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Department of English
Dr. Robert J. Gemmett
Office:
Professor of English
SUNY College at Brockport
Brockport, New York 14420
(585) 395-2476
Married:
Kendra Baxter Gemmett
Four children
EDUCATION
Ph.D. Syracuse University, Humanities-English 1967
M.A. University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, English 1962
B.A. cum laude, Siena College, Loudonville, New York 1959
POSITIONS HELD: CHRONOLOGY
Professor of English, SUNY College at Brockport 1997-
Interim Chairperson, Department of English, SUNY Brockport 2002-2003
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, SUNY College at Buffalo 1992-1997
Dean, School of Letters and Sciences, SUNY College at Brockport 1982-1992
Chair, Executive Committee, SUNY Council of Deans of Arts and Sciences 1984-1986
Dean of Humanities, SUNY College at Brockport 1979-1982
Professor of English, SUNY College at Brockport 1970-1992
Coordinator, The Loughborough Overseas Program 1978-1982
Chairperson, Department of English, SUNY Brockport Feb. 1975-Aug. 1979 Associate Professor English, SUNY Brockport 1965-1970
Associate Editor, The English Record 1967-1969
Instructor in English, Clarkson University, Potsdam, New York 1964-1965
AREAS OF TEACHING INTEREST
Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities [period courses from the Classical Age to the Romantic-Industrial Age]
British and American Romantic Writers
Neo-Classical Literature
The British Novel
The Gothic Novel
ACADEMIC HONORS, AWARDS, RECOGNITION
B.A., cum laude, ranked first in major field, thirteenth in class
Delta Epsilon Sigma (National Honor Society)
New York State Regents College Teaching Fellowship, 1963, 1964
Syracuse University Travel Fellowship ( England), 1966
Research Grants and Summer Fellowships, SUNY, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, and 1977
Outstanding Educators in America, 1975
SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching, 1975 (recommended by students, faculty, and administrators)
Faculty Development Grant, SUNY Research Foundation, 1984
Faculty Development Grant, SUNY Research Foundation, 1985
Directory of American Scholars
Dictionary of International Biography
Who's Who in America, 1985-present
Who’s Who in the East , 2002-present
Who’s Who Among American Teachers , 2004-present
Who’s Who in American Education , 2005
Contemporary Authors
PUBLICATIONS
Books
Modern Novel Writing, or the Elegant Enthusiast. William Beckford. Stroud, Gloucestershire, England: Nonsuch Publishing Ltd, 2008. First edited scholarly edition with introduction and notes.
Dreams, Waking Thoughts and Incidents by William Beckford of Fonthill. A New, Revised Edition. Stroud, Gloucestershire, England: Nonsuch Publishing Ltd, 2006. Edited scholarly edition with introduction and notes.
Beckford’s Fonthill: The Rise of a Romantic Icon. Norwich, England: Michael Russell, Ltd., 2003.
The Consummate Collector. Willliam Beckford’s Letters to George Clarke. Norwich, England: Michael Russell, Ltd, 2000.
Een dromer op reis; een Grand Tour (A Dreamer on His Travels). Translation into Dutch of 1971 edition of Dreams, Waking Thoughts and Incidents, ed. Gerlof Janzen. Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Contact, 1991.
William Beckford. Boston: Twayne, 1977. [Twayne English Authors Series]
The Episodes of Vathek. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1975. Edited with introduction and notes.
Vathek, the 1786 and 1787 Editions . Delmar, New York: Scholars' Facsimiles, 1972. Editor.
Poets and Men of Letters, Sale Catalogues of Libraries of Eminent Persons ‑‑ William Beckford. London: Mansell with Sotheby Parke‑Bernet Publications, 1972. Editor of Volume 3 in the 12-volume series under the general editorship of A.N.L. Munby.
Dreams, Waking Thoughts and Incidents by William Beckford. Farleigh Dickinson University Press, 1971. Edited scholarly edition with introduction and notes.
Biographical Memoirs of Extraordinary Painters by William Beckford, Farleigh Dickinson University Press, 1969. Edited scholarly edition with introduction and notes.
Articles and Reviews
"‘The Gewgaws of Luxury’: The Fonthill Sale of 1801,” Forthcoming (June 2008), The Burlington Magazine.
“Mischief in the British Museum,” The Contemporary Review (Oxford), 288 (Winter, 2006), 503-8.
“William Beckford’s Authorship of Modern Novel Writing and Azemia,” The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America 98:3 (September 2004), 313-25.
“Fonthill and Its Abbey: ‘The Haunt of Eager Curiosity,’” Beckford Journal 11 (Summer 2004), 30-45.
