She noted that Damrosch encouraged members of the seminars to express their own ideas on Blake, even if their ideas challenged the notions of literary critics.

“It was a wonderful way of teaching and getting freshmen in college to think for themselves,” Eager said.

The recipients of the teaching prize dismissed the notion that undergraduate teaching takes a back seat at Harvard to other scholarly tasks, such as research.

“I’ve taught at several colleges and I think that Harvard more than other colleges values undergraduate teaching,” Damrosch said.

Lewis said one of the award’s purposes is to underscore the importance of classroom interaction.

“This is a way that Harvard shows the value it places on good teaching, in an environment where we are told all the time, incorrectly, that only research matters,” said Lewis. “It is gratifying that those selected are all first-rate and productive scholars.”

—Staff writer Daniel P. Mosteller can be reached at dmostell@fas.harvard.edu.