Jacques Dubois, the Belgian literary theorist and academic, died on February 13, 2026.
He was Professor Emeritus of Literature at the Université de Liège and was born in Liège in 1933. Dubois developed the concept of the Literary Institution, following the work of Pierre Bourdieu and drawing an analogy with other social institutions such as the military, medical and political fields.
He was also a member of the Groupe μ and, in 1983, was the main editor of the Manifesto for Walloon culture. As president of the Center for Georges Simenon Studies, he helped select the Simenon novels included in La Pléiade in 2003.
Jacques Dubois (20 March 1933 – 12 February 2026) was a Belgian literary theorist and academic who was Professor Emeritus of Literature at the Université de Liège. He invented the concept of the Literary Institution following the work of Pierre Bourdieu by analogy with other social institutions such as military, medical, and political. He was also a member of the Groupe μ. In 1983, he was the main editor of the Manifesto for Walloon culture.