Ian Baucom, professor and chair of Duke's English department, has been named director of the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute (FHI), effective July 1. Baucom will succeed Professor Srinivas Aravamudan, who will become dean of the humanities in Arts & Sciences.

"Ian is an excellent choice to follow in the great work that Srinivas and his predecessors have accomplished at the Franklin Humanities Institute," said Provost Peter Lange. "I know he will continue to innovate with new programs and new opportunities for faculty to collaborate through teaching and research. In doing so, he will build upon earlier successes and make a strong contribution to the humanities at Duke and their connections to other areas of the university."

Baucom, who has served as chair of the English department for three years, is an expert on twentieth century British literature and culture, postcolonial and cultural studies, and African and black Atlantic literatures. He is author of several books including Out of Place: Englishness, Empire and the Locations of Identity (Princeton University Press, 1999) and Specters of the Atlantic: Finance Capital, Slavery, and the Philosophy of History (Duke University Press, 2005). He is also co-editor of Shades of Black: Assembling Black Arts in 1980s Britain (Duke University Press, 2005).

"Ian's transcultural and interdisciplinary perspectives on postcolonial literature and the Black Atlantic, in particular, will fit especially well with the broader intellectual mission of the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute," said Gregson Davis, dean of the humanities.

Baucom earned his doctorate from Yale University, and taught at Yale before coming to Duke in 1997. He is the recipient of several teaching awards and was recognized by the British Association of Art Historians and the Modern Language Association of America.

"Having been at Duke for 12 years, I have seen the transformative focus on interdisciplinary research develop over time, particularly in the humanities. Duke is widely recognized as being a leader in interdisciplinary studies, and the seven University Institutes have played a crucial role in fostering paradigm-setting research and teaching projects for the world academy," Baucom said. "I am excited to be leading one of those institutes and honored to work with colleagues across the university as we seek to build on the remarkable legacies of scholarship, teaching, and thought bequeathed us by Dr. John Hope Franklin. As we mourn his passing, his life and work will continue to inspire our shared work together."

Susan Roth, vice provost for interdisciplinary studies, praised the work of outgoing FHI director Srinivas Aravamudan noting, "[he] developed the Franklin Humanities Institute in unique ways during his five years as director, and through his involvement as co-convener of the annual FHI seminar before that. The Institute now has a reputation as an international leader in interdisciplinary humanities-based research and teaching, and will continue to build on that foundation."