Faculty

Humanities scholar elected as an honorary member of the Royal Irish Academy

Top row, far left: UChicago scholar James K. Chandler was one of 28 new members elected to the Royal Irish Academy on May 24, 2024.

For many years, Prof. James K. Chandler studied, researched, and taught the English side of literature, politics, and history. About 30 years ago, he realized there was a wholly different Irish perspective, which was equally worthy of study and teaching. Chandler started asking questions such as “What happens if we look at the Irish perspective on English literary history? What if we shift to understanding both the Irish and English sides of certain key dates in the historical chronical: 1603, 1641, 1688, 1798, 1916?”

For his seminal work on Irish literature and cinema in his books, articles, and lectures, Chandler was elected as an honorary member to the Royal Irish Academy on May 24. He is one of 28 new members from across all disciplines elected by their peers because their work has brought international recognition to Ireland.

Two Humanities Scholars to Receive 2024 Quantrell Awards

The transformative education offered at the University of Chicago begins in the classroom, with the teachers who inspire, engage and inform their students.

UChicago annually recognizes faculty for their incredible teaching and mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students through the Llewellyn John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Awards, believed to be the nation’s oldest prize for undergraduate teaching; and the Faculty Awards for Excellence in PhD Teaching and Mentoring, which honor faculty for their work with graduate students.

Learn more about this year’s recipients below:

Quantrell Awards: Fred Chong, Anton Ford, Michele Friedner, Nicholas Hatsopoulos and Chris Kennedy

Two Humanities scholars elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2024

Spring arrives at the University of Chicago quadrangles.

Six members of the University of Chicago faculty, which include two from the Division of the Humanities, have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies. They include Profs. Diane Brentari, Bonnie T. Fleming, Chuan He, Erik Hurst, Deborah L. Nelson and Amir Sufi.

These scholars have made breakthroughs in fields ranging from linguistics to particle physics to fundamental biology. They join the 2024 class, announced April 24, which includes 250 artists, scholars, scientists, and leaders in the public, nonprofit and private sectors.

UChicago scholar wins National Book Critics Circle Award

Tina Post, assistant professor in the Department of English Language and Literature, Committee on Theater and Performance Arts, and the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture at UChicago

Asst. Prof. Tina Post’s scholarship delves into racial performativity, especially the ways that Black Americans present their racial identity. For her distinctive perspectives about blackness and expressionlessness, Post recently received the National Book Critics Circle Award in the category of Criticism for her first book, Deadpan: The Aesthetics of Black Inexpression (2022). The National Book Critics Circle recognizes outstanding writing and cultivates a national conversation annually about its winners’ work.

It is unusual that scholars receive such a nationally prominent award for their first books. This award comes after Post received the Association for the Study of Arts of the Present Best Book Prize for Deadpan in December 2023.

“At the broadest level, I want to complicate how blackness is interpreted,” Post said.

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