Dissertations
Over the past five years, students receiving PhDs in English—-Literary Studies and Writing Studies—-have completed dissertations that range across the broad field of English studies in their scholarly interests. See below for the authors, titles, committee members, and dissertation deposit dates.
May 2012
Alderfer, Sarah
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY FICTION AND THE PRODUCTION OF SHAME, 1680-1753
Chair: Robert Markley and Anthony Pollock; and Catharine Gray, Lori Newcomb
Bailes, Melissa
NATURAL HISTORY AND BRITISH WOMEN WRITERS, 1730-1830
Chair: Melissa Bailes; Robert Markley, Justine Murison, Gillen Wood
Bannon, Jessica
CAPITALIZING ON LITERACY: FEDERAL ADULT EDUCATION POLICY IN THE 20TH CENTURY
Chair: Peter Mortensen; and Catherine Prendergast, Paul Prior, Kate Vieira
Bowen, Lauren
REWRITING THE AGING BODY: LITERACY, TECHNOLOGY, AND HISTORY
Chair: Peter Mortensen; and Gail Hawisher, Melissa Littlefield, Paul Prior
Buck, Amber
LIFE, LEARNING, AND LITERACY ON THE SOCIAL NETWORK: DIGITAL PARTICIPATORY CULTURE
Chair: Gail Hawisher; and Paul Prior, Spencer Schaffner, Lisa Nakumura
Colson, Dan
WRITING AGAINST DEMOCRACY: ANARCHIST LITERATURE AND THE APORIA OF REPRESENTATION, 1880-1940
Chair: Cary Nelson; and Stephanie Foote, Tim Newcomb, Alan Wald, John Marsh
Dennis, Sarah
PROSE FOR ART'S SAKE: CREATING AND DOCUMENTING AN AMERICAN AESTHETIC, 1810 – 1860
Chair: Patricia Loughran; and Stephanie Foote, Leon Chai, Christopher Freeburg
Henn, Rob
CLASS WORK: NEW YORK INTELLECTUAL LABOR AND THE CREATION OF POSTMODERN AMERICAN FICTION, 1932-1962
Chair: Bill Maxwell; and Michael Berube, Robert Parker, Kathryn Oberdeck
Morris, Dave
DOMESTIC FAITHS, GLOBAL MISSIONS: POST-SECULAR SCIENCE FICTION AT THE MILLENNIUM
Chair: Susan Koshy; and Trish Loughran, Jonathan Ebel, Ted Underwood
August 2012
Bechtold, Rebecca
COMPOSING THE BODY: NARRATIVE IN THE AGE OF IMPROVISATION, 1770-1867
Chair: Trish Loughran; and Justine Murison, Leon Chai, Gillen Wood
Claborn, John
ECOLOGY OF THE COLOR LINE: RACE AND NATURE IN AMERICAN LITERATURE, 1895-1941
Co-Chairs: Bill Maxwell, Michael Rothberg; and Stephanie Foote, Spencer Schaffner
Lee, Merton
ASIAN AMERICAN POETRY, AMERICAN POETRY, AND THE CRITIQUE OF IDENTITY: ASIAN AMERICAN POETRY IN COMPARATIVE CONTEXT, 1887-2005
Chair: Cary Nelson; and Leon Chai, Lisa Cacho, Matthew Hart
Unger, Mary
MODERNISM AND THE AMERICAN SYSTEM: STANDARDIZATION, UGLINESS, LITERATURE, 1900-1930
Chair: Dale Bauer; and Robert Parker, Gordon Hutner, Bill Maxwell
Van Renen, Denys
FROM BORDERS TO TOPOGRAPHIES: IDENTITIES AND EXPANSION IN BRITISH LITERATURE, 1620-1750
Chair: Robert Markley; and Lori Newcomb, Anthony Pollock, Feisal Mohamed, Andrea Stevens
December 2012
Holding, Cory
RHETORICAL GESTURES IN BRITISH ELOCUTIONISM
Chair: Debra Hawhee; and Martin Camargo, Gail Hawisher, Richard Powers, Paul Prior, Ted Underwood
Snow, Spencer
READING THE MAP: GEOGRAPHIC SPACE, READING PUBLICS, AND THE SHAPING OF NINETEENTH-CENTURY AMERICAN IDENTITY, 1803-1898
Chair: Trish Loughran; and Stephanie Foote, Leon Chai, Nancy Castro
May 2011
Berry, Patrick
BEYOND HOPE: RHETORICS OF MOBILITY, POSSIBILITY, AND LITERACY
