November 9, 2009

Literary Scholar at UCSB to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award

Shirley Geok-Lin Lim, a professor of English at UC Santa Barbara, is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States (MELUS). The award will be presented at the Modern Language Association's annual convention in Philadelphia in December.

An internationally recognized scholar, Lim has published widely in the areas of literary criticism, Asian American studies, poetry, fiction, and memoir. Her most recent publications include "Princess Shawl" (Maya Press: Kuala Lumpur, 2008); "Listening to the Singer: New and Selected Malaysian Poems" (Maya Press: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2007); and "Sister Swing, A Novel" (Singapore/London: Marshall Cavendish, 2006); and the co-edited volume "Transnational American Literature" (Temple University Press, 2005). She has received numerous grants, prizes, and honors, including American Book Awards for her memoir "Among the White Moon Faces" and for her co-edited anthology "The Forbidden Stitch: An Asian American Women's Anthology"; and the Commonwealth Poetry Prize for her first collection of poems, titled "Crossing the Peninsula."

Born in Malacca, Malaysia, Lim came to the United States as a Fulbright and Wein International Scholar in 1969, and completed her doctorate degree in British and American literature at Brandeis University in 1973. Prior to joining the faculty at UCSB, she taught at the City University of New York, the State University of New York, the National University of Singapore, the National Institute of Education at Nanyang Technological University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Hong Kong.

Founded in 1973, MELUS is dedicated to the study and teaching of Latino American, Native American, African American, Asian and Pacific American, and ethnically specific Euro-American literary works, their authors, and their cultural contexts. The society has contributed to American literary studies by presenting sessions at the conventions of such scholarly organizations as the Modern Language Association, College English Association, National Women's Studies Association, American Studies Association, American Literature Association, and Popular Culture Association.

About UC Santa Barbara

The University of California, Santa Barbara is a leading research institution that also provides a comprehensive liberal arts learning experience. Our academic community of faculty, students, and staff is characterized by a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration that is responsive to the needs of our multicultural and global society. All of this takes place within a living and learning environment like no other, as we draw inspiration from the beauty and resources of our extraordinary location at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.