James Hall Appointed Director of UA’s New College Program

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Dr. James C. Hall, an African American culture scholar, has been appointed director of the New College program at The University of Alabama.

Hall comes to UA from The University of Illinois at Chicago where he served as associate professor of African American studies and English.

Hall is the author of the book “Mercy, Mercy, Me: African-American Culture and the American Sixties,” published by Oxford University Press and considered a major contribution to the understanding of 1960s American culture. “Mercy, Mercy Me” examines African American artistry in the 1960s and its impact on contemporary American life by focusing on the work of six artistically diverse African Americans including William Demby, John Coltrane, and W.E.B. Du Bois.

“A first-order scholar has joined The University of Alabama faculty,” said Dr. Robert Olin, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “Dr. Hall brings to the College of Arts and Sciences extensive knowledge and original insights into American culture and society that will enrich the College’s scholarly discourse and our teaching mission. The New College program here at UA has a long tradition of interdisciplinary teaching and research, so Dr. Hall is uniquely suited to direct New College and advance its role as an innovator in interdisciplinary teaching,” said Olin.

The New College program is one of 23 departments and programs in UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, the state’s most comprehensive liberal arts college and the University’s largest division. Founded in 1970, New College emphasizes individually initiated learning experiences in an interdisciplinary setting. Students in New College design their own areas of study, which typically include several academic disciplines, in close consultation with faculty advisers.

“The University of Alabama’s continued commitment to their experimental undergraduate college is impressive,” said Hall. “Learning environments like New College are especially well poised to produce thoughtful, flexible and skilled graduates of significant character and ethical sensitivity. I’m looking forward to helping New College, in particular, and The University’s College of Arts and Sciences, more generally, continue to grow and serve the citizens of Alabama.”

Hall has written extensively on African American artists and intellectuals and on the political and social influences of African American life and culture in contemporary America. His essays have appeared in four major literary encyclopedias, he is the editor of four collections of articles, and he is the author of more than 50 journal articles, reviews, book chapters, and presentations.

Hall has two works in progress, “Mary Lou Williams and American Culture, 1945-1975” and “Collected Writings of Fenton Johnson, 1903-1958.”

At the University of Illinois at Chicago, Hall also served as associate head of the department of African American studies and director of undergraduate studies. He received the University of Iowa Outstanding Teaching Award for 1990 and the Teaching Recognition Award, given by the Center for Teaching Excellence in 1999, among other awards.

He is a member of the editorial advisory boards of the University of Illinois Press; the Margaret Walker African American Studies Book Series; University Press of Mississippi; and Journal X.

Hall received a doctorate in American studies from the University of Iowa, a master’s degree in American studies and in religion and culture from the University of Iowa and Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario, Canada, respectively; and a bachelor’s degree in English from Wilfrid Laurier University.

The College of Arts and Sciences is the state’s largest public liberal arts college and the University of Alabama’s largest division with 6,000 students, 340 faculty, and more than 23 departments and programs.