Sheffield, Elisabeth

Research

My primary interest is in writing novels. In both my creative and critical work, there are two driving concerns. The first is the problem of self and other (the “other” including not just the feminine and the foreigner, but also writing, death and absence). The second is the relation of representation to sex and gender ideology and “things as they are.” That is, how do our depictions of reality (in literature, and in language in general) work to determine what we perceive as “true” about men, about women, about human nature and sexual identity? I am interested in language as a material and medium that translates and shapes our experience of the world. I am also interested in language’s potential to create “worlds”—that is, new linguistic spaces that leave the reader disoriented and perhaps strangely energized upon their return to quotidian discourse.

Creative writing (ficiton), contemporary American, British, and Irish literature, postmodern and innovative literature, Irish modernism, Joyce and Beckett, poststructuralist and feminist theory

book
- Ire Land (a Faery Tale) 2020
- Helen Keller Really Lived A Novel 2014
- Fort Da 2009
- Gone 2003
- Joyce's Abandoned Female Costumes, Gratefully Received 1998
journal article
- CONFESSIONS OF THE FOX. American Book Review. 18-18. 2019
- The Ghost Writer. Ploughshares. 145-155. 2014
- 1 Revenant File.. Denver Quarterly. 87-93. 2013
- FORT DA: A REPORT. English Language Notes. 149-166. 2009

ENGL 3041 - Studies in Fiction and Poetry
Primary Instructor - Fall 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2022
Examines literary forms and themes with special emphasis on issues related to the craft of poetry and fiction. This course is taught in conjunction with visiting lectures by practicing writers. Does not count as Creative Writing workshop credit.
ENGL 3051 - Intermediate Fiction Workshop
Primary Instructor - Fall 2018 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2022
Intermediate course in fiction writing. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours.
ENGL 4051 - Advanced Fiction Workshop
Primary Instructor - Fall 2018 / Fall 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2022
Advanced course in fiction writing. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours.
ENGL 4830 - Honors Thesis
Primary Instructor - Fall 2018 / Fall 2019 / Spring 2021 / Fall 2022 / Spring 2023
Students accepted to English Departmental Honors are enrolled in this course.
ENGL 5239 - Fiction Workshop
Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Fall 2019 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2022
Designed to give students time and impetus to generate fiction and discussion of it in an atmosphere at once supportive and critically serious. Enrollment requires admission to the Creative Writing Graduate Program or the instructor's approval of an application manuscript. May be repeated up to 12 total credit hours.