Biography

At UCLA, he served as Head of the Scandinavian Section for three years, Chair of Comparative Literature for ten years, and various academic senate committees including the Faculty Executive Committee, the Distinguished Teachers Committee (he received this award in 1985), and the Undergraduate Council. He Chaired the College of Letters & Science’s Committee on the Implementation of Writing II. Nationally, he was elected to the Scandinavian Discussion Group of the MLA, served in various capacities for the ACLA including the executive committee of the Association of Chairs of Departments and Programs of Comparative Literature. Having previously been on the advisory board of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study, he was elected Vice-President of that organization in 1997 and served as its President for 1999 and 2000.

Education

After finishing his M.A. in Comparative Literature with an emphasis on Nordisk litteraturhistoria at the University of Stockholm, he went to UC Berkeley to complete his Ph.D. in Comparative Literature with areas of specialization in Swedish, French and American literature.

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Co-Edits

He has co-edited with Kathleen Komar Lyrical Symbols and Narrative Transformations: Essays in Honor of Ralph Freedman (1998).