Mark McGurl

Bio

Mark McGurl's scholarly work centers on the relation of literature to social, educational and other institutions from the late 19th century to the present. He is the author of The Program Era: Postwar Fiction and the Rise of Creative Writing (Harvard), which was the recipient of the Truman Capote Award for Literary Criticism for 2011. His most recent book, Everything and Less: Fiction in the Age of Amazon (Verso 2021), was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for criticism.

McGurl’s first book was The Novel Art: Elevations of American Fiction after Henry James (Princeton). He has also published articles in journals such as Critical Inquiry, Representations, American Literary History, and New Literary History. He teaches a range of classes on American literature and related topics.

McGurl received his BA from Harvard, then worked at the New York Times and the New York Review of Books before earning his PhD in comparative literature from Johns Hopkins. He has held fellowships from Office of the President of the University of California and the Stanford Humanities Center.

Academic Appointments

• Professor, English

Administrative Appointments

• Professor of English, Stanford University (2011 - Present)
• Professor of English, University of California, Los Angeles (1997 - 2011)

Honors & Awards

• The Truman Capote Award for Literary Criticism, University of Iowa (2011)
• Hurst Visiting Professor, Washington University St. Louis (2009)
• Distinguished Teaching Award, Departmental Nominee, University of California, Los Angeles (2006)
• Distinguished Teaching Award, Departmental Nominee, University of California, Los Angeles (2008)
• Fellowship, Stanford Humanities Center (2002 - 2003)
• President’s Research Fellowship in the Humanities, University of California (2002 - 2003)
• Fellowship for Biographical and Literary Historical Studies, Irving Cooper (2000)
• Owen Fellowship in the Humanities, Johns Hopkins (1991 - 1994)
• Thomas J. Watson Memorial Scholarship, IBM (1985 - 1989)
• Hoopes Prize for Outstanding B.A. Thesis, Harvard (1989)
• Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Beta Kappa Society (1988)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

• Graduate Admissions co-chair, Stanford University (2012 - 2013)
• Member, Graduate Committee, Stanford University (2012 - 2013)
• Member, Richard Powers Ad Hoc Hiring Committee (2012 - 2013)
• Unit Leader, Literature Lab 20th Century (2012 - 2013)
• Elected board member, MLA Narrative Section (2012)
• Member, Geballe Workshop Selection Committee, Stanford Humanities Center (2012 - 2012)
• Member, Graduate Admissions Committee, Stanford English Department (2011 - 2012)
• Member, Graduate Committee, Stanford English Department (2011 - 2012)
• Member, Chair’s Advisory Committee, Stanford English Department (2011 - 2012)
• American Literature Section elected board member, Modern Language Association (MLA) (2010 - 2010)
• Awards committee chair, Modern Language Association (MLA) (2010 - 2010)
• Chair, UCLA 19th Century Americanist Search Committee, University of California, Los Angeles (2010 - 2011)
• Member, UCLA Transatlantic pre-1900 Search Committee, University of California, Los Angeles (2008 - 2009)
• Chair, UCLA New Media Search Committee, University of California, Los Angeles (2007 - 2008)
• Member, English Department Graduate Committee, University of California, Los Angeles (2003 - 2007)
• Member, English Department Executive Committee, University of California, Los Angeles (1998 - 1999)
• Member, English Department Executive Committee, University of California, Los Angeles (2000 - 2001)
• Member, English Department Executive Committee, University of California, Los Angeles (2004 - 2005)
• Member, English Department Executive Committee, University of California, Los Angeles (2007 - 2008)
• Member, UCLA Americanist Search Committee, University of California, Los Angeles (2000 - 2001)
• Member, UCLA Latino/a Chicano/a Search Committee, University of California, Los Angeles (2001 - 2002)
• Member, UCLA Latino/a Chicano/a Search Committee, University of California, Los Angeles (2003 - 2004)
• Member, UCLA Latino/a Chicano/a Search Committee, University of California, Los Angeles (2005 - 2006)
• Member, Advisory Board, Center for Modern and Contemporary Studies, University of California, Los Angeles (2001 - 2004)
• Juror, Cal State Undergraduate Research Competition, University of California, Los Angeles (2001 - 2002)
• Editorial board member, Modern Fiction Studies (2012 - Present)
• Editorial Assistant, MLN (Modern Language Notes) Comparative Literature (1993 - 1996)
• Editorial Assistant, The New York Review of Books (1990 - 1991)
• Editorial Assistant, The New York Times Magazine (1989 - 1990)

Program Affiliations

• Modern Thought and Literature

Professional Education

• Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University, Comparative Literature (1998)
• A.B., Harvard University, Literature (1989)

2024-25 Courses

• Independent Studies (6)
  • Graduate Independent Study
    MTL 398 (Win, Spr)
  • Independent Study
    ENGLISH 394 (Win, Spr)
  • Individual Work
    ENGLISH 198 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
  • Reading for Orals
    MTL 399 (Win, Spr)
  • Research Course
    ENGLISH 398 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
  • Revision and Development of a Paper
    ENGLISH 398R (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
• Prior Year Courses

  2023-24 Courses

  • Introduction to English III: Modern Literature
    ENGLISH 12C (Spr)
  • Media Theory for Literary Studies
    ENGLISH 366F (Spr)
  • Wastelands
    ENGLISH 15N (Win)

  2022-23 Courses

  • Introduction to English III: Modern Literature
    ENGLISH 12C (Spr)
  • Thinking Through Genre
    ENGLISH 346 (Spr)

  2021-22 Courses

  • Introduction to English III: Modern Literature
    ENGLISH 12C (Win)
  • Media Theory for Literary Studies
    ENGLISH 366F (Win)
  • US Fiction 1945 to 2000
    ENGLISH 145G (Spr)
  • Wastelands
    ENGLISH 151H (Spr)

Stanford Advisees

• Doctoral Dissertation Co-Advisor (AC)
  Ben Libman
• Undergraduate Major Advisor
  Nathan Phuong
• Doctoral (Program)
  Caroline Bailey, Emma Brush, Ido Keren