“An Architect’s View of Fonthill Abbey,” Beckford Journal, IX (Spring 2003), 19-26.
“[The Episodes of Vathek],” in Classic Fantasy Writers, ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1994, pp. 23-4.
"What Can Colleges Teach About Race?," Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, November 15, 1990, p. 15A. Also published in the Times Union, Rochester, New York, November 15, 1990, p. 9A. [Op‑ed article]
“The Long Story,” in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism, vol. 16, ed. Cherie D. Abbey and Janet Mullane Detroit: Gale Research Co., 1987, pp. 46-50.
"Why Study the Humanities," Dimensions of Liberal Education, ed. H. Larry Humm, Brockport, New York: Education Communication Center, 1980, pp. 143‑48.
Review of British Book Sale Catalogues 1676‑1800 ed. A.N.L. Munby and Leonore Coral, Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, LXIII (1979), 279‑82.
"The Beckford Book Sale of 1804," Bulletin of the New York Public Library, LXXIV (Winter 1974), 205‑23.
"Beckford's Fonthill: The Landscape as Art," Gazette des Beaux‑Arts, LXXX (Winter, 1972), 335‑56.
"The Beckford Library Sale of 1817," The Library Chronicle, XXXVII (Winter, 1971), 37‑69.
"The Beckford Book Sale of 1808," Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, LXIV (Second Quarter, 1970), 127‑64.
"The Birth Date of William Beckford," American Notes and Queries, VI (June, 1968), 148‑50.
"The Critical Reception of William Beckford's Fonthill," English Miscellany, XIX (1968), 133‑51.
"The Caliph Vathek from England and the Continent to America," American Book Collector, XVIII (May, 1968), 12‑19.
"The Child is Father of the Man," The Library College Journal, I (Spring, 1968), 57‑60. Rev. art.
"The Composition of William Beckford's Biographical Memoirs of Extraordinary Painters, Philological Quarterly," XLVII (January, 1968), 139‑41.
"An Annotated Checklist of the Works of William Beckford," Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, LXI (Fall, 1967), 243‑58.
"William Beckford: Bibliographical Addenda," Bulletin of Bibliography XXV (Fall, 1967), 62‑64.
"Beckford in the Saleroom," (London) Times Literary Supplement, November 17, 1966, p. 1056.
"The Behnes Portrait of William Beckford," Etudes Anglaises, XIX (Fall, 1966), 261‑62.
Edited Interviews
"Falling into Place: A Conversation with Donald Justice," Prairie Schooner (Winter, 1973-74). [with P. Gerber]
"Myth of the Self: A Conversation with Patricia Goedicke," Southern Humanities Review (Fall, 1971). [with P. Gerber]
"One by One: An Interview with Anthony Hecht," The Mediterranean Review (Spring, 1971). [with P. Gerber]
"Pop, Found, Concrete: A Conversation with Ronald Gross," The Journal of Popular Culture (Fall, 1971). [with P. Gerber]
"Keeping the Lines Wet: A Conversation with William Stafford," Prairie Schooner (Spring, 1970). [with P. Gerber]
"Picaresque and Modern Literature: A Conversation with W. M. Frohock," Genre (June, 1970). [with P. Gerber]
"Deeper Than Personality: A Conversation with Galway Kinnell," The Iowa Review (Spring, 1970). [with P. Gerber]
"A Terrible War: A Conversation with Diane Wakoski," The Far Point (1970). [with P. Gerber]
"The Poem as Silhouette: A Conversation with John Hollander," Michigan Quarterly Review (Spring, 1970). [with P. Gerber]
"In the Light of Eternity: A Conversation with Granville Hicks," New Orleans Review (Spring, 1970). [with P. Gerber]
"No Voices Talk to Me: A Conversation with W. D. Snodgrass," Western Humanities Review (Winter, 1970). [with P. Gerber]
"The Window of Art: A Conversation with Richard Wilbur," Modern Poetry Studies (Fall, 1970). [with P. Gerber]
"On the Plantation: A Conversation with Ernest Gaines," New Orleans Review (Fall, 1969). [with P. Gerber]
"The Dream of Logic: A Conversation with Ihab Hassan," University of Windsor Review, V (Fall, 1969). [with P. Gerber]
"The Individual Voice: A Conversation with William Heyen," Western Humanities Review, XXIII (Summer, 1969). [with P. Gerber]
"Tireless Quest: A Conversation with W. S. Merwin," The English Record, XIX (February, 1969). [with P. Gerber]
