Morris Berman

Morris Berman (born August 3, 1944)[1] is an American historian and social critic. He earned a BA in mathematics at Cornell University in 1966 and a PhD in the history of science at Johns Hopkins University in 1971.[2] Berman is an academic humanist cultural critic who specializes in Western cultural and intellectual history.

Morris Berman
Born (1944-08-03) August 3, 1944
Rochester, New York, United States
OccupationEducator, scholar, writer
LanguageEnglish, Spanish
NationalityUnited States
CitizenshipUnited States (born), Mexico (currently lives)
Alma materCornell University (BA, Mathematics, 1966)
Johns Hopkins University (PhD, History of Science, 1971)
Period1972 – present
Notable worksThe Reenchantment of the World, The Twilight of American Culture
Notable awardsRollo May Center Grant (1992) Neil Postman Award (2013)
Website
Dark Ages America

Life and work

Berman has served on the faculties of a number of universities in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Berman emigrated from the U.S. to Mexico in 2006, where he was a visiting professor at the Tecnologico de Monterrey in Mexico City from 2008 to 2009. During this period he continued writing for various publications including Parteaguas, a quarterly magazine.[3]

Although an academic, Berman has written several books for a general audience.[4] They deal with the state of Western civilization and with an ethical, historically responsible, or enlightened approach to living within it. His work emphasizes the legacies of the European Enlightenment and the historical place of present-day American culture.

He wrote a trilogy on consciousness and spirituality, published between 1981 and 2000, and another trilogy on the American decline, published between 2000 and 2011. Book reviewer George Scialabba commented:

Most historians would be content to have written one deeply researched and interpretively wide-ranging trilogy on a large and important subject. Berman has written two: one on alternative forms of consciousness and spirituality (The Re-enchantment of the World, Coming to Our Senses, Wandering God) and one on the decline of American civilization (The Twilight of American Culture, Dark Ages America, Why America Failed). The second trilogy, a grimly fascinating inventory of the pathologies of contemporary America and an unsparing portrait of American history and national character, is a masterpiece.[5]

Recognition

In 1990, Berman received the Governor's Writers Award (Washington State) for his book Coming to Our Senses.[6] In 1992, he was the recipient of the first annual Rollo May Center Grant for Humanistic Studies. In 2000, Berman's book The Twilight of American Culture was named one of the ten most recommended books of the year by the Christian Science Monitor[7] and was named a "Notable Book" by The New York Times Book Review.[8] In 2013 he received the "Neil Postman Award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity" from the Media Ecology Association.[9] As of 2014 Berman continues to live in Mexico.[10]

Selected works
  • Social Change & Scientific Organization: The Royal Institution 1799–1844. 1978. – nonfiction
  • The Reenchantment of The World. 1981. – nonfiction
  • Coming to Our Senses: Body and Spirit in the Hidden History of the West. 1989. – nonfiction
  • Wandering God: A Study in Nomadic Spirituality. 2000. – nonfiction
  • The Twilight of American Culture. 2000. – nonfiction
  • Dark Ages America: The Final Phase of Empire. 2006. – nonfiction
  • A Question of Values. 2010. – essay collection – nonfiction
  • Destiny. 2010. – fiction (a collection of three novellas)
  • Counting Blessings. 2011. – poetry
  • Why America Failed: The Roots of Imperial Decline. 2011. – nonfiction[11]
  • Spinning Straw Into Gold: Straight Talk for Troubled Times. 2013. – a philosophical memoir – nonfiction
  • Neurotic Beauty: An Outsider Looks At Japan. 2015. – nonfiction [5]
  • The Man Without Qualities. 2016. – fiction (a novel)[12]
  • Are We There Yet?: Essays & Reflections, 2010-2017. 2017. - essay collection - nonfiction

References
  1. LCNAF: Library of Congress Name Authority Files
  2. Berman, Morris. "The Denial of Death". DARK AGES AMERICA. Retrieved 29 September 2017. I was Ph.D. from Hopkins in 1971 as well. All my bios, including Wikipedia, have it as 1972, but in fact it was 15 Feb 1971. Go figure.
  3. "Blogger: User Profile: Morris Berman". blogger.com.
  4. Prins, Nomi (2010-11-25). "America the Material". Truthdig. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  5. Scialabba, George (2015-10-27). "Fuse Book Review: 'Neurotic Beauty'—Japanese Therapeutics". The Arts Fuse. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  6. "Washington State Book Award Winners". spl.org. Archived from the original on 2015-05-14. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  7. "Recommended Books". The Christian Science Monitor. 2000-11-16. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  8. "Notable Books" - New York Times December 3, 2000
  9. "Past MEA Award Recipients". Media Ecology Association. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  10. Berman, Morris. "Love and Survival". Adbusters. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  11. Domino, Joseph A. (28 March 2019). "Why America Failed by Morris Berman (review)". American Studies. 52 (1): 198. doi:10.1353/ams.2012.0031. S2CID 144332400 – via Project MUSE.
  12. Domino, Joseph A.; Professor, ContributorAdjunct; Retired (12 May 2016). "A Nation Without Qualities". HuffPost.
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