Joseph Black has been selected to receive the honorific of Provost Professor, which recognizes exceptional achievement in both research or creative activity and teaching.
Black is an internationally recognized leader in early modern book history and culture. His research spans archival discovery, scholarly editing, literary analysis, and digital humanities. Through his field-defining archival work, he has uncovered previously unexamined materials and reconstructed the reading practices of diverse communities, significantly expanding the evidentiary base of the discipline. Equally influential are his contributions to scholarly editing and digital humanities, where he has created authoritative resources and research infrastructures that enable other scholars to make inquiries not possible before. His work in print culture, private libraries, and the history of reading has reshaped core questions in the field and challenged longstanding assumptions. A prolific and versatile scholar, Professor Black has published seven books as well as dozens of journal articles, chapters, and refereed public-facing pieces. His work has been supported by a $1.5 million grant from the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council. Black is also a distinguished and deeply committed educator and mentor of graduate and undergraduate students whose excellence in the classroom has been recognized with the Distinguished Teaching Award. His influence on teaching extends beyond the classroom through his editorship of four widely adopted texts and anthologies, which are used by faculty nationwide and reflect his significant contributions to pedagogy in the field.
Read more about the recently-selected Provost Professors at UMass Amherst.
To learn more about Black's research, visit Black's faculty profile.