John E. Bassett, Ph.D.

Originally a history major, President Bassett graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University. Becoming interested in "reading seriously" some time after graduation, he would eventually return to Ohio Wesleyan for a graduate degree in English. He would then go on to acquire a doctoral degree in Literature at the University of Rochester.

President Bassett's interests are varied. To date, he has published books on authors such as William Faulkner, Mark Twain, and William Dean Howells, (as well as others.) When asked about future endeavors, he responded that he is currently at work on a book about Sherwood Andersen. Although he has written most extensively on novelists, President Bassett has an intense interest in poetry. It is an interest that he might also pursue academically at a future date.

When asked about the importance of studying literature President Bassett had some interesting things to say. To a degree, he believes the study of literature has encompassed certain aspects of the social sciences. Changes in the subject have begun to focus more on "how" literature means as opposed to "what" literature means. English is becoming even more of an amorphous subject. We read and study literature for two basic reasons. First, for its own aesthetic value; we read it because it is valuable for its own sake. At the same time, we can learn from literature how a society develops and operates. He believes that if the former aesthetic principle were not at work, it would seem that, in the future, there would be fewer people formally studying the subject. Although he himself values greatly the study of literature for a critical evaluation of society, he is quick to point out that it was the aesthetic value of literature that got him interested in studying it seriously.

In a sense, President Bassett believes the taxonomy of "English major" has become less and less descriptive, the term itself denotes study in a wide variety of disciplines. The term "literature" has not held a large position on college campuses until the last hundred years. "English" as a discipline plays the roles now that departments of Theology, or Classics might have played at one time. He believes that a college would be greatly impoverished if literature departments did not remain "central players" in universities. Yet he is quick to point out that this is simply his opinion and that the next few generations of students, responding to changes in technology such as the Internet may not agree. As a strong believer in the "seamless ness" of all learning and knowledge, he believes the study of literature can teach us the nature of human experience just as history may teach us the nature of human experience. He believes a realization of this interconnectedness would be a desirable end.

Likewise, he also believes in the residential experience of talking about books and ideas, something that can take place on or off campus, "be it in the residence halls, or Wendy's Clark Brunch, a local tavern" or anywhere else. He adds that it would be nice to have something like a Harvard Yard style atmosphere outside the campus to facilitate these types of experiences. The exchange of ideas is something exciting, something that could aid in the realization of this "seamless ness of all learning and all knowledge."