Daniel Herwitz

Daniel Herwitz is a Professor at the University of Michigan, holding the Frederick G. L. Huetwell Professorship across Comparative Literature, History of Art, Philosophy, and Art & Design. He earned his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Chicago in 1984 and has been affiliated with the University of Michigan since 2002.

Herwitz’s research spans aesthetics, film studies, visual studies, avant-garde music, and postcolonial cultural politics. His work investigates the intersection of art with memory, trauma, and political agency, particularly in South Africa, India, and the U.S.

His recent publications focus on political dimensions of visual art, global aesthetics, modernist art history, and cultural heritage. Notable awards include the National Book Award in India and the National Jewish Book Award.

• Mellon Fellow, Stanford Humanities Center (1991-92)
• Andrew Mellon Visitor Scholar, University of Cape Town (2010)
• Visiting Fellow, WISER (2015)
• Visiting Fellowship, Australian National University (2013)

Herwitz teaches graduate seminars on literature and the other arts, literature, memory, and trauma, and literature and philosophical aesthetics. He is also engaged in curatorial theory, postcolonial identity, and interdisciplinary practices.