William J. Maxwell

William J. Maxwell is a Professor of English and African and African American Studies at Washington University, holding the Fannie Hurst Chair since 2023. He specializes in African American Literature, Modernism, and U.S./Black Diasporan Cultural History. Educated at Columbia University (BA), Duke University (MA, PhD), Maxwell has authored/co-edited influential works such as New Negro, Old Left (1999) and F.B. Eyes (2015), exploring intersections of Black writing and political history.

His research emphasizes the FBI’s surveillance of African American literature and the revival of James Baldwin’s legacy. Maxwell has served as President of the Modernist Studies Association (2021) and on editorial boards of PMLA and American Literary History. Awards include the American Book Award and multiple Choice recognitions.

His current project, James Baldwinism Now, examines Baldwin’s enduring impact. Notable collaborations include co-editing Claude McKay’s Romance in Marseille (2020), a landmark queer diasporic novel. Maxwell’s work bridges literary scholarship with broader cultural and political discourse.