Stephen Greenblatt

Stephen Jay Greenblatt, born November 7, 1943, in Boston, serves as the Cogan University Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University, where he has revolutionized literary criticism through founding New Historicism. After completing his education at Yale and Cambridge, he established himself as one of the preeminent Shakespeare scholars and Renaissance literature experts of our time. His influential works include fourteen books spanning Shakespeare studies, cultural history, and literary theory, with notable titles like "The Swerve: How the World Became Modern," which won both the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, and "Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare." As General Editor of The Norton Anthology of English Literature and The Norton Shakespeare, he has shaped literary education worldwide. His academic leadership extends to founding the journal Representations and developing innovative approaches to cultural criticism. His exceptional contributions have earned him prestigious honors including the 2016 Holberg Prize, membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the American Philosophical Society, and the British Academy. Beyond his scholarly work, he has held visiting professorships at universities across the globe, from Beijing to Bologna, while maintaining his position as a leading voice in humanities education and cultural analysis.