English Dept. adds two professors

In efforts to expand its breadth and fill positions recently vacated, the English Department will make two new senior appointments to join the faculty in the fall. They are Dr. Richard Halpern of the University of California at Berkeley and Dr. Simon During of the University of Melbourne in Australia.

"These are very distinguished and creative scholars," said English Department Chair Frances Ferguson.

Both Halpern and Simon were unavailable for comment.

After some recent departures of English professors, the department started looking for new professors by reading current articles and books in literary criticism and coming up with a list of people who were not only excellent academics, but who also would complement and mesh well with the rest of the department. Eventually, they decided on Halpern and During, who both accepted and will start teaching this fall.

"We did a lot of reading and discussed the work most interesting and that would best fit the needs of the department," said Ferguson.

Halpern is a specialist in early modern studies, particularly in the English Renaissance and Shakespeare. He received his PhD in English at Yale. He also has done extensive work in literary theory.

During has focused his research on cultural theory, post-colonialism, 18th-century drama and the history of popular culture. He also has done work in film and media and is interested in how American television and movies have become the most prominent export products of culture around the world. He received his PhD in English from Cambridge University in England.

"We are extremely enthusiastic about these appointments," said English Professor Jonathan Goldberg. "Both of them do things that the rest of us don't do which will add a great deal."

Contrary to other English departments around the country where new appointments can lead to ideological battles, most notably at Columbia University, the decisions on appointments were made communally and jointly by the entire department. Things went so smoothly that Ferguson said she was quite surprised how easily the process proceeded.

"I was pleased and amazed that it was not a problem at all, straight-forward as it was," she said.

For undergraduates, During will teach a course on the Post-Colonial Novel, while Halpern will teach about the works of Shakespeare.

Hopkins had offered Halpern a position several years ago after he had first accepted a position at the University of California at Berkeley. However, he decided to finally accept the offer after realizing he would like to return to the East Coast.

During visited Hopkins on a few occasions for colloquia and eventually decided he, too, would like to be a part of the faculty here.

In the future, the department hopes to add additional professors, including at least one African-American professor following the departure of Dr. Robert Reid-Pharr. These recent appointments are in response to some departures in recent years of other English professors from the University. These include John Guillory, Jerome Christensen and Walter Benn Michaels.

Professor Goldberg explained that the national reputation of the English Department at Johns Hopkins remains strong despite its relatively small size, and these appointments will only help to cement that position.

"They'll keep us at the nice high place where we are," he said.