Baker, David J. 1957-

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Baker, David J. 1957-

PERSONAL:

Born 1957. Education: Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI, B.A.; Johns Hopkins University, M.A., Ph.D.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Department of English, University of Hawaii, Kuykendall 402, 1733 Donaghho Rd., Honolulu, HI 96822. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Educator, writer, and editor. University of Hawaii at Manoa, professor.

WRITINGS:

Between Nations: Shakespeare, Spenser, Marvell, and the Question of Britain, Stanford University Press (Stanford, CA), 1997.

(Editor, with Willy Maley) British Identities and English Renaissance Literature, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 2002.

Contributor to periodicals, including Spenser Studies, ELR, Critical Inquiry, and ELH.

SIDELIGHTS:

David J. Baker is a professor whose primary academic interests include early modern English literature and culture, British historiography, and economic history. In his book Between Nations: Shakespeare, Spenser, Marvell, and the Question of Britain, the author explores various literary texts in relation to British "nationalism" and its effect on wiping out diverse aspects of the history of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The author examines several debates concerning English versus British national identity and focuses on the following texts: Henry V by William Shakespeare, A View of the Present State of Ireland by Edmund Spenser, and Andrew Marvell's "An Horation Ode upon Cromwell's Return from Ireland" and "The Loyal Scot." Judith Rice Henderson, writing in the Canadian Journal of History, noted: "The ‘obliterated’ histories of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales can be traced only in the English texts that were ‘obliterating’ them…. Baker explores the gaps ‘between nations,’ and between disciplines, texts, even genders." In a review in Shakespeare Studies, Dympna C. Callaghan referred to Between Nations as "excellent" and wrote: "Baker's title … suggests his reluctance to ‘take sides’; but his rigorous insistence on the multiplicities of a history which has too long presented itself as a single, unified entity is immensely valuable."

Baker also served as editor (with Willy Maley) of British Identities and English Renaissance Literature. The book features critical essays focusing on the examination of "Britishness"—in terms of ideas and "identities"—through literature and literary history. "In British Identities and English Renaissance Literature, literary scholars respond to historian J.G.A. Pocock's call for a ‘pluralist and multicultural’ approach to the study of British history and identities," wrote Joan P. Linton in the Renaissance Quarterly. Linton went on to point out that Pocock's approach stresses rethinking "from the ground up[,] the supposed ‘unity’ of what has been called ‘Great Britain.’" Linton added: "To this end the essays in this volume address identity-making in diverse cultural locations, from England and Britain to Europe and the New World."

Writing on the H-Net Reviews Web site, Krishan Kumar referred to British Identities and English Renaissance Literature as a "timely and important collection of essays." Judith Rice Henderson, writing in the Canadian Journal of History, commented that "the editors claim that literary critics can contribute to ‘British history’ by exploring the development of English identity and the survival of English culture within an emerging Britain." Henderson went on to note that "the essay collection as a whole is above average and proves the value of the experiment it undertakes." Madelyn B. Dick wrote in History: Review of New Books that "the essays are an excellent introduction into a relatively new field," adding: "This book of essays is not easy to read: It assumes a vast knowledge of British history, not only of the center but also of the edges. It is mainly directed at mature scholars."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Canadian Journal of History, August, 1998, Judith Rice Henderson, review of Between Nations: Shakespeare, Spenser, Marvell, and the Questionof Britain, p. 293; April, 2004, Judith Rice Henderson, review of British Identities and English Renaissance Literature, p. 134.

Early Modern Literary Studies, September, 2000, Andrew Murphy, review of Between Nations.

History: Review of New Books, fall, 2002, Madelyn B. Dick, review of British Identities and English Renaissance Literature, p. 21.

Renaissance Quarterly, winter, 2004, Joan P. Linton, review of British Identities and English Renaissance Literature, p. 1538.

Shakespeare Studies, annual, 1999, Dympna C. Callaghan, review of Between Nations, p. 213; 2004, Paul E.J. Hammer, review of British Identities and English Renaissance Literature, p. 325.