pakistan where he earned his bachelor's and master's degrees. After his graduation, he taught at Sachal Sarmast College and Sind University. In 1964 he won a
Fulbright scholarship
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
to the United States. This move enabled him to earn a master's degree from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
and eventually a doctorate in Islamic Studies from
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
. Memon joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1970 and retired from there after 38 years of service. At UW he taught Urdu, Islamic Studies as well courses in Arabic and Persian.
Scholarly and creative work
While a complete list of his scholarly and creative works can be found on his website, some major works are listed below:
*
*''Studies in the Urdu Gazal and Prose Fiction''. Madison: University of Wisconsin press, 1979.
*
*
*English translations of many of
Naiyer Masud
Naiyer Masud (1936 – 24 July 2017) was an Indian Urdu scholar and short story writer.
Early life and education
Masud was born in Lucknow and spent nearly all his life there, working until his retirement as a Professor of Persian at Lucknow Un ...
's Urdu short stories, including the volumes
Essence of Camphor
Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it ...
and
The Snake Catcher
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
References
External links
The Annual of Urdu Studies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Memon, Muhammad Umar
Pakistani educational theorists
Pakistani literary critics
People from Aligarh
1939 births
2018 deaths
Harvard University alumni
Memon people
Academic staff of the University of Sindh