Kelsey, Penelope M.

Research

research overview

Professor Kelsey’s research interests, as represented by her publications, include: Tribal Theory in Native American Literature: Dakota and Haudenosaunee Writing and Indigenous Worldviews (University of Nebraska Press, 2008), Strawberries in Brooklyn: Maurice Kenny Considered (SUNY Press, 2011), and Reading the Wampum, which focuses on Haudenosaunee visual culture and narrative from a Haudenosaunee Studies perspective. Topics include: the reformulation of Haudenosaunee knowledge via wampum tropes in James Stevens' and Eric Gansworth's writing; the condolence ceremony and cultural regeneration in Mohawk director Shelley Niro's films; and the contestation of Iroquois national identity and territories in Tracey Deer's Club Native (2008).

keywords

Native American Literature, Native American Film, Native American Visual Traditions, Native American Writing Systems, Native American Epistemologies, Native American Languages, Comparative Indigenous Studies, US Ethnic Literatures, Ethnicity and Disability, Multiracial Representations, Indigenous Feminisms, Tribal Feminisms, Red Feminism, Visuality Theory

Publications

selected publications

book
- Reading the Wampum: Essays on Hodinohso Ni' Visual Code and Epistemological Recovery 2014
- Maurice Kenny: Celebrations of a Mohawk Writer. Ed. Kelsey, Penelope M.. 2011
- Tribal Theory in Native American Literature 2008
- Tribal Theory in Native American Literature 2008
chapter
journal article
- World(build)ing in Mohawk- and Seneca-Language Films. English Language Notes. 214-225. 2020
- Beyond Settler Sovereignty: Temporal Sovereignty and Indigenous Self-Determination. Western American Literature. 323-325. 2019
- Legible Natives: Making Native Women Visible in the Literary Arts. Legacy. 198-211. 2017
- Disability and Native North American Boarding School Narratives. Journal of Literary and Cultural Disability Studies. 195-212. 2013
- Red Land, Red Power: Grounding Knowledge in the American Indian Novel. Great Plains Quarterly. 254-255. 2011

editor of

book
- Maurice Kenny: Celebrations of a Mohawk Writer 2011

Teaching

courses taught

ENGL 1001 - Writing, Reading, Culture
Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Spring 2019
This course provides training and practice in writing and critical thinking with a focus on literary and cultural studies. We will emphasize reading, the writing process, the fundamentals of composition, and the structure of arguments. There will be varied writing assignments with opportunities for revision.
ENGL 2102 - Literary Analysis
Primary Instructor - Fall 2020
Students will build skills in careful, detailed reading and critical writing. Focusing on poetry, prose, and plays, the course cultivates an understanding of literary forms and genres and introduces techniques and vocabulary essential for the study of literature.
ENGL 3005 - The Literature of New World Encounters
Primary Instructor - Spring 2020
This course explores how literary, cultural, and historical works stage intersections and encounters between European settlers and Indigenous peoples. Christopher Columbus�s epochal journey brought the Old World (Asia, Africa, Europe) into contact with the New World (the Americas), setting in motion the diffusion of plants, animals, peoples, and pathogens. Students will think about the economic, cultural, historical, and biological consequences of the European invasion and settlement of the Americas.
ENGL 3226 - Folklore
Primary Instructor - Fall 2018
Emphasizes formal study of folk traditions (including tales, songs, games, customs, beliefs, and crafts) within a theoretical framework, using examples from several cultures.
ENGL 3377 - Literatures of Race, Multiculturalism, Ethnicity
Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Fall 2018
Race-related controversies are constantly in the news, and college is when many of us form opinions on these topics. Exploring the literatures of race, multiculturalism, and ethnicity alongside and beyond traditional classics can help us become more informed members of society. This course will help students understand how reading literary and cultural texts and media consumption can shape our assumptions of shared belonging or unbridgeable differences. Topics vary each semester. Check department description for details. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours for different topics.