Ihab H. Hassan. Biografia

Born in Cairo, Egypt, Ihab Hassan followed the path that many bright young Egyptians took in the first half of this century: he trained to become an engineer. After graduating with highest honors from the University of Cairo, Hassan came to the United States to further his study of electrical engineering, and in 1948 he earned his MS in that field at the University of Pennsylvania. Yet he continued on at Penn, changing his field to something that spoke to him, evidently, more deeply than did engineering. He studied literature, and earned two degrees in English--an MA in 1950 and a PhD in 1953.

After a brief period teaching at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Hassan moved to Wesleyan University, where he taught from 1954-1970. Since 1970, he has been the Vilas Research Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. During his professional career, he has also held visiting professorships in Sweden, Japan, Germany, France, and Austria - as well as at Yale, Trinity College, and the University of Washington.

Over the last forty years, Hassan has won numerous awards and fellowships, including Guggenheim Foundation fellowships; Senior Fulbright lectureships; National Endowment for the Humanities grants; research appointments in France, England, Italy, Japan, Australia, and Ireland; and teaching awards. He was awarded honorary degrees by the University of Uppsala (1996) and the University of Giessen (1999). Currently he is Chairman of the Executive Committee of the International Association of University Professors of English.

 

 

Phoenix