Chair: Peter Mortensen; and Anne Haas Dyson, Gail Hawisher, Catherine Prendergast, Paul Prior
Brubaker, Anne
LITERATURE IN THE AGE OF MATHEMATICS: GENDER AND THE
MULTIPLICITY OF MODERNITY
Chair: Robert Markley; and Debra Hawhee, Michael Rothberg, Anthony Pollock
Clark, Stephanie
THEORIZING PRAYER IN ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND: BEDE ANDÆLFRIC
Chair: Charlie Wright; and Renée Trilling, Martin Camargo, Thomas Hill
Gray, Sarah
IRISH DISABILITY: POSTCOLONIAL NARRATIVES OF STUNTED DEVELOPMENT
Chair: Joseph Valente; and Jim Hansen, Vicki Mahaffey, Susan Koshy
Havlin, Natalie
CULTURES OF MIGRATION: RACE, SPACE, AND THE POLITICS OF ALLIANCE
IN U.S. LATINA/O PRINT AND VISUAL CULTURE, 1910-1939
Chair: Siobhan Somerville; and Richard Rodriguez, Susan Koshy, Lisa Cacho
Lieberman, Jennifer
POWER LINES: ELECTRIC NETWORKS AND THE AMERICAN LITERARY IMAGINATION
Chair: Robert Markley; and Bruce Michelson, Rayvon Fouche, Melissa Littlefield
Looker, Samantha
ENACTING AND INTERROGATING THE “ACADEMIC” IN UNDERGRADUATE
LANGUAGE AND LITERACY PRACTICES
Chair: Paul Prior; and Gail Hawisher, Sarah McCarthey, Spencer Schaffner
Simeone, Michael
AMERICAN GADGETS: CYBERNETICS, CONSUMER ELECTRONICS, AND
TWENTIETH-CENTURY US FICTION
Chair: Robert Markley; and Cary Nelson, Spencer Schaffner, Anustup Basu,
Laura Mandell
Stanciu, Cristina
THE MAKINGS AND UNMAKINGS OF AMERICANS: INDIANS AND
IMMIGRANTS IN AMERICAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE, 1880-1924
Chair: Bob Parker; and Jose Capino, Bill Maxwell, Gordon Hutner
Vincent, Jonathan
DANGEROUS SUBJECTS: U.S. WAR NARRATIVE, MODERN CITIZENSHIP,
AND THE MAKING OF NATIONAL SECRUITY, 1890-1964
Chair: Gordon Hutner; and Cary Nelson, Dale Bauer, Michael Rothberg
August 2011
Bellwoar, Hannah
SOCIOCULTURAL STUDIES OF BIOMEDICINE AND HEALTHCARE IN
EVERYDAY LITERATE LIFEWORLDS
Chair: Paul Prior; and Peter Mortensen, Melissa Littlefield, Debra Hawhee
Bilbro, Rebecca
ENGINEERING LITERACY: THE PRACTICE OF DISCIPLINE
Chair: Paul Prior; and Bob Markley, Dale Bauer, Spencer Schaffner
DeBarros, Eric
THE LABORS OF HERCULES: EMBODIED LEARNING AND MALE
DOMESTICATION IN EARLY MODERN CULTURE AND LITERATURE
Chair: Lori Newcomb; and Carol Neely, Andrea Stevens
Joseph, Terra
A “GREATER BRITAIN”: COLONIAL KIN IN FICTIONS OF SETTLEMENT,
1850-1890
Chair: Lauren Goodlad; and Antoinette Burton, Julia Saville, Hina Nazar
Lyons, Tara
ENGLISH PRINTED DRAMA IN COLLECTION BEFORE JONSON
AND SHAKESPEARE
Chair: Carol Neely; and Zachary Lesser, Lori Newcomb, Curtis Perry
Oliverio, Lisa
“LINES OF SPIRITUAL MOTION”: THE REALIZATION OF AMERICAN
CATHOLIC FICTION,
1845-1965
Chair: Dale Bauer; and Bob Parker, Stephanie Foote, Jim Hansen
Simeone, Christopher
“BY THE PEOPLE”: REPRESENTATIVE LITERATURE AND DEMOCRATIC
REPRESENTATION IN THE UNITED STATES, 1890-1930
Chair: Cary Nelson; and Stephanie Foote, Jim Hansen, Bill Maxwell
December 2011
Boynton, Tom
THE DESPOTISM OF FACT: CELTICISM AND THE TRANSNATIONAL
CRITIQUE OF CAPITALISM IN ENGLAND AND IRELAND, 1865-1954
Chair: Joseph Valente; and Joshua Esty, Vicki Mahaffey, James Hansen, Lauren Goodlad
Lehnen, Carl A.
