Richard_Ohmann

Richard Ohmann

Richard Ohmann

American literary critic (1931–2021)


Richard Malin Ohmann (July 11, 1931  October 8, 2021) was an American literary critic.

Richard Malin Ohmann was born on July 11, 1931, in Shaker Heights, Ohio.[1][2] He received a bachelor's degree in literature from Oberlin College in 1952 and a master's and doctorate from Harvard University in 1954 and 1960, respectively.[1][2]

He began teaching at Wesleyan University in 1961, where he was the associate provost from 1966 to 1969.[1] He was a full professor of English from 1966 and was named the Benjamin Waite Professor of the English Language at some point.[3][2] Ohmann held a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1964–65.[2][4]

Ohmann was a Marxist.[5] At Wesleyan, he taught a course called "Economics of Fiction".[6] In the late 1970s he designed and oversaw a Wesleyan course called "Towards a Socialist America."[7]

Ohmann died on October 8, 2021, in Hawley, Massachusetts.[1]

Books

  • Shaw: The Style and the Man. Wesleyan University Press. 1962. OCLC 362085.[8]
  • English in America: A Radical View of the Profession. Oxford University Press. 1976. OCLC 1978095. (one chapter by Wallace W. Douglas)[9]
  • Politics of Letters. Wesleyan University Press. 1987. ISBN 978-0-8195-5175-7. OCLC 15198215.[10]
  • Selling Culture: Magazines, Markets, and Class at the Turn of the Century. Verso Books. 1996. ISBN 978-1-85984-974-3. OCLC 33403761.[11]

References

  1. Risen, Clay (November 3, 2021). "Richard M. Ohmann, 90, Dies; Brought Radical Politics to College English". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  2. "Ohmann, Richard (Malin) 1931–". Contemporary Authors. Vol. 13–16. Gale. November 1975. p. 605. ISBN 0-8103-0027-3. OCLC 760318060.
  3. "Ohmann Remembered For Transforming University Life and Culture". Wesleyan University. October 14, 2021. Archived from the original on October 31, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  4. "John Simon Guggenheim Foundation | Richard M. Ohmann". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  5. "Politics of Letters". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on November 4, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  6. Miller, Laura (October 1, 1980). "Author cites 'Economics of Fiction'". The Capital Times. Archived from the original on November 4, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2021 via Newspapers.com.
  7. Wallenstein, James (December 27, 2021). "Richard Ohmann: The Radical Professor Who Enraged the Right". Politico.
  8. Reviews of Shaw:
  9. Reviews of English in America:
  10. Reviews of Politics of Letters:
  11. Reviews of Selling Culture:

Further reading



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