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Prof. Tony Hilfer, 1936-2008. |
English Professor Tony C. Hilfer Dies at 71
Renowned scholar of popular fiction taught at university for 45 years
AUSTIN, Texas -April 16, 2008- Tony C. Hilfer, the Iris Howard Regents Professor of English Literature at The University of Texas at Austin, died in a car accident on April 11 at age 71. He taught at the university for 45 years.
Hilfer was a renowned scholar of popular genres, including crime fiction and film noir. He was among a group of literary critics and scholars who brought these popular genres into the university classroom in the 1960s.
His book "The Crime Novel: A Deviant Genre" (1990), was one of the first to define the characteristics of crime fiction and provide a critical treatment of the genre. His recent book, "The New Hegemony in Literary Studies: Contradictions in Theory" (2003), won the admiration of playwright David Mamet and prompted a correspondence between the two men.
Hilfer is the author of numerous other books, articles and reviews on a range of topics in American literature and culture. His final manuscript, "The Nothing that Is: Representations of Nature in American Writing," examined literary treatments of the environment, including the crisis of global warming.
Hilfer also was the long-time editor of the journal, Texas Studies in Language and Literature (TSLL) published by UT Press.
Hilfer earned a bachelor's degree from Middlebury College, a master's degree from Columbia University and a doctorate in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He joined the Department of English at The University of Texas at Austin in 1963.
"Tony will be enormously missed by a large group of friends, colleagues, students and admirers of his intellectual legacy," Elizabeth Butler Cullingford, chair of the Department of English, said. "It is characteristic of his curiosity and energy that even as he was about to retire he was grappling with one of the most urgent issues of our times: the degradation of our environment. His 14 years of devoted service to our journal, TSLL, will be marked by an annual award given in his honor."
A memorial service will be held from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 27 at the UT Alumni Center. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Annual Tony Hilfer Award for the Best Article in TSLL, c/o Elizabeth Butler Cullingford, 1 University Station, B5000, Austin, Texas, 78712. For more information, contact the Department of English at 512-471-4991.
Contact:
Elizabeth Butler Cullingford
Char, Department of English
512-471-4991
cullingford@mail.utexas.edu
Jennifer McAndrew
Public Affairs Specialist, College of Liberal Arts
512-232-4730
jennifer.mcandrew@mail.utexas.edu