SEX, AESTHETICS, AND MODERNITY IN THE BRITISH ROMANCE OF
ITALY, 1870-1914
Chair: Lauren Goodlad; and Matthew Hart, Hina Nazar, Julia Saville
O’Neill, Kimberly L.
WRITING INSURRECTION: U.S. LITERATURE AND THE POLITICS OF LATIN
AMERICAN INTERVENTION, 1898 TO 2010
Chair: Dale Bauer; and Nancy Castro, Gordon Hutner, Richard Rodriguez
Riede, Austin
PULLING ONESELF TOGETHER: POWER AND CHARACTER IN BRITISH
LITERATURE, 1914-1929
Chair: Matthew Hart, Lauren Goodlad; and Jim Hansen, Jed Esty
Rudolph, Kerstin
“I THOUGHT OF YOU IN HER PLACE”: REPRESENTATIONS OF BLACK
WOMANHOOD IN AMERICAN LITERARY REALISM, 1868-1900
Chair: Stephanie Foote; and Dale Bauer, Bill Maxwell, Erik McDuffie
May 2010
Craft, Pete
WARFARE, TRADE, AND "INDIANS" IN BRITISH LITERATURE, 1652-1711
Chair: Robert Markley; and Carol Neely, Anthony Pollock, Andrea Stevens
Dunick, Lisa
SELLING OUT: THE AMERICAN LITERARY MARKET PLACE AND THE MODERNIST NOVEL
Chair: Stephanie Foote; John Marsh, Bob Parker, Michael Rothberg
Lynch, Suzanne
FROM EXILE TO TRANSCENDENCE: RACIAL MIXTURE AND THE JOURNEY OF REVISION IN THE WORKS OF LYDIA MARIA CHILD, HANNAH CRAFTS, KATE CHOPIN, JAMES WELDON JOHNSON, AND JEAN TOOMER
Chair: Stephanie Foote, Alice Deck; and Cary Nelson, Siobhan Somerville
Moss, Andrew
THE CULTURAL CONSTITUTION OF THE POST-REPUBLIC: EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICS AND NINETEENTH-CENTURY LITERARY FORM
Chair: Trish Loughran; Leon Chai, Stephanie Foote, Joseph Valente
Olson, Christa
CONSTITUTIVE VISIONS: INDIGENEITY, VISUAL CULTURE, AND THE
RHETORICS OF ECUADORIAN NATIONAL IDENTITY
Chair: Debra Hawhee, Ralph Cintron; and Peter Mortensen, Cara Finnegan, Amalia
Pallares
Walls, Nicole
WHERE LANGUAGE IS MADE: LANGUAGE PLANNING AT THE INTERSECTIONS OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LITERACY AND LANGUAGE WORK
Chair: Catherine Prendergast; and Peter Mortensen, Dennis Baron, Cameron McCarthy
August 2010
Brinkman, Bart
BY THE BOOK: BOOK COLLECTING, SCRAPBOOKING AND THE MAKING OF
MODERNISM, 1880-1950
Chair: Cary Nelson; and James Hansen, Trish Loughran, John Timberman Newcomb
Godlove, Shannon
APOSTOLIC DISCOURSE AND CHRISTIAN IDENTITY IN ANGLO-SAXON
LITERATURE
Chair: Charles Wright; and Robert Barrett, Renee Trilling, Marianne Kalinke
Hackman, Paul
THE MEDIA ASSEMBLAGE: THE TWENTIETH-CENTURY NOVEL IN
DIALOGUE WITH FILM, TELEVISION, AND NEW MEDIA
Chair: Michael Rothberg; and James Hansen, Robert Markley, Ramona Curry
Luttfring, Sara
REPRODUCING WOMEN: FEMALE BODILY NARRATIVES AND ENGLISH
PATRIARCHIES, 1600-1660
Chair: Catharine Gray; and Carol Neely, Lori Newcomb, Zachary Lesser
Meyer, Allison
AGENTS OF HISTORY: WOMEN AND ROYAL POLITICS IN EARLY MODERN
HISTORICAL NARRATIVES AND PLAYS
Chair: Lori Newcomb; and Catharine Gray, Carol Neely, Curtis Perry, Brian Walsh
