Jane O. Newman, professor of comparative literature and European languages and studies at the University of California, Irvine, has been elected to the National Humanities Center’s Board of Trustees. The National Humanities Center is the world’s only independent institute dedicated exclusively to advanced study in all areas of the humanities. Governed by a distinguished Board of Trustees from academic, professional, and public life, the Center began operation in 1978 and offers programs to encourage excellence in scholarship, improve teaching, and increase public appreciation for, and engagement with, the humanities. During her three-year renewable term beginning July 1, 2017, Jane O. Newman will serve on the Public Engagement and Scholarly Programs committees.
“Jane O. Newman was an outstanding Fellow in the 2015-16 class of the NHC, the world's only independent institution dedicated exclusively to advanced research in the Humanities. Her prestige as a scholar makes her a welcome addition to our stellar Board of Trustees, which consists of 42 distinguished academics and corporate leaders. Given the challenges and complications we currently face, a humanities perspective is more crucial than ever in formulating comprehensive and thoughtful solutions,” said Robert D. Newman, president and director, National Humanities Center.
Jane O. Newman said, “My time as a fellow at the National Humanities Center was one of the most productive periods of my academic career. The ability to interact on a daily basis with scholars from across the disciplines in a truly collaborative way gave us all the opportunity to become more flexible thinkers. The intellectual generosity that is the signature feature of the NHC experience was exemplary. I hope that my work as a Trustee will help preserve and grow this culture.”
Jane O. Newman has taught Renaissance and early modern comparative studies at UC Irvine since 1983. During this time, she founded—and often teaches in—the Ph.D. emphasis in literary translation offered through the Department of Comparative Literature. She has also served as the director of the Program in Comparative Literature and as chair of the Department of European Languages and Studies. Newman is the author of Time, History, and Literature: Selected Essays of Erich Auerbach (Princeton University Press, 2014), which received critical praise, including the Modern Language Association of America’s Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for a Translation of a Scholarly Study, in addition to three books on the German 17th century. Newman has held Humboldt and Guggenheim fellowships and was a Fulbright Senior Scholar in Berlin in 2010–11. During 2015-16, she served as the M. H. Abrams Fellow at the National Humanities Center where she began work on her book project Auerbach’s Worlds: Early / Modern Mimesis between Religion and History. She now continues this book project for the Spring 2017 semester at the American Academy in Berlin with a Berlin Prize.
To learn more about the National Humanities Center, visit: http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org