Dr. Philip Lewis

Biography

Philip Lewis joined the faculty of Romance Studies at Cornell University in the fall of 1968 after graduating from Davidson College and earning a Ph.D. in French Literature from Yale University. He has held prestigious fellowships, including those from the Woodrow Wilson Foundation and the Danforth Foundation, as well as fellowships with the Cornell Society of the Humanities, Camargo Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. After receiving academic tenure in 1974, Lewis served as Department Chair for six years and was the Editor of Diacritics from 1976 to 1987, with a break for a visit to Berkeley. His scholarship focuses extensively on 17th-century French literature and contemporary criticism, culminating in several major publications, such as 'La Rochefoucauld: Art Abstraction' (Cornell Press, 1977) and 'Charles Perrault, Seeing Mother Goose Tales' (Stanford University Press, 1996). Lewis has also contributed to 'New History of French Literature' (Harvard, 1992). His teaching interests include tragic and comic theater of the 17th and 18th centuries and the history of ideas in France. He served as Senior Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences for six years, and was appointed Dean in 1995. After retirement in early 2007, he was granted emeritus status in recognition of his contributions to the department.

Research Interests