Theodore Joseph Ziolkowski
- Born:
- September 4, 1932, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
- Died:
- December 5, 2020, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
- Nationality:
- American
- Profession(s):
- Literary Critic, Germanist, Scholar
Early Life and Education
- Received a B.A. from Duke University in 1951.
- Earned a Ph.D. from Yale University in 1954.
- Served in the U.S. Army, stationed in Germany.
Career and Major Achievements
- Professor of German and Comparative Literature at Yale University (1954-1969).
- Dean of the Graduate School at Yale University (1966-1969).
- Professor of German and Comparative Literature at Princeton University (1969-1996).
- Dean of the Graduate School at Princeton University (1979-1989).
- Senior Scholar at the Council of the Humanities at Princeton University (1996-2020).
- Guggenheim Fellow (1963, 1977).
- Alexander von Humboldt Senior Scientist Award.
Notable Works
- Hermann Broch (1964)
- Disenchanted Images: A Literary Iconology (1977)
- The Classical German Elegy, 1795-1950 (1980)
- Varieties of Literary Thematics (1983)
- German Romanticism and Its Institutions (1990)
- Virgil and the Moderns (2005)
- Uses and Abuses of Moses: Literary Representations Since the Enlightenment (2015)
- Minos and the Moderns: Cretan Myth in Twentieth-Century Literature and Art (2019)
Legacy and Impact
The biography of Theodore Ziolkowski highlights his substantial contribution to the fields of German studies and comparative literature. His work significantly shaped the understanding of literary thematics, German Romanticism, and the influence of classical literature on modern works. He leaves behind a legacy of scholarly excellence and dedicated mentorship.