December 2010
Jernigan, Brandon
'"FORMS OF SOME INTENSER LIFE": GENRE AND IMPERIALISM AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY
Chair: Joe Valente; and Jed Esty, Lauren Goodlad, Jim Hansen
Ridgeway, Franklin
INJURIOUS DISTANCES: MOBILITY, SPACE, REALISM
Chair: Stephanie Foote; and Trish Loughran, Bill Maxwell, Kathryn Oberdeck
May 2009
Borst, Allan
TOWARD NATIONAL IDENTITY: ADDICTION, SUBJECTIVITY, AND AMERICAN LITERARY CULTURE
Chair: Cary Nelson; and Stephanie Foote, William Maxwell, Mark Thompson
Forst, Jean
RADICAL RETREATS: SENTIMENTALISM, SEPARATE SPHERES, AND THE DOMESTIC TURN IN AMERICAN WOMEN'S FICTION, 1850-1940
Chair: Robert Dale Parker; and Stephanie Foote, Cary Nelson, Bruce Michelson
Stevens, Clint
PAINFUL PASSAGES: DEATH, RITUAL, AND LITERATURE IN POST-REFORMATION ENGLAND
Chair: Leon Chai; and Gillen Wood, Robert Markley, William Underwood
October 2009
Fraiberg, Steven
ENGLISH, ISRAEL, AND GLOBALIZATION: A SOCIOHISTORIC STUDY ON LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL SHIFT
Chair: Paul Prior; and Gail Hawisher, Michele Koven, Ralph Cintron
Free, Melissa
"THAT INDEFINABLE SOMETHING BESIDES": SOUTHERN AFRICA, BRITISH IDENTITY, AND THE AUTHORIAL INFORMANT, 1883-1924
Chair: Joseph Valente; and Antoinette Burton, Peter Garrett, Jed Esty
Kolkovich, Elizabeth Zeman
WORK IN PROGRESS: GENDER AND POLITICS IN LATE ELIZABETHAN PROGRESS ENTERTAINMENTS
Chair: Carol Neely; and Catharine Gray, Zachary Lesser, Lori Newcomb
McWhorter, Ellen
UNSAYABLE SOMETHINGS: MODERN AMERICAN POETRY, LANGUAGE, AND THE LOGIC OF EXPERIENCE
Chair: Cary Nelson; and Siobhan Somerville, Julia Walker, James Hansen
December 2009
Damsen, Silver
EROTIC LOVE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROTO-CAPITALIST IDEOLOGY IN EARLY MODERN COMEDY
Chair: Carol Neely; and Michael Shapiro, Lori Newcomb, Zachary Lesser
Girard, Melissa
LINES OF FEELING: MODERNIST WOMEN'S POETRY AND THE LIMITS OF SENTIMENTALITY
Chair: Cary Nelson; and Stephanie Foote, Siobhan Somerville, Jed Esty
Reading, Amity
SOUL AND BODY: READING THE ANGLO-SAXON SELF THROUGH THE VERCELLI BOOK
Chair: Charles Wright; and Martin Camargo, Renee Trilling, Thomas Hall
Tombro, Melissa
PERFORMANCE STUDIES AND THE REINVENTION OF "I" IN COMPOSITION: MOVING MYSELF BEYOND A TEXTUAL MODEL
Chair: Debra Hawhee; and Spencer Schaffner, Julia Walker, Norman Denzin
May 2008
Alexander, Sarah
"SHOPPING FOR PLEASURE: THE FASHION LOVER IN VICTORIAN FICTION"
Chair: Peter Garrett; and Julia Saville, Hina Nazar, Lauren Goodlad
Dahlquist, Mark
"FAIRE SEMBLANTS AND SCANDALOUS WORSHIP: ICONOPOBIA AND THE ENGLISH RENAISSANCE "
Chair: Achsah Guibbory; and Lori Newcomb, Robert Markley, Caroline Hibbard
Fratz, Deborah
"DISABLED SUBJECTS DISABILITY: GENDER AND ETHICAL AGENCY IN VICTORIAN REALISM"
