Banner, James M., Jr. 1935–

(James Morrill Banner, Jr.)

PERSONAL:

Born May 3, 1935, in New York, NY; son of James M. (a real estate consultant) and Dorothea (a civic volunteer) Banner; married Lois Wendland (a historian), May 26, 1962 (divorced, 1984); married Phyllis Kramer (a psychotherapist); children: Olivia Parkes, Gideon Byrne. Education: Yale University, B.A., 1957; Columbia University, M.A., 1961, Ph.D., 1968.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Washington, DC. E-mail—jbanner@aya.yale.edu.

CAREER:

Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, instructor, 1966-68, assistant professor, 1968-71, associate professor of history, 1971-80. Charles University, Fulbright professor, 1999; visiting professor at Bronx Community College, Hunter College of the City University of New York, Columbia University, University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins University, The American University, Georgetown University, and George Washington University. History News Service, cofounder and codirector, 1996—; National History Center, cofounder, 2002—. Common Cause, founding chair of New Jersey chapter, 1972-74, member of national governing board, 1973-79; American Council of Learned Societies, member of board of directors, 1977-79; National Humanities Alliance, member of steering committee, 1981-82; consultant to National Endowment for the Humanities and U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary Impeachment Inquiry. Juror for Bancroft Prizes in American History, Columbia University, and Francis Parkman Prize, Society of American Historians. Military service: U.S. Army, Counter-Intelligence Corps, 1957-60.

MEMBER:

National Council on Public History, American Historical Association, Organization of American Historians, Society of American Historians (fellow), Society for Historians of the Early American Republic, American Antiquarian Society (fellow), Phi Beta Kappa.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Guggenheim fellowship, 1970-71; research fellow, Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History, Harvard University, 1974-75.

WRITINGS:

To the Hartford Convention: The Federalists and the Origins of Party Politics in Massachusetts, 1789-1815, Knopf (New York, NY), 1970.

(With James M. McPherson, Laurence B. Holland, Nancy J. Weiss, and Michael D. Bell) Blacks in America: Bibliographical Essays, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1971.

(Editor, with Barton J. Bernstein and Sheldon Hackney) Understanding the American Experience: Recent Interpretations, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1973.

(With Harold C. Cannon) The Elements of Teaching, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 1997.

(With Harold C. Cannon) The Elements of Learning, Yale University Press, 1999.

Founder, publisher, and editor in chief, Humanities Report, 1979-82.

Banner's book on the elements of learning was translated into several foreign languages, including Arabic, Chinese, French, and Korean.

SIDELIGHTS:

James M. Banner, Jr., is a historian and educator who has looked at the teaching process from both sides of the lectern. The Elements of Teaching and The Elements of Learning, both written with Harold C. Cannon, use example and anecdote to postulate the optimal teacher and the optimal student. Banner and Cannon based their books on observations made during their own careers as professors: classroom experiences of their own, as well as recollections of notable educators and motivated learners. In a Booklist review of The Elements of Teaching, Gilbert Taylor wrote: "For teachers either worn out or full of energy, Banner and Cannon's exhortations and admonishments ought to be inspiring." A Publishers Weekly correspondent similarly noted: "Teaching as an art is given much-needed attention in this guided tour through its intricacies by two experienced and empathetic cicerones."

The Elements of Learning offers a "how-to" for students hoping to get the most out of their education, and it is intended for enrollees in high school, college, and adult classes. A Library Journal reviewer found the work "thoughtful and reassuring," noting that the text "offers kindly advice to a new generation."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 15, 1997, Gilbert Taylor, review of The Elements of Teaching, p. 977.

Library Journal, September 15, 1998, review of The Elements of Learning, p. 94.

Publishers Weekly, February 24, 1997, review of The Elements of Teaching, p. 80.