Doris Sommer
Ira Jewell Williams, Jr., Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and in African and African American Studies
Profile
Outside professional activities
Profile
Doris Sommer is Ira and Jewell Williams Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and of African and African American Studies. She is founder of "Cultural Agents," an Initiative at Harvard and an NGO dedicated to reviving the civic mission of the Humanities. Her academic and outreach work promotes development through arts and humanities worldwide, specifically through the “Arts and Policy Certificate,” for city governments to discover how participatory arts address urgent challenges; and “Pre-Texts,” a train-the-trainers program to support democracy through literacy, critical thinking, and creativity. Among her books are Foundational Fictions: The National Romances of Latin America (1991) about novels that helped to build new nations; Proceed with Caution when Engaged by Minority Literature (1999) on the difference positionality makes; Bilingual Aesthetics: A New Sentimental Education (2004) for our times of contested immigration; and The Work of Art in the World: Civic Agency and Public Humanities (2014). Sommer has enjoyed and is dedicated to developing good public-school education. She has a B.A. from New Jersey's Douglass College for Women, and Ph.D. from Rutgers University. Director of Cultural Agents, DRCLAS; American Studies; EMR; Public Service; Public Health; SAI;
Doris Sommer, Ira and Jewell Williams Professor, Harvard University
· Romance Languages & Literatures, African and African American Studies.
Boylston Hall 417, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 dsommer@fas.harvard.edu, Zoom: https://harvard.zoom.us/my/dorissommer
· Director of the Cultural Agents Initiative, culturalagents.org; pre-texts.org
· Bloomberg Center for Cities, Harvard University, renaissancenow-cai.org
Contact
Email: dsommer@fas.harvard.edu
Phone: (617) 495-5273
Additional Website: https://rll-faculty.fas.harvard.edu/dorissommer/home
Expertise
19th-Century Narrative in Latin American Women's Literature
Ethnic Literature
Bilingual Aesthetics
Ethnic Literature
Bilingual Aesthetics
Outside professional activities
Outside Professional Activities
In the spirit of transparency and integrity, Salata Institute Faculty Associates disclose publicly their key professional activities outside of Harvard University. The activities disclosed below are for the most recent reporting period, as defined by University policy. Some of the activities may be paid, some may be unpaid, and others may be in exchange for expense reimbursement only.
Outside Professional Activities For Doris Sommer
Organizations:
Relationships:
Cultural Agents, Inc.
Speaking engagement, invited lecture, or presentation
The Salata institute
The Salata Institute supports interdisciplinary research that leads to real-world action, including high-risk/high-reward projects by researchers already working in the climate area and new endeavors that make it easier for Harvard scholars, who have not worked on climate problems, to do so.