Dr. Alan Kennedy

Biography

Alan Kennedy is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of English at Carnegie Mellon University, with a primary academic interest in the study of art and literature. He maintains a wide-ranging interest in literature, focusing particularly on how literature communicates. Kennedy continues to work on understanding what is often referred to as 'the rhetoric of literature,' paying special attention to fiction and the ways in which writing engages with art forms such as music. He emphasizes the importance of performance in appreciating literature, striving to engage students in developing their performance abilities in reading literary texts. Kennedy believes that students often come from educational backgrounds that result in a kind of 'tone-deafness' regarding language use. Recently, he has been increasingly attentive to the subtleties of how feelings are constructed, evoked, and conveyed in fictional works, which aligns with his belief that the primary purpose of studying English is the continued development of one's ability to read and write effectively.

Research Interests