John Glavin (academic)

John Glavin (born 1943) is an American academic and Professor of English at Georgetown University. A Victorianist, he specialized in the works of Charles Dickens, and later in his career developed an academic interest in literary adaptations for film and television. As a result of his research interests, his courses include an emphasis on techniques in screenwriting. He has been a member of the Georgetown faculty since 1967, and also directed the Georgetown Office of Fellowships, Awards, and Research.

John Glavin
Born	1943 (age 82–83)
Occupation	Professor of English
Academic background
Education	Georgetown University (BA) Bryn Mawr College (PhD)
Academic work
Discipline	Victorian literature
Sub-discipline	Literary adaptation
Institutions	Georgetown University

Glavin's approach to literature and teaching methodology has been cited as an influence by several students who have pursued careers as writers, mostly in the film industry.

Education

Glavin has spent the vast majority of his life and academic career affiliated with Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He graduated with a BA in English in 1964 before attending Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, where he completed an MA and PhD. In 1967, returned to his alma mater to join the faculty of the College of Arts & Sciences in the English department.

Academic career

His doctoral dissertation and subsequent publications focused on Victorian literature, especially Dickens. Through examining the numerous screen adaptations of works by Dickens, Glavin's academic focus shifted to examining how literature is adapted for the screen.

Influences

Former students who have identified Glavin's courses as foundational to their success as working professionals in the entertainment and writing industry include Jonathan Nolan, Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Mike Birbiglia, Zal Batmanglij, Brit Marling, Andrew Morrison and R. F. Kuang. Nolan's Academy Award-nominated Memento includes the character named "John G." as a reference to the professor, who Nolan regarded as a mentor who formed the basis for him to pursue writing professionally.

Publications

Book length:

• After Dickens: Reading, Adaptation and Performance (Cambridge, 1999)
• Dickens on Screen (Edited volume, Cambridge University Press, 2003)
• Dickens Adapted (Ashgate, 2012)
• Death at the Edges (2017)
• The Good New (Vellum, 2018)

Short publications, chapters and reviews:

• "The Mandelbaum Gate: Muriel Spark's Apocalyptic Gag." Muriel Spark: 21st Century Perspectives, 29. Baltimore MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010.
• Review of: 'Contemporary Dickens'. Victorian Studies (2009): 5.