Lee Edelman (born 1953) is an American literary critic and academic. He is a professor of English at Tufts University.[1] He is the author of several books.[2]
Lee Edelman | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1953 (age 72–73) |
| Alma mater | Northwestern University Yale University |
Early life
editLee Edelman was born in 1953.[3] He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University, and he received an MA, MPhil, and PhD from Yale University.[1]
Career
editEdelman began his academic career as a scholar of twentieth-century American poetry. He has since become active in the field of queer theory, exploring the intersections of sexuality, rhetorical theory, cultural politics, and film. At Tufts University, he holds an appointment as the Fletcher Professor of English Literature and has served as the Chair of the English Department.[1]
He gained international recognition for his books about queer theory, post-structuralism, psychoanalytic theory, and cultural studies.[1] His first book, Transmemberment of Song: Hart Crane's Anatomies of Rhetoric and Desire, is a critique of Hart Crane's poetry. His second book, Homographesis: Essays in Gay Literary and Cultural Theory, explores the significance of gay literature.[4] His third book, No Future: Queer Theory and the Death Drive, is a post-Lacanian analysis of queer theory.[5][6] He co-wrote Sex, or the Unbearable with Lauren Berlant.[4] His fourth solo book, Bad Education: Why Queer Theory Teaches Us Nothing, rejects the Lacanian conception of education and instead pursues a different queer pedagogy.[7]
Edelman's work has been contentious in queer theory, with José Esteban Muñoz's Cruising Utopia polemicizing against his "queer negativity."[citation needed] A 2005 Modern Language Association conference held a special symposium on the subject, with participants Robert L. Caserio, Lee Edelman, Jack Halberstam, José Esteban Muñoz, and Tim Dean debating the utility of the critique of reproductive futurism.[8]
He was the co-founding editor of Duke University Press's Theory Q series in 2014, and remains a series editor.[2][9]
Personal life
editEdelman is married to critic and English professor Joseph Litvak.[10][citation needed]
Bibliography
editBooks
edit- Transmemberment of Song: Hart Crane's Anatomies of Rhetoric and Desire. Stanford University Press. 1987. ISBN 9780804714136.
- Homographesis: Essays in Gay Literary and Cultural Theory. New York: Routledge. 1994. ISBN 9780415902588.
- No Future: Queer Theory and the Death Drive. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. 2004. ISBN 9780822333593.
- Sex, or the Unbearable. With Lauren Berlant. Durham: Duke University Press. 2014. ISBN 978-0-8223-5580-9.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - Bad Education: Why Queer Theory Teaches Us Nothing. Durham: Duke University Press. 2022. ISBN 978-1-4780-1597-0.
Selected articles
edit- "An Ethics of Desubjectivation?". differences. 27 (3). December 2016. doi:10.1215/10407391-3696679.
- "Learning Nothing: Bad Education". differences. 28 (1). May 2017. doi:10.1215/10407391-3821724.
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 "Lee Edelman". Department of English. Tufts University. Retrieved 2026-06-01.
- 1 2 Bagherli, Omid (2025-05-23). "An Interview with Lee Edelman". POSTMODERN CULTURE. Retrieved 2026-06-01.
- ↑ Edelman, Lee (2019). "The Future is Kid Stuff". Adventures in Theory: A Compact Anthology. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 269. ISBN 978-1-5013-3632-4.
- 1 2 Adelman, Abilene (October 7, 2025). "Get to know Lee Edelman, English professor and pioneer in queer theory". The Tufts Daily. Retrieved 2026-06-01.
- ↑ Johnson, Michael (December 2007). "No Future: Queer Theory and the Death Drive". Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society. 12 (4): 404–406. doi:10.1057/palgrave.pcs.2100136. ISSN 1088-0763.
- ↑ Fisher, Mark (2007-09-01). "Reproductive Futurism and the Politics of the Death Drive". Frieze. No. 109. ISSN 0962-0672. Retrieved 2026-06-01.
- ↑ Love, Heather (17 November 2023). "Heather Love reviews Bad Education". Critical Inquiry. University of Chicago. Retrieved 2026-06-01.
- ↑ Caserio, Robert L.; Edelman, Lee; Halberstam, Judith; Muñoz, José Esteban; Dean, Tim (2006). "The Antisocial Thesis in Queer Theory". PMLA. 121 (3): 819–828. doi:10.1632/pmla.2006.121.3.819. ISSN 0030-8129. JSTOR 25486357.
- ↑ "Theory Q". Duke University Press. Retrieved 2026-06-01.
- ↑ "Lawrence Litvak Obituary". The Denver Post. 2023-10-24. Retrieved 2026-06-01.