Joseph Anthony Buttigieg II ( ; ; May 20, 1947 – January 27, 2019) was a Maltese-American literary scholar and translator. He served as William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of English at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

until his retirement in 2017, when he was named

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

. Buttigieg co-translated and co-edited the three-volume English edition of

Antonio Gramsci Antonio Francesco Gramsci ( , ; ; 22 January 1891 – 27 April 1937) was an Italian Marxist philosophy, Marxist philosopher, Linguistics, linguist, journalist, writer, and politician. He wrote on philosophy, Political philosophy, political the ...

's ''

Prison Notebooks The ''Prison Notebooks'' ( ) are a series of essays written by the Italian Marxism, Marxist Antonio Gramsci. Gramsci was imprisoned by the Italian Fascist regime in 1926. The notebooks were written between 1929 and 1935, when Gramsci was releas ...

''.

Early life and education

Buttigieg was the eldest of eight children born to Joseph Anthony and Maria Concetta Buttigieg () in

Ħamrun Hamrun ( ) is a town in the Southern Region, Malta, Southern Region of Malta, with a population of 9,244 as of March 2014. The people The townspeople are traditionally known as ''Tas-Sikkina'' (literally meaning 'of the knife' or 'those who ca ...

, Malta. He began his education in Ħamrun, completing undergraduate work and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

at the

University of Malta The University of Malta (, UM, formerly UOM) is a higher education institution in Malta. It offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, postgraduate master's degrees and postgraduate doctorates. It is a member of the European University Association, ...

. He earned a taught postgraduate degree, a

B.Phil. Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; or or ) is the title of an academic degree in philosophy that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's degrees, the ...

, from

Heythrop College Heythrop College, University of London, was a constituent college of the University of London between 1971 and 2018, last located in Kensington Square, London. It comprised the university's specialist faculties of philosophy and theology with soc ...

of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in English (1976; with a dissertation on

aesthetics Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Ph ...

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

's ''

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man ''A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man'' is the second book and first novel of Irish writer James Joyce, published in 1916. A ''Künstlerroman'' written in a modernist style, it traces the religious and intellectual awakening of young Ste ...

'') from

Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university in Binghamton metropolitan area, Greater Binghamton, New York, United States. It is one of the four uni ...

. He was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 1979.

Career and personal life

Buttigieg taught at

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...

at Las Cruces starting in 1976 and there met Jennifer Anne Montgomery, also a new faculty member. In 1980, they married and also joined the faculty of Notre Dame. Their son,

Pete Buttigieg Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg ( ; born January 19, 1982) is an American politician and former naval officer who served as the 19th United States Secretary of Transportation, United States secretary of transportation from 2021 to 2025. A me ...

, was elected as mayor of

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, ran for the Democratic nomination as presidential candidate in the 2020 election, and became the

Secretary of Transportation The United States secretary of transportation is the head of the United States Department of Transportation. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to transportation. The secre ...

under the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...

. Pete said in his first book, '' Shortest Way Home'', that his father was called racial slurs, even though he was European, because of his darker skin. Buttigieg specialized in modern European literature and

theory A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...

. He was translator and editor of the three-volume English edition of Marxist philosopher and politician

's ''

'', published from 1992 to 2007 with support from the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

. He was a founding member and president of the International Gramsci Society, founded to facilitate communication among those who study Gramsci. Buttigieg also served as chair of the English Department at Notre Dame and was promoted to William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of English. He took

emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

status upon retiring in 2017. He died on January 27, 2019.

Bibliography

*''Criticism Without Boundaries: Directions and Crosscurrents in Postmodern Critical Theory'' (

University of Notre Dame Press The University of Notre Dame Press is a university press that is part of the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. The press was founded in 1949, and claims to be the largest Catholic university press in the world. The ...

, 1987). *''A Portrait of the Artist in Different Perspective'' (

Ohio University Press Ohio University Press (OUP) is a university press associated with Ohio University. Founded in 1947, it is the oldest and largest scholarly press in the state of Ohio. Ohio University Press is also a member of the Association of University Presses ...

, 1987). * ed. with Carmel Borg and Peter Mayo, ''Gramsci and Education'' (

Rowman & Littlefield Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an American independent academic publishing company founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns ...

, 2002). * ed. with Thomas Kselman, ''European Christian Democracy: Historical Legacies and Comparative Perspectives'' (University of Notre Dame Press, 2003). * ed. and trans. ''Prison Notebooks'' (vols. 1–3) by Antonio Gramsci (

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...

, 1992–2007).

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buttigieg, Joseph 1947 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century Maltese writers 20th-century translators 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American translators Alumni of Heythrop College American academics of English literature American anti-capitalists American communists American literary theorists American Marxists American Marxist historians American Marxist writers American socialists Binghamton University alumni English-language writers from Malta Italian–English translators Italian-language writers from Malta Maltese emigrants to the United States Maltese Marxists Maltese socialists People from Ħamrun Naturalized citizens of the United States New Mexico State University faculty Pete Buttigieg University of Malta alumni University of Notre Dame faculty