DeWitt Wallace Professor of English
American literature; countercultures; human rights; literary and language theory; violence and trauma; literature and philosophy.
Old Main, 200
651-696-6809
[email protected]
James Dawes teaches literature and human rights. He is the author of The Novel of Human Rights (Harvard University Press, 2018); Evil Men (Harvard University Press, 2013), winner of the International Human Rights Book Award; That the World May Know: Bearing Witness to Atrocity (Harvard University Press, 2007), Independent Publisher Book Award Finalist; and The Language of War (Harvard University Press, 2002). He has written for or appeared as the feature guest on media outlets ranging from National Public Radio, the BBC, and Bulgarian National Radio to the Boston Globe, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and CNN.com. He was a Junior Fellow at the Society of Fellows, Harvard University. He received his Ph.D. in English Literature from Harvard University and his M. Phil. from Cambridge University.
In the News
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UN fails to agree on ‘killer robot’ ban as nations pour billions in Autonomous weapons research – James Dawes
The Conversation, Reprinted by over two dozen other news outlets. (December 20, 2021) -
The world can halt an arms race over killer robots. Why is the Biden administration standing in the way? – James Dawes
The Washington Post, Opinion section (December 16, 2021) - An autonomous robot may have already killed people – here’s how the weapons could be more destabilizing than nukes – James Dawes
The Conversation (September 29, 2021) - The case for and against autonomous weapons systems – James Dawes
Nature Human Behaviour (August 21, 2017) - To understand perpetrators we must care about them – James Dawes
openDemocracy (March. 22, 2017) - Graphic Violence: When Is It Ethical to look? – James Dawes
Australian Broadcasting Corporation RN (Apr. 9, 2015) - Are We Prepared to Bear the Moral Paradox of Evil? – James Dawes
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Sept. 5, 2014) - Can We Forgive War Criminals? – James Dawes
TTBOOK interview – Wisconsin Public Radio (Sept. 13, 2013) - ‘Evil Men’ by James Dawes
The Washington Post (Aug. 9, 2013) - Understanding Evil
The Chronicle of Higher Education (July 1, 2013) - Evil Men: James Dawes
CBC Radio’s The Current (June 6, 2013) - Speaking of Evil
The Brooklyn Rail (June 3, 2013) - Is Empathy Bad?
Harvard University Press Blog (June 3, 2013) - Appearance on Moncrieff
Newstalk Ireland (May 31, 2013) - Evil Men by James Dawes
Times Higher Education (May 30, 2013) - Why a man eats another man’s heart
CNN Opinion (May 15, 2013) - Any good from evil?
WNYC Radio – The Brian Lehrer Show (May 13, 2013) - James Dawes describes the complexity of war criminals in ‘Evil Men’
MinnPost (May 1, 2013) - Book pick: ‘Evil Men’ by James Dawes
Minnesota Public Radio (April 30, 2013) - “Conversations with evil men”
This article about the book Evil Men appeared in the Boston Globe (April 28, 2013) - Book Review: Evil Men
South China Morning Post (April 21, 2013)
Presentations
- Big Questions: What happened to human rights?
- MacTalks video: What’s It All About
- Write Well series video: Every Sentence is a Sandwich
Digital Student Projects
Areas of Study
- American literature
- Countercultures
- Human rights
- Literary and language theory
- Violence and trauma
- Literature and philosophy
2022-2023 Courses
- ENGL 137-01 Novel (Fall 2022)
- ENGL 150-05 Introduction to Creative Writing (Fall 2022)
- ENGL 294-01 Video Games: Narrative and Coding (Team taught with Jackson – Fall 2022)
- ENGL 294 Dickinson (Spring 2023)
- ENGL 401-01 Projects in Literary Research (Spring 2023)