Chair: Lauren M. E. Goodlad; and Julia Saville, Hina Nazar, Eleanor Courtemanche
Savage, Elizabeth
"NURSERY OF THE NATION: MOTHERS, MIDWIVES AND NATIONAL IDENTITY ON THE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY COMEDIC STAGE"
Chair: Suvir Kaul; and Robert Markley, Carol Neely, Tony Pollock
Tracy, Daniel
"MIDDLEBROW MODERNMISM: PROFESSIONAL WRITING, GENRE, AND THE CIRCULATION OF CULTURAL AUTHORITY IN U.S. MASS CULTURE, 1913-32"
Chairs: Stephanie Foote, Siobhan Somerville; and Robert Parker, William Maxwell
Walker, Marilyn
"WRITING RESISTANCE: THE POLITICS AND POETICS OF BRITISH WOMEN'S ANTISLAVERY VERSE, 1785-1865"
Chair: Antoinette Burton; and Robert Markley, Gillen D'Arcy Wood, Ted Underwood
Walter, Christina
"THE MODERNIST IMAGETEXTt: EMBODYING IMPERSONALITY FROM OPTICS TO AESTHETICS"
Chair: Jed Esty; and Joseph Valente, Jesse Matz, Julia Saville
October 2008
Allen Lesley
"INVENTING THE SACRED NATION: SAINT EDMUND OF EAST ANGLIA AND ENGLISH IDENTITY IN MEDIEVAL TEXT AND IMAGE"
Chair: Robert Barrett; and Charlie Wright, Martin Camargo, Anne D. Hedeman
Buell, Marcia
"THE INTERPLAY OF VOICE, IDENTITY, AND RESPONSE AMONG FIVE EAL UNIVERSITY WRITERS"
Chair: Robert Barrett; and Charlie Wright, Martin Camargo, Anne D. Hedeman
Ching, Kory
"OUT OF THE SHADOWS: RETHINKING RESPONSE THROUGH THE INSTRUCTOR-LED PEER CONFERENCE"
Chair: Paul Prior; and Gail Hawisher, Peter Mortensen, Sarah McCarthey
Gossett, Katherine
"FROM MANUSCRIPT TO MULTIMEDIA: ILLUMINATING MEMORY AND RE[IMAGE]NING COMPOSITION"
Chair: Martin Camargo; and Gail Hawisher, Joyce Walker, Anne Hedeman, Joseph Squier
Hultquist, Aleksondra
"EQUAL ARDOUR: FEMALE DESIRE, AMATORY FICTION, AND THE RECASTING OF THE NOVEL, 1680-1760"
Chair: Robert Markley; and Anthony Pollock, Lori Newcomb, Dana Rabin, Tita Chico
Macharia, Keguro
"QUEER NATIVES"
Chair: Siobhan Somerville; and Jed Esty, Bill Maxwell, Matti Bunzl
Misri, Deepti
"READING VIOLENCE: GENDER, VIOLENCE AND REPRESENTATION IN INDIA AND PAKISTAN (1947-PRESENT)"
Chairs: Ania Loomba, Jed Esty; and Simona Sawhney, Antoinette Burton
Starr, Rebecca
"ELFRIC'S GENDERED THEOLOGY IN THE CATHOLIC HOMILIES, THE FIRST SERIES"
Chair: Charles D. Wright; Renee Trilling, Robert Barrett, Lisa M. C. Weston
VanIttersum, Derek
"REASSEMBLING WRITING TECHNOLOGIES: HISTORICAL AND SITUATED STUDIES OF RHETORICAL ACTIVITY"
Chair: Gail Hawisher; and Paul Prior, Peter Mortense, Chip Bruce
December 2008
Carluccio, Dana
COGNITIVE FICTIONS: THE EVOLUTION OF IDENTITY IN LATE-NINETEENTH CENTURY FICTION AND SCIENCE
Chair: Siobhan Somerville; and Stephanie Foote, Nancy Castro, Robert Parker
Lamanna, Carrie
DISCIPLINING IDENTITIES: FEMINISM, NEW MEDIA, AND 21ST CENTURY RESEARCH PRACTICES
Chair: Hawisher; and Paul Prior, Nan Elizabeth Googin, Ramona Curry
