J-School Mourns Passing of David Littlejohn

June 9, 2015

David Littlejohn, arts critic, book author and UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism Professor Emeritus who spent 35 years teaching at Berkeley and 29 years at the J-School, passed away on Thursday, June 4. He was 78.

As the J-School community mourns this loss, those who knew him remember a brilliant teacher, a cultural adventurer, a tough editor, and a gentleman rooted in tradition.

Littlejohn was born in 1937 in San Francisco. He discovered his love for writing while studying architecture as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley. After completing his Ph.D. at Harvard in 1963, Littlejohn returned to Berkeley to take a position teaching, first in the English Department and later at the Graduate School of Journalism. In his Amazon.com author profile, he described the position as his “dream job.”

At the J-School, Littlejohn taught courses on The Critical Review, Reporting on Cultural Events, and Reporting as Literature. “He connected brilliantly with journalism students who always asked what was new but who sometimes needed a reminder that the ‘new’ had a tradition,” said Tom Leonard, University Librarian and soon-to-be Professor Emeritus at the J-School. “Picture Dr. Johnson let loose on Las Vegas, Captain Beefheart taken to the opera, and you will have some sense of the excitement David brought to North Gate Hall over many years."

Littlejohn was also a prolific journalist and author. During his career, he spent 10 years as “Critic at Large” for KQED-TV in San Francisco and the PBS network, and contributed to the London Times and the Wall Street Journal. He also wrote 14 books and published nearly 400 reviews, profiles and critical essays. He attributed this level of productivity in part to the nature of his work at Berkeley — summer breaks and sabbatical leave gave him time to write books, and the direct connection between his teaching work and his professional work meant he could pursue his own interests in the classroom. “I teach what I live, train students to do what I do, talk in the classroom about the things I care about most,” Littlejohn wrote in a statement of teaching philosophy in 1985.

In the same statement, Littlejohn also wrote of editing his students’ work to high standards. “David Littlejohn could have a tough, taskmaster persona,” said Lydia Chavez, a professor at the J-School who took Littlejohn’s course on cultural writing as an undergraduate and later became his colleague. “He was an exacting editor, but he was generous and kind with his students and colleagues.”

Orville Schell, who served as dean of the J-School during part of Littlejohn’s tenure, described a teacher with unrivaled commitment to his craft. "David Littlejohn was one of those rare teachers whose fierce singularity‎ compelled him to make every course original, to suffer no back sliders and to demand the best from every student,” Schell said.

Littlejohn’s courses at the J-School were in great demand, and in 1985 UC Berkeley recognized his work with a Distinguished Teaching Award, the campus’s most prestigious honor for teaching. “I remember students lined up outside his office during office hours,” said Joan Bieder, associate dean at the J-School. “He was of the old school in the best possible way, and I always admired his courage and his dedication to teaching and writing.”

Littlejohn broke his neck diving into Bass Lake at 14, and as a result used crutches for most of his life. He began using a wheelchair occasionally in 1997, and permanently after 1999. In his Amazon.com author profile, he cited his declining physical health as one reason he retired from teaching.

But Littlejohn’s passion for writing never waned. He continued to contribute regularly to the Wall Street Journal and worked on two books after retiring. His most recent book, a fictional work titled, “The Big One: A Story of San Francisco,” was published in 2011.

In the years since his retirement, the imprint Littlejohn left on the J-School has continued to inspire students and faculty. “David was a teacher of legendary skill and stature,” said Dean Edward Wasserman. “We are all mindful of the rich legacy he has left us, and determined to honor it by working hard to maintain and enhance the School which he did so much to create.”

Even after nearly three decades as an instructor, Littlejohn never faltered in his commitment to teaching with excitement and originality. “His ‘courses’ were more like workshops, marvels of creativity and excellence, the kinds of rare pedagogical experiences those lucky enough to get into remembered their whole lives,” Schell recalled. “Every year I had to beg him to come back and teach one more course. When he did, it was never by rote, always a wonder.”

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