Alfred Owen Aldridge (December 16, 1915 – January 29, 2005) was a professor of French and comparative literature, founder-editor of the journal ''

Comparative Literature Studies ''Comparative Literature Studies'' (CLS) is an academic journal in the field of comparative literature. It publishes essays ranging across the traditions of Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America. Articles also explore movements, themes ...

'', and author of books on a wide range of literature studies.

Career

He was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

on December 16, 1915. He was awarded degrees by

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

, the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

for his M.S., and Duke University where he took his Ph.D. In 1952-1953 he had started the

Fulbright Program 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 o ...

in France, which led to his undertaking a second doctorate, on the subject of "La Littérature Comparée" which he completed at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

in 1955. Following his doctorates he was employed in the department of English at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

, then in 1967 became professor of French and comparative literature at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

. He published widely and became well known as a pioneer of colonial American literary studies and as an explorer of east–west literary relations. He served as president of the

American Comparative Literature Association The American Comparative Literature Association (ACLA) is the principal learned society in the United States for scholars whose work connects several different literary traditions and cultures or that examines the premises of cross-cultural liter ...

. In 1963 together with Melvin J. Friedman he founded the journal ''

'', which he edited or co-edited for many years. He retired in 1986 and died on January 29, 2005.

Legacy

The '' A. Owen Aldridge Prize'' was established in his memory.

Honors

Following his retirement his lifetime's work was awarded the unusual honor by his colleagues of three

festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

s: * * *

Works

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

A. Owen Aldridge Prize details at CLS
1915 births 2005 deaths University of Maryland, College Park faculty {{US-academic-bio-stub