Donald Keene
Donald Lawrence Keene (born June 6, 1922 in New York - † February 24, 2019 in Tokyo ) was an American Japanologist .
Keene taught at Columbia University for nearly 50 years and published a variety of works on Japanese literature , many of them in Japanese .
biography
Donald Keene studied at Columbia University, from which he received a B.A. in 1942 . He learned Japanese while doing military service in the United States Navy . He was deployed as a reconnaissance officer in the Pacific theater . After his release, he continued his studies, which he in 1947 with a M. A. completed. He then studied for a year at Harvard , followed by a year at Cambridge . After he had acquired a second M.A. there, he worked there from 1949 to 1955 as a lecturer.
During this time he made a study visit to Kyoto University and received his doctorate (Ph. D.) in 1951 at Columbia . He obtained another doctorate (D. Litt.) In 1978 in Cambridge. In 1970 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 1986 to the American Academy of Arts and Letters . Over the years, in addition to the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun (2nd class) and the Japanese Order of Culture, he has received numerous literary prizes for his works ; Farther:
Honorary doctorates
Over the years he has received the following honorary doctorates:
- Kyōto Sangyō University (Kyoto, 2002)
- Keiwa College (Niigata, 2000)
- Foreign Language University Tokyo (Tokyo, 1999)
- Waseda University (Tokyo, 1998)
- Tōhoku University (Sendai, 1997)
- Columbia University (New York, 1997)
- Middlebury College (Vermont, 1995)
- St. Andrews Presbyterian College (North Carolina, 1990)
After his appointment to his alma mater , where he taught for around 50 years until his retirement, including as Shincho Professor of Japanese Literature , he developed a lively publication activity as a translator and editor. He has written around 30 of his works in Japanese.
In 1999 the Keene Foundation was established , which he also chaired and which has made it its business to uphold his memory and to ensure that his works are widely distributed.
Works
- Literature by and about Donald Keene in the catalog of the German National Library
- Autobiographical essays "Chronicles of My Life in the 20th Century"
Most of his books have not been translated into German.
Web links
- Keene Foundation
- Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture at Columbia Uni (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Donald Keene, lauded scholar of Japanese literature, dies at 96 Japan Times , accessed February 24, 2019
- ↑ Academy Members. American Academy of Arts and Letters, accessed January 16, 2019 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Keene, Donald |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Keene, Donald Lawrence (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American Japanologist and literary scholar |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 6, 1922 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | new York |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 24, 2019 |
| Place of death | Tokyo |