Dr. Klages' research focuses on the social constructions and representations of bodies in 19th century American culture. An expert on gender and disability studies in Victorian American culture, she is currently working on a project on the intersections of sexuality and disability in institutional discourses in 19th c. Massachusetts.
keywords
nineteenth century American literature and culture, disability studies, gender studies, queer studies in literature, literary theory
ENGL 1260 - Introduction to Women's Literature
Primary Instructor
-
Spring 2018
Introduces literature by women in England and America. Covers both poetry and fiction and varying historical periods. Acquaints students with the contribution of women writers to the English literary tradition and investigates the nature of this contribution. Same as WGST 1260.
ENGL 1270 - Introduction to American Literature by Women
Primary Instructor
-
Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Fall 2021 / Spring 2023
This course investigates how literature by women has shaped the United States over time, from Indigenous authors, to abolitionists, to suffragists, to feminists of various waves. With attention to intersections between class, race, and sexual orientation, students will consider what it has meant and still means to be a woman writer in the United States and will explore how women have engaged, subverted, and resisted ideas about gender. Same as WGST 1270.
ENGL 1290 - Crime, Policing, Detection
Primary Instructor
-
Spring 2022 / Fall 2022 / Fall 2023
Explores stories about crime and policing, deviance and detection, law and order. Students will learn how genres such as detective or crime fiction or police procedurals narrate anxieties about race, class, gender, sexuality, and nationality. Analyzes how categories of innocence and guilt, justice and punishment, are imagined and portrayed in short stories, films, novels, and TV shows.
ENGL 2112 - Introduction to Literary Theory
Primary Instructor
-
Spring 2019
This course introduces students to a wide range of critical theories essential to the study of literature. Critical theories have broad applications because they provide ways to interpret all cultural products, including visual arts, music, and writing. We will investigate some of the major movements relevant to literary studies, which may include, for example, cultural studies, structuralism, feminisms, ecocriticism, critical race theories, postmodern theory, media theories, etc.
ENGL 2707 - Introduction to Queer Literature
Primary Instructor
-
Fall 2020 / Spring 2022 / Fall 2022 / Fall 2023
How is literature shaped by cultural understandings of queer and non-normative genders and sexualities? How does it, in turn, shape those understandings? This class explores how genders, sexualities, and writing intersect with issues of race, class, nation, ability, and empire. Readings may include novels, short stories, poetry, graphic novels, films, essays, blogs, and more. Same as LGBT 2707.
ENGL 3235 - American Novel
Primary Instructor
-
Summer 2019 / Summer 2021
This class explores how over two centuries of Americans have shaped the novel and how the novel has shaped America. What themes or crises define the �American novel�? How do immigrant authors, writers of color, Indigenous novelists, and queer or working class authors unsettle the American stories we think we know? Together we�ll ask how the transformation of America is made visible in the novel�s shifting boundaries and forms.
ENGL 3675 - Majors Authors in American Literature
Primary Instructor
-
Fall 2020
This course focuses on a single author in American Literature. We will study literary and historical influences and other contemporaneous writers as necessary for gaining a full understanding of an author�s body of work. The author studied will vary each semester. Check department description for details.
ENGL 4039 - Capstone in Literary Studies
Primary Instructor
-
Spring 2018 / Spring 2023
Topic varies by section, but all sections include small seminar discussions and focus on an individualized research project related to the topic. This course will draw on skills from previous courses in critical reading, thinking, and writing and will culminate in high-level discussions and in the final project. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours.
ENGL 4287 - Special Topics in Queer Literature
Primary Instructor
-
Spring 2024
This course will focus on a special topic in queer literature and non-normative genders and sexualities. Students will consider how literature reflects and represents understandings of sexuality, gender, desire, and more; the course may engage a variety of genres. Topics vary by semester. Check department description for details. Same as LGBT 4287 and WGST 4287.
ENGL 4830 - Honors Thesis
Primary Instructor
-
Spring 2018 / Fall 2022
Students accepted to English Departmental Honors are enrolled in this course.
ENGL 5529 - Studies in Special Topics 1
Primary Instructor
-
Spring 2018 / Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Fall 2021 / Spring 2023
Studies special topics that focus on a theme, genre, or theoretical issue not limited to a specific period or national tradition. Topics vary each semester. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours.
LGBT 2707 - Introduction to Queer Literature
Primary Instructor
-
Fall 2020 / Spring 2022 / Fall 2022 / Fall 2023
How is literature shaped by cultural understandings of queer and non-normative genders and sexualities? How does it, in turn, shape those understandings? This class explores how genders, sexualities, and writing intersect with issues of race, class, nation, ability, and empire. Readings may include novels, short stories, poetry, graphic novels, films, essays, blogs, and more. Same as ENGL 2707.
WGST 1260 - Introduction to Women's Literature
Primary Instructor
-
Spring 2018
Introduces literature by women in England and America. Covers both poetry and fiction and varying historical periods. Acquaints students with the contribution of women writers to the English literary tradition and investigates the nature of this contribution. Same as ENGL 1260.
WGST 1270 - Introduction to American Literature by Women
Primary Instructor
-
Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Fall 2021 / Spring 2023
This course investigates how literature by women has shaped the United States over time, from Indigenous authors, to abolitionists, to suffragists, to feminists of various waves. With attention to intersections between class, race, and sexual orientation, students will consider what it has meant and still means to be a woman writer in the United States and will explore how women have engaged, subverted, and resisted ideas about gender. Same as ENGL 1270.
