Bio


Professor Harrison received his doctorate in Romance Studies from Cornell University in 1984, with a dissertation on Dante's Vita Nuova. In 1985 he accepted a visiting assistant professorship in the Department of French and Italian at Stanford. In 1986 he joined the faculty as an assistant professor. He was granted tenure in 1992 and was promoted to full professor in 1995. In 1997 Stanford offered him the Rosina Pierotti Chair of Italian Literature. In 2002, he was named chair of the Department of French and Italian. In 2006 he became a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. In 2014 he was knighted "Chevalier" by the French Republic. He is also lead guitarist for the cerebral rock band Glass Wave.

Professor Harrison's first book, The Body of Beatrice, was published by Johns Hopkins University Press in 1988. The Body of Beatrice was translated into Japanese in 1994. Over the next few years Professor Harrison worked on his next book, Forests: The Shadow of Civilization, which appeared in 1992 with University of Chicago Press. This book deals with the multiple and complex ways in which the Western imagination has symbolized, represented, and conceived of forests, primarily in literature, religion, and mythology. It offers a select history that begins in antiquity and ends in our own time. Forests appeared simultaneously in English, French, Italian, and German. It subsequently appeared in Japanese and Korean as well. In 1994 his book Rome, la Pluie: A Quoi Bon Littérature? appeared in France, Italy, and Germany. This book is written in the form of dialogues between two characters and deals with various topics such as art restoration, the vocation of literature, and the place of the dead in contemporary society. Professor Harrison's next book, The Dominion of the Dead, published in 2003 by University of Chicago Press, deals with the relations the living maintain with the dead in diverse secular realms. This book was translated into German, French and Italian. Professor Harrison's book Gardens: An Essay on the Human Condition appeared in 2008 with the University of Chicago Press, and in French with Le Pommier (subsequently appeared in German and Chinese translations). His most recent book Juvenescence: A Cultural History of Our Age came out in 2014 with Chicago University Press. In 2005 Harrison started a literary talk show on KZSU radio called "Entitled Opinions." The show features hour long conversations with a variety of scholars, writers, and scientists.

Academic Appointments


  • Emeritus (Active) Professor, French and Italian

Administrative Appointments


  • Chair, Department of French and Italian, Stanford University (2002 - 2010)
  • Rosina Pierotti Chair, Stanford University (1997 - Present)
  • Professor, Department of French and Italian, Stanford University (1995 - Present)
  • Associate professor (tenured), Department of French and Italian, Stanford University (1992 - 1995)
  • Assistant professor, Department of French and Italian, Stanford University (1986 - 1992)
  • Visiting assistant professor, Department of French and Italian at Stanford University (1985 - 1986)

Program Affiliations


  • Modern Thought and Literature
  • Philosophy and Literature

Professional Education


  • Ph.D., Cornell University, Romance Studies (1984)
  • B.A., University of Santa Clara, Humanities (1976)

2023-24 Courses


Stanford Advisees


All Publications


  • The Riddle of Age NEW ENGLAND REVIEW-MIDDLEBURY SERIES Harrison, R. P. 2014; 35 (3): 81-87
  • Archaeology on trial: Response to Julian Thomas MODERNISM-MODERNITY Harrison, R. 2004; 11 (1): 35-36
  • Hic Jacet (The idea of place, burial, architecture) CRITICAL INQUIRY Harrison, R. P. 2001; 27 (3): 393-407
  • The names of the dead (Literary imagery and the Vietnam-Veterans-Memorial) CRITICAL INQUIRY Harrison, R. P. 1997; 24 (1): 176-190
  • Rome, la Pluie: A Quoi Bon Littérature? Harrison, R. Paris: Flammarion. 1994
  • VISION AND REVISION - THE PROVISIONARY ESSENCE OF THE 'VITA NUOVA' TEXAS STUDIES IN LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE Harrison, R. P. 1990; 32 (1): 6-17
  • The Body of Beatrice Harrison, R. P. Johns Hopkins University Press. 1988
  • COMEDY AND MODERNITY, DANTES HELL MLN-MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES Harrison, R. P. 1987; 102 (5): 1043-1061
  • THE ITALIAN SILENCE + TRANSLATING ITALIAN PHILOSOPHY INTO POETRY CRITICAL INQUIRY Harrison, R. P. 1986; 13 (1): 81-99
  • THE AMBIGUITIES OF PHILOLOGY + A CRITIQUE OF VERNANT AND DETIENNE DIACRITICS-A REVIEW OF CONTEMPORARY CRITICISM Harrison, R. P. 1986; 16 (2): 14-20
  • BEYOND THE END, NIETZSCHE IN TURIN STANFORD ITALIAN REVIEW Harrison, R. P. 1986; 6 (1-2): 219-227