Contact Information
Office Hours
Research Areas
Research Interests
Scandinavia & the Global North, Old Norse Literature, medieval premodern religion & folklore, medievalism in modern & contemporary children's & YA literature, queer theory, gender & sexuality studies, apocalypse & Anthropocene Studies
Research Description
Dissertation Title: "Playing for an Ongoing End Times: Old Norse Reception in Queer Young Adult & Children’s Medievalism"
Chaired by Mimi Thi Nguyen (UIUC, Director of Gender & Women's Studies) and Verena Höfig (LMU, Professor of Premodern Scandinavian Studies).
My research considers Young Adult and children’s adaptations of medieval Old Norse literary materials from the Global North from the 1930’s through to today. I investigate youth reception images of Viking legacy, focusing on those medievalisms which work through queer, questioning, and gender non-conforming imaginaries. I examine why and how these depictions can provide productive engagement with youth audiences for intersectional alternative gender histories, queer futurities, and even resistance against hegemonic power structures. I posit that Viking youth medievalism can reveal queer modes of joyful berserk apocalyptic ongoingness and genderfull play that are valuable to medieval and contemporary fields alike.
Education
PhD Candidate in English, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2019-ongoing
MA in English, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2019
MA in Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University, 2017
BA in Medieval Studies & Humanities, Drew University, 2014
Awards and Honors
- The Block Grant Fellowship – Fall 2023, Spring 2024.
- Research Fund Award for Excellence in Medieval Programming – Summer 2023.
- Roxanne Decyk Fellowship – Summer 2023.
- Kirkpatrick Travel Fund Travel Grant – Summer 2023.
- Kirkpatrick Travel Fund Travel Grant – Spring 2023.
- Program in Medieval Studies Travel Grant – Fall 2022.
- College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Fellowship – Spring 2023, Fall 2022.
- Árni Magnússon Icelandic Award – Spring 2022.
- Gragg-Bar Fund – Spring 2022.
- College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Fellowship – Summer 2021.
- Department of English Summer Research Award – Summer 2019.
- Roxanne Decyk Fellowship – Fall 2017, Spring 2018.
- Renaissance Consortium Grant – Winter 2016.
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List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent (Ranked Top Percentile/Outstanding) – CLCV 115, Fall 2021, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2018.
List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent (Ranked Top Percentile/Outstanding) – ENGL 245, Fall 2020.
List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent (Ranked Top Percentile/Outstanding) – SCAN 251, Fall 2019.
List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent (Ranked Top Percentile/Outstanding) – GER 251, Spring 2019.
List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent (Ranked Top Percentile/Outstanding) – RHET 105, Fall 2018.
Courses Taught
----Selected Invited Talks (Feel free to contact meganec3@illinois.edu or megdieval@gmail.com for invited lectures/talks.)
MDVL 500/GER 571: Vikings in the West - "Children's Literature & the Viking Legacy"
ENGL 109: Global Fairy Tales & Folktales Retold - "Adapting the Viking World(s)"
----UIUC
CLCV 115: Classical Mythology (Fa 2021, Sp 2020, Fa 2019, Sp 2019, Fa 2018) - TA, 9 sections
ENGL 245: The Short Story-Telling Tales Throughout Time (Fa 2020) - Instructor of Record
ENGL 209: Intro to British Literature to 1800 (Sp 2020) - TA, 2 sections
SCAN 251: Viking Mythology (Fa 2019) - TA, 3 sections
GER 251: The Grimm's Fairy Tales in Context (Sp 2019) - TA, 2 sections
RHET 105: Writing & Research (Fa 2018) - Instructor of Record
-----WMU
MDVL 1450: Medieval Voices (Sp 2017, Fa 2016) - Instructor of Record
Additional Campus Affiliations
The Medieval Globe - Assistant Editor
The Bulletin of the Center of Children's Books - Reviewer
"Medieval Movie Knights" Undergraduate Outreach Program Co-President with Jamie Keener & Modje Taavon
Premodern World Reading Group - Member of the Board
HRI Adaptation Studies Reading Group, co-founded with Fiona Hartley-Kroeger
Scandinavian Program (Department of Germanic Language & Literatures)
The Center for Children's Books