James Adams

James Adams is a Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. He specializes in 19th-century British literature and culture, with a focus on gender, sexuality, and Victorian masculinity. His research integrates aesthetics, philosophy, and interdisciplinary historical analysis.

Education: S.B. in Literature and Mathematics from MIT (1977), B.A. from Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar (1979), and Ph.D. from Cornell (1987). Prior to Columbia, he taught at Cornell, Indiana University, and the University of Rochester.

Key works include *Dandies and Desert Saints* (1995) and *A History of Victorian Literature* (2009), both honored as Choice Outstanding Academic Books. He co-edited *Sexualities in Victorian Britain* (1996) and served as editor of the *Encyclopedia of the Victorian Era* (2004).

He has contributed widely to journals like *Victorian Studies*, *ELH*, and *Journal of the History of Ideas*. His current project, *The Uses of Inheritance: Identity and Agency in Britain, 1789-1895*, explores historical and literary legacies.

Awards include recognition for his authored works. Professional roles include past leadership of the MLA Victorian Period Division and Northeast Victorian Studies Association, and editorial roles at *Victorian Studies*.