The "State" Of Newman Studies

Following the medical practice of evaluating a person's "state" of health in terms of prior history, present diagnosis and future prognosis, this essay comments briefly on four areas or—to use medical parlance—"branches" of Newman studies: (1) Autobiographical: Newman as he portrayed himself; (2) Interpretive: Newman as others have depicted him; (3) Motivational: Newman's life and work as inspiring others; (4) Transcultural: Newman's life and work as crossing cultures. By way of conclusion, I will share a dream about a digital reading of Newman's Apologia in the future.