Benjamin DeMott, a prominent writer, scholar and cultural critic whose work explored the mythology that underpins contemporary American life, has died in Worthington, Mass. He was 81.
He died Sept. 29 after a heart attack, according to his son Tom.
At his death, Mr. DeMott was emeritus professor of English at Amherst College, where he had taught for nearly 40 years. Before retiring from the college in 1990, he was the Mellon professor of humanities there.
The author of more than a dozen books, Mr. DeMott was best known for a trilogy that examined cultural beliefs in three sensitive areas: “The Imperial Middle: Why Americans Can’t Think Straight About Class” (1990); “The Trouble With Friendship: Why Americans Can’t Think Straight About Race” (1995); and “Killer Woman Blues: Why Americans Can’t Think Straight About Gender and Power” (2000).
The books investigated what Mr. DeMott saw as three pervasive social myths: that Americans live in a classless society; that individual friendships between blacks and whites can vanquish racism all by themselves; and the images of women, ubiquitous in popular culture, that render them almost indistinguishable from men.
Mr. DeMott received a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University in 1949. He joined the Amherst faculty in 1951 and earned a PhD in English literature from Harvard University two years later.
He was best known for his writing in the popular media. His essays and criticism appeared frequently in Harper’s Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times Book Review and elsewhere. Throughout his work, he was concerned with what he viewed as the increasing dehumanization of contemporary life, brought about by a potent combination of obliviousness, anti-intellectualism, and the failure of empathy.
Critical response to Mr. DeMott’s work was divided. Some reviewers applauded a sensibility that could take in Elvis and existentialism, Mailer and McLuhan, Salinger and “The Simpsons.” Others saw the pop-culture references as forced efforts to look au courant.
