Meredith Neuman
Assistant Professor of English
Department of English
Clark University
Worcester, MA 01610-1477
phone: 508-793-7298
email: meneuman@clarku.edu
Education
B.A. University of Chicago, 1989
Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles, 2004
Current Research and Teaching
Professor Neuman teaches and researches in the fields of early and nineteenth-century American literature. In her current book project, Jeremiah's Scribes: Literary Theories of the Sermon in Puritan New England, she uncovers the complex, often competing theories of language evident in sermons and sermon related literature such as the conversion narrative. Professor Neuman's research often focuses on print and manuscript archival sources -- ranging from notebooks kept by Puritans when they were listening to sermons, to amateur manuscript poetry, to readers' marks in print books, to the history and context of the Mather family's vast personal library. Hands-on workshops with materials at the American Antiquarian Society are a common feature of her seminars, and she encourgages her students to explore opportunities for original research in the archives at AAS. Professor Neuman's teaching interests include American literature through the Civil War, 17th-century transatlantic literature, popular vs. elite fiction in 19th-century America, and poetry.