Ph.D. Comparative Literature, University of California, Berkeley
Occupation
Author · Literary historian · Professor emeritus
Yearsactive
1966–2000
Employer(s)
University of California, San Diego (1966–2000)
Knownfor
Studies of feminist imagery; WPA‑era art collecting
Notablework
Idols of Perversity: Fantasies of Feminine Evil in Fin‑de‑Siècle Culture (1986); Evil Sisters: The Threat of Female Sexuality and the Cult of Manhood (1996); Georgia O'Keeffe and the Eros of Place (1998); American Expressionism: Art and Social Change 1920–1950 (2003); Naked: The Nude in America (2010)
Title
Professor Emeritus, Department of Literature, UC San Diego
Spouse
Sandra Dijkstra
Bram Dijkstra (born Abraham Dijkstra on 5 July 1938) is an American author, literary critic and former professor of English literature. Dijkstra wrote seven books on various literary and artistic subjects concerning writing. He also curates art exhibitions and writes catalog essays for San Diego art museums.
Early life and education
Dijkstra was born on a small island in Indonesia but spent his formative years in the Netherlands. His father had been interned in a Japanese concentration camp and died soon after World War II. Dijkstra later moved to the United States, where he attended San Diego State University. After completing his undergraduate studies, Dijkstra earned his Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Berkeley.
Career
He joined the faculty of the University of California, San Diego in 1966 and taught there until he retired and became an emeritus professor in 2000. He has written seven books including Idols of Perversity: Fantasies of Feminine Evil in Fin-de-siècle Culture (1986) and Evil Sisters: The Threat of Female Sexuality and the Cult of Manhood (1996).
Dijkstra and his wife, Sandra Dijkstra, have collected art, books, and music. In 2023, they donated a collection of Black music materials to Stanford University.
