Joseph T. Skerrett (1943 – July 25, 2015) was an American

literary critic A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature' ...

and professor of English at the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

. Much of his work centers on

black studies Black studies or Africana studies (with nationally specific terms, such as African American studies and Black Canadian studies), is an interdisciplinary academic field that primarily focuses on the study of the history, culture, and politics of ...

, and his best-known book is the 2001 anthology '' Literature, Race and Ethnicity: Contesting American Identities''. With Amritjit Singh and Robert E. Hogan, he also edited two books on Memory in Ethnic American Literature in 1994 and 1996 respectively. Skerrett was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, in 1943, and earned a Bachelor's degree at Saint Francis College in 1964."UMass Amherst English Professor Joseph Skerrett Receives Honorary Degree"
UMass Amherst Press Release, July 14, 1998. He then earned an M.A. in creative writing at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

in 1965, and a Ph.D. in English at Yale University. His work at Yale focused on 20th century African-American literature."In Memoriam: Joseph T. Skerrett, 1943-2015"
''The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education'', Aug. 12, 2015. Skerrett joined the

University of Massachusetts, Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the Flagship university, flagship campus of the Univer ...

English Department in 1973. From 1986 to 1999, Skerrett edited the journal, ''MELUS: Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States'', which brought attention to a diversity of American literatures, and their "interfaces."Editors, Oxford University Press
"40 Years of ''MELUS''"
(2014).

Publications

* Editor, '' Literature, Race and Ethnicity: Contesting American Identities'' (Longman, 2001) * Editor, ''

MELUS ''The Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States'' (''MELUS'') is a scholarly society established in 1974. MELUS publishes a quarterly academic journal, ''MELUS''. The aim of the Society is "to expand the definition ...

'' (journal) * Co-Editor (with Amritjit Singh and Robert E. Hogan), ''Memory, Narrative and Identity: New Essays in Ethnic American Literatures''. Boston: Northwestern UP, 1994 *Co-Editor (with Amritjit Singh and Robert E. Hogan), ''Memory and Cultural Politics: New Approaches to American Ethnic Literatures'' Boston: Northeastern U P, 1996.

Awards

* UMass Chancellor's Award for Multiculturalism, 1996 * Honorary Doctorate of Literature, Saint Francis College, Brooklyn, New York, 1998

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skerrett, Joseph American academics of English literature American literary critics Black studies scholars 1943 births 2015 deaths Johns Hopkins University alumni Yale University alumni St. Francis College alumni