James Basker

James G. Basker is an American scholar, writer, and educational leader. He is president of the Gilder Lehrman Institute and Richard Gilder Professor of Literary History at Barnard College, Columbia University.

Biography

He studied English at Harvard College (Phi Beta Kappa) and Cambridge University, and graduated from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, with a D. Phil in English. ^[1] Basker is currently the Richard Gilder Professor in Literary History at Barnard College, ^[2] Columbia University, having previously taught at Harvard, Cambridge and NYU. ^[3] He is also the president of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, founder and former President of the Oxbridge Academic Programs ^[4] , founder and current Academic Director of Oxford Academia, ^{[5] [6]} a fellow of the Society of American Historians, and a member of the American Antiquarian Society. He was elected to the board of the American Association of Rhodes Scholars in 2007. ^[7]

Publications

Basker’s scholarly work focuses on 18th Century literature, specifically the life and writings of Samuel Johnson and the history of slavery and abolition.

• Tobias Smollett, Critic and Journalist. University of Delaware Press, 1988. ^[8]
• Tradition in Transition: Women Writers, Marginal Texts, and the Eighteenth-Century Canon. OUP Oxford, 1997. ^[9]
• Amazing Grace: An Anthology of Poems About Slavery, 1660-1810. Yale University Press, 2002. ^[10]
• Early American Abolitionists: A Collection of Anti-slavery Writings, 1760-1820. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, New York, 2005. ^[11]
• Why Documents Matter: American Originals and Historical Imagination (Selections From the Gilder Lehrman Collection). The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, New York, 2008. ^[12]
• American Antislavery Writings: Colonial Beginnings to Emancipation, New York, NY: The Library of America, 2012. ^[13]
• The Adventures of Roderick Random (The Works of Tobias Smollett). University of Georgia Press, 2014. ^[14]
• Black Writers of the Founding Era. Library of America, 2023. ^[15]
• The Witnesses: Fifty Historic Anti-Slavery Poems, 1695–1865. Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, 2024. ^[16]

Personal

Dr. Basker currently lives in New York City with his wife, Angela Vallot. They have two daughters, Anne and Katherine.

References

1. "About Oxford Academia". Oxford Academia. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
2. "James G. Basker | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History". www.gilderlehrman.org. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
3. "James Basker". Barnard College biography. Archived from the original on 4 December 2025. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
4. "James G. Basker". New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University. 2024-03-15. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
5. "About | Oxford Academia". 2018-12-08. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
6. "James G. Basker | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History". www.gilderlehrman.org. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
7. "The Association of American Rhodes Scholars - Relationship Science". relationshipscience.com. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
8. Basker, James G. (1988). Tobias Smollett, critic and journalist. Newark: University of Delaware Press. ISBN   0-87413-311-4. OCLC   15654091.
9. Tradition in transition : women writers, marginal texts, and the eighteenth-century canon. Ribeiro, Alvaro, 1947-, Basker, James G. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1996. ISBN   0-19-818288-0. OCLC   32013714.
10. Amazing grace : an anthology of poems about slavery, 1660-1810. Basker, James G. New Haven. 2002. ISBN   0-300-09172-9. OCLC   49743685.
11. Early American abolitionists : a collection of anti-slavery writings 1760-1820. Basker, James G., Ahlstrom, Justine. New York: Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. 2005. ISBN   1-932821-06-6. OCLC   62205412.
12. Why documents matter : American originals and the historical imagination : selections from the Gilder Lehrman collection. Basker, James G., Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. New York. 2005. ISBN   1-932821-20-1. OCLC   60585761.
13. Basker, James G. 1952- (2012). American antislavery writings : colonial beginnings to emancipation. Library of America. ISBN   978-1-59853-196-1. OCLC   820378848.
14. Smollett, T. (Tobias), 1721-1771. (15 January 2014). The adventures of Roderick Random (Paperback ed.). Athens, Georgia. ISBN   978-0-8203-4603-8. OCLC   910110418.
15. Basker, James G.; Seary, Nicole A.; Gordon-Reed, Annette, eds. (2023). Black writers of the founding era, 1760-1800. The Library of America. New York, N.Y: The Library of America. ISBN   978-1-59853-734-5.
16. "The Witnesses: Fifty Historic Anti-Slavery Poems, 1695-1865". Gilder Lehrman Institute History Shop. Retrieved 2025-12-04.

External links

• To see Dr. Basker discuss American Antislavery Writings, click here.
• Appearances on C-SPAN