Stephen Clingman

Stephen Clingman is Distinguished University Professor of English and former Director of the Interdisciplinary Studies Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He was Chair of the English Department from 1994-2000, and was founding Director of the Interdisciplinary Studies Institute (and its earlier incarnation, the Interdisciplinary Seminar in the Humanities and Fine Arts) from 2001-2017. 

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Stephen was born and grew up in South Africa where he studied as an undergraduate at the University of the Witwatersrand. He won a scholarship to Oxford University, where he received his doctorate in 1983. He has held fellowships at a variety of institutions internationally, including Yale University, Cornell University, the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies, and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

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Stephen has written widely on South African literature, on postcolonial and transnational fiction, and his books also include an award-winning biography and a memoir. Current projects include work on issues of refuge, dwelling, and belonging as well as the catalogue for a forthcoming exhibition by the renowned South African artist, William Kentridge. 

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For those with a professional interest, here’s a link to Stephen's CV.