Vera FoleyFaculty

Visiting Assistant Professor in English

Since earning my Ph.D. in 2016, I have pursued both teaching and scholarship dealing with the roles of women in nineteenth-century America and the Atlantic world more broadly. It has been my privilege since the start of my academic career to teach courses dealing with the social, legal, and psychological forces that shape women's and minorities' roles in national and local culture. This exploration is centered in but not limited to nineteenth-century literature. My early American literature course features a diverse array of authors, including abolitionists, social critics, and religious commentators. I have also, however, been excited to teach material dealing with children’s literature, fairy tales, popular culture, and environmentalism.

I have continued many of these explorations in my scholarly work. In December 2018, my article "The Trials of a New England Coquette: Rockford and the Romantic History of Lillie Devereux Blake" appeared in Legacy. This summer, the University Press of Mississippi will publish an edited collection on Laura Ingalls Wilder that includes my work. In 2018, I also presented conference papers at the British Women Writers Conference in Austin, TX, the American Literature Association in San Franciso, CA, and the Society for the Study of American Women Writers in Denver, CO.

When I am not engaged in teaching or research, I enjoy exploring St. Peter with my dog, Prynne!

Education

Ph.D., M.A. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; B.A. Mount Holyoke College


Courses Taught

ENG-124 (American Women Writers), ENG-228 (American Pastoralism), and GWS-124 (U.S. Women Writers)

Past
Synonym Title Times Taught Terms Taught
ENG-101 Read:Fairy Tales & Film 6 2024/JN, 2023/JN, 2022/JN, 2021/SP, 2020/FA, and 2019/FA
ENG-121 American Literature I 6 2023/FA, 2022/FA, 2021/FA, 2020/FA, 2019/FA, and 2018/FA
ENG-228 American Pastoralism 5 2023/SP, 2022/SP, 2021/SP, 2020/SP, and 2019/SP
ENG-273 American Novel:Gothic 4 2023/FA, 2021/FA, 2019/FA, and 2018/FA
ENG-124 American Women Writers 4 2023/FA, 2023/SP, 2022/SP, and 2020/SP
GWS-124 U.S. Women Writers 3 2023/FA, 2023/SP, and 2022/SP
ENG-336 American Renaissance 3 2021/FA, 2020/FA, and 2019/SP
ENG-344 ST:Atlantic Women 2 2022/FA and 2021/SP
ENG-106 Fairy Tales & Film 2 2020/JN and 2019/JN