Personal profile

Personal profile

Dr Katie McGettigan is Senior Lecturer in American Literature. Her research focuses on nineteenth-century American and transatlantic literature and print culture. Her first book, Herman Melville: Modernity and the Material Text was published by the University of New Hampshire press in December 2017. Her work has also appeared in Journal of American Studies, American Literature, and Leviathan: A Journal of Melville Studies.

Katie is currently finishing her second book, tentatively titled The Transatlantic Materials of American Literature, 1830-1860. This project explores the publication of American writing in Britain between 1830-1860, asking how the transatlantic circulation of texts, books and people, relations with British publishers, and the material texts of British editions contributed to the invention of a national American literature in this period. For this research, she was awarded a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship between 2014 and 2017. Her research interests also cover Archive Studies, space and place in nineteenth-century literature, print and popular culture from 1776 onwards, and Digital Humanities. 

Katie has a keen interest in public engagement and outreach, and has spoken about her work on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4, and written about her research for the American Antiquarian Society and The Conversation. She can be found on Twitter @KatieMcGettigan.

Katie is happy to take enquires about postgraduate research supervision relating to any area of her research.

Research interests

  • Nineteenth-century American literature, especially the novel
  • American and Transatlantic Print Culture
  • Periodical Studies
  • Herman Melville
  • Western Fiction, especially Owen Wister
  • Digital Humanities

Educational background

  • BA English, University of Oxford - 2009
  • MSt English and American Studies, University of Oxford - 2010
  • PhD in American Studies, University of Keele - 2014

Teaching

  • EN1101: Thinking as a Critic 
  • EN1401: Introducing America 
  • EN2401: The American Century
  • EN2328: American Gothic

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Education/Academic qualification

English, BA, University of Oxford

Award Date: 1 Jul 2009

American Studies, PhD, Keele University

20102014

English and American Studies, MSt, University of Oxford

20092010

Keywords

  • English literature
  • American Literature
  • Book History
  • print culture
  • nineteenth-century
  • transatlantic studies
  • archives