September 14, 2009

A Literary Scholar Is Remembered for Her Generous Spirit and Critical Engagement

Courtesy of Shoshana Felman

Barbara E. Johnson belonged to the Yale school of critics during its heyday.

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Courtesy of Shoshana Felman

Barbara E. Johnson belonged to the Yale school of critics during its heyday.

By Jennifer Howard

Barbara E. Johnson, an influential literary critic who was a professor of law and psychiatry at Harvard University, died on August 27 of cerebellar ataxia at her home in Cambridge, Mass. She was 61. One of the earliest critics and translators to help bring the ideas of Jacques Derrida to the attention of American scholars, Ms. Johnson found new and influential ways to use critical theory to investigate literary and social questions.

Born in Boston in 1947, Ms. Johnson