John Erskine (10/5/1879–6/2/1951) was an educator & author, born in New York City & raised in Weehawken, NJ. He graduated from Columbia University (A.M., '01; Ph.D., '03). He was employed at Columbia & Amherst. He instituted Columbia College's General Honors Course, a 2-year undergraduate seminar that would later help inspire "Masterworks of Western Literature," now known commonly as "Literature Humanities," the 2nd component of Columbia College's Core Curriculum. Helen's Return The Younger Generation Their Elders Death and Birth Helen's Beauty