Gustavus Adolphus College

Visiting Assistant Professor Download curriculum vitæ
English

B.A. Gustavus Adolphus College; M.A. and A.B.D. University of Texas at Austin

I am currently at work on my dissertation (University of Texas at Austin) Rise to Thought: Augustinian Ethics in Donne, Shakespeare, and Milton, which examines literary culture in light of an ethics that rises from and amidst the religious factionalism of post-Reformation England. This work ties together my general interest in the ability of religions to speak to cultures and cultures to speak to religions.

This greater interest has led to my recent classroom venture: the examination of violence within Judeo-Christian texts (specifically, Milton's Samson Agonistes and Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus). I am interested in seeing how these texts come to see violence as both necessary and good. I also am interested in understanding how linguistic philosophy operates as a form of religious expression in Renaissance England, specifically in John Donne's poetry and prose. In my freetime, I enjoy the Texas music scene, Longhorn and Green Bay Packer football, golf, movies, and spending time with my lovely wife, Meg.

Areas of Expertise

• Seventeenth-Century Literature
• Shakespeare
• Augustine

Interests

• Renaissance Literature
• Reformation History
• Religious Culture
• Augustine
• Contemporary Literary Theory

Mitchell Harris's Schedule

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