Nathan A. Scott Jr. (24 April 1925 – December 2006) was an American scholar who helped establish the modern field of theology and literature and who helped found the well-known Ph.D. program in that field at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. Scott also published seventeen books, in addition to publishing articles and reviews and editing editions."Remembering Nathan Scott"
by Henry L. Carrigan, Jr. He has likewise been the subject of numerous articles and books. Scott's innovation in literary criticism was to reject the New Critics' idea that poems should be studied as autonomous objects and to remind scholars that authors' personal beliefs are crucial for understanding their texts; in this way, he also returned criticism to a study of the way literature represents the outside world. Scott earned his B.A. at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in 1944, his B.D. at

Union Theological Seminary Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (shortened to UTS or Union) is a Private college, private ecumenical liberal Christian seminary in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, affiliated with Columbia University since 1928. Presently, Co ...

in 1946, and his Ph.D. at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1949, having studied under

Lionel Trilling Lionel Mordecai Trilling (July 4, 1905 – November 5, 1975) was an American literary critic, short story writer, essayist, and teacher. He was one of the leading U.S. critics of the 20th century who analyzed the contemporary cultural, social, ...

Reinhold Niebuhr Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr (June 21, 1892 – June 1, 1971) was an American Reformed theologian, ethicist, commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor at Union Theological Seminary for more than 30 years. Niebuhr was one of Ameri ...

, and

Jacques Barzun Jacques Martin Barzun (; November 30, 1907 – October 25, 2012) was a French-born American historian known for his studies of the history of ideas and cultural history. He wrote about a wide range of subjects, including baseball, mystery novels, ...

. He served as dean of the chapel at

Virginia Union University Virginia Union University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Richmond, Virginia. History The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school as Rich ...

and was an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church. He taught at

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

in Washington, D.C.Fikes, Robert
Nathan A. Scott (1925-2006)
''

Callaloo Callaloo ( , ; many spelling variants, such as kallaloo, calaloo, calalloo, calaloux, or callalloo) is a plant used in popular dishes in many Caribbean countries, while for other Caribbean countries, a stew made with the plant is called call ...

'' 30.1 (2007): 10-12. He taught at Chicago from 1955 to 1977, when he moved to

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. He also served as a President of the

American Academy of Religion The American Academy of Religion (AAR) is the world's largest association of scholarly method, scholars in the List of academic disciplines, field of religious studies and related topics. It is a nonprofit member association, serving as a profess ...

References

Partial bibliography

*''Rehearsals of Discomposure. Alienation and Reconciliation in Modern Literature''. New York: King's Crown Press of Columbia University Press. 1952. *''The Broken Center. Studies in the Theological Horizon of Modern Literature''.

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day and Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...

. 1966. * *''The Poetics of Belief: Studies in

Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( ; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets with his friend William Wordsworth ...

Arnold Arnold may refer to: People * Arnold (given name), a masculine given name * Arnold (surname), a German and English surname Places Australia * Arnold, Victoria, a small town in the Australian state of Victoria Canada * Arnold, Nova Scotia U ...

, Pater, Santayana,

Stevens Stevens may refer to: People * Stevens (surname), including a list of people with the surname Given name * Stevens Baker (1791–1868), farmer and member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada * Stevens T. Mason (1811–1843), territorial ...

, and

Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; 26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976) was a German philosopher known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. His work covers a range of topics including metaphysics, art, and language. In April ...

''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. 1985. *''The Climate of Faith in Modern Literature''. New York: The Seabury Press. 1964. (editor)

External links

Religion and Literature at U Chicago's Divinity School
*Gerhart, Mary and Anthony C. Yu, eds. ''Morphologies of Faith: Essays in Religion and Culture in Honor of Nathan A. Scott Jr.'' Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1990.
"Remembering Nathan Scott"
by Henry L. Carrigan Jr. {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Nathan A., Jr. University of Chicago faculty Religious studies scholars American literary critics American Episcopal priests 1925 births 2006 deaths Columbia University alumni University of Michigan alumni Presidents of the American Academy of Religion 20th-century American Episcopalians 20th-century American clergy 20th-century African-American academics 20th-century American academics 21st-century African-American academics 21st-century American academics