History of the Albert Schweitzer Chair in the Humanities

The Albert Schweitzer Chair covers the disciplines of comparative literature and the history of ideas. Professors who have held this position have traditionally emphasized through their scholarship and teaching an emphasis on the relevance of the humanities to present-day concerns and the nature and quality of interracial awareness.

At New York University a faculty committee was formed to select the first Albert Schweitzer Professor. The committee chose Conor Cruise O'Brien, who was announced as the inaugural Albert Schweitzer Chair in the Humanities on June 2, 1965. Professor O'Brien held the chair from 1965 to 1969. Following O'Brien's term, Ralph Ellison held the chair from 1971 to 1979. Professor Aileen Ward held the position from 1979-1990.

Conor Cruise O'Brien was formerly the United Nations Representative in Kantanga, Africa, and also served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana. His published works include Power and Consciousness, (co-editor);  United Nations : Sacred Drama; "Introduction to Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France"; and numerous articles in  The New York Review of Books,  The New York Times Book Review, and  The Listener. While he occupied the Albert Schweitzer Chair, he organized and participated in the annual Schweitzer Public Lecture Series, taught both graduate and undergraduate courses annually, and lectured throughout the country.

The funding for the Albert Schweitzer Chair also allowed for visiting scholars and writers to be brought to New York University. Professor O'Brien built a strong interdisciplinary program in the humanities that offered four or five courses per semester on topics such as "Art and Politics," "The Black Writer in America," "Contemporary Writing in Africa," and "Revolution and Literature."

While Professor O'Brien was at New York University he was responsible for bringing numerous scholars to lecture, read, or teach. A list of participants in the program during O'Brien's term follows the box and folder listings. In 1969 O'Brien left the Schweitzer Chair to take an elected seat in the Irish Parliament.

Successive chair holders brought their own special talents and interests to the Schweitzer Program. Ralph Ellison, chair holder from 1971-1979, is primarily a writer of fiction and criticism. His special interest is modern American writing, including literature, poetry, linguistics and politics. Besides his National Book Award-winning novel, The Invisible Man, he has written essays, short stories, articles, book reviews, syndicated columns and novels. While he was at New York University, under the auspices of the Schweitzer Chair, he developed an educational program for both the University community and the public, which included public lectures, symposia, discussions, seminars, graduate and undergraduate interdisciplinary courses and lectures by distinguished visitors. His first course at New York University, entitled "The American Vernacular as Symbolic Action," focused on the role played by the American vernacular language and style in shaping American culture and society. In the early 1970s the Chair sponsored a series of lectures for a national audience on "Law and Morality," which was widely televised. Professor Ellison brought many poets to New York University for readings and conferences, and in 1977 he organized a panel discussion with eminent Yugoslavian scholars. Professor Ellison served as a consultant to students in creative writing, doctoral students, and served on oral examination committees. He taught courses in the English Department as well as undergraduate and graduate interdisciplinary courses and was actively involved in University and community-related activities.

Some of the other courses offered by the Schweitzer Program during Ellison's term were "American Fiction and American Democracy" (taught by Anatole Broyard, and "Writers who Reshaped the American Experience After World War II" (taught by Professor Ellison). For a synopsis of Professor Ellison's activities see his summary, titled "Schweitzer Program in the Humanities," April 23, 1973 (Box 3, Folder 1).

Professor Aileen Ward was the chair holder of the Albert Schweitzer Program from 1979 to 1990. A widely published and distinguished scholar, she authored several books and many articles. Areas of interest included English romantic literature and poetic theory; literature and mythology; literature and psychology; and literary biography. In the early 1980s the Schweitzer Program combined resources with the Poetics Institute (M.L. Rosenthal, founder) to provide special events open to the public. A list of those who have participated in events organized by Professor Ward in the early 1980s is included as an appendix following the box and folder listings.