Maggie is a PhD student studying early modernism and is passionate about education. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of San Diego and her Master’s Degree from the University of Chicago. “Poetics isn’t just something I study; it is how I view the world.” 

What are your specializations and topics of interest, and what are you currently working on? 

 I am an early modernist, which is a fancy way of saying I work in the Renaissance. My specializations are affect theory and feminist theory. Mainly, I’m studying for exams right now, but I am also working on an article for publication on the representation of domestic violence in Marie de France’s “Bisclavret”. 

What led you to go for doctoral studies? Tell us about your previous academic background.

My undergrad degree is actually in psychology. I was very interested in cognitive reading theory and how people learn how to read. When I talked to my psych professors about what I wanted to do as far as research, they didn’t have many ideas about what I could do in the field. I’ve always wanted to get my doctorate, even when I was a kid. My mom is a doctor, and so it inspired me to be one too. It was my English classes that I was the most interested in, and they let me do the research that I wanted to. I had two professors at the University of San Diego, one of whom I specifically tutored for at the writing center, and then my advisor, Sarah Hasselbeck. She was also an early modernist, and she made us read Paradise Lost in one of our classes. I found one of the passages very, very uncomfortable, and I was like, I really want to study that.

What made you choose Stony Brook to pursue your Doctoral Degree?

My research into affect for my Master’s thesis led me to an article called “Thinking Feeling” by Benedict Robinson, which traces the history of affect to the early modern period. I was deeply inspired by Dr. Robinson’s writing and research, and I wanted to find out which university he worked for. I knew that the kind of work that he was doing was the kind of work that I wanted to do for my dissertation, and coming to Stony Brook to work with him just made sense. 

How has your time at Stony Brook impacted you so far? 

It has made me understand how my time period, the early modern, is related to almost everything we do in the contemporary period. The professors have continued to inspire me to keep up my graduate research. I feel exceptionally lucky to be working with scholars like Benedict Robinson, DouglasPfeiffer, and Mohamad Ballan. While Dr. Robinson and Dr. Pfeiffer both work in the early modern, Dr. Ballan is a medievalist. No time period is independent from another, so as I continue my research, I have been pulling back into the medieval to support my arguments.

Tell me about your experience teaching an undergraduate course at Stony Brook for the first time.

I was a TA before I came to Stony Brook, but I also taught kindergarten and preschool, specifically handwriting and sign language, so I did come in with some teaching background. As far as my first class teaching myself at Stony Brook, I think it has been both challenging and rewarding. I think my class was particularly quiet at the beginning of the semester, and I really struggled to get them to talk. I realized I had to focus our discussions on their opinions about the text rather than mine. I started with a lot of presentations, but when we went into close readings in class, that really helped them actually have a conversation about what they thought about the text. I have really enjoyed it, and I love teaching.

What’s one piece of advice you often share with undergrads who are curious about graduate school?

If you don’t love English or you don’t love your field, you won’t be able to get through the degree. There are some very rewarding times, and there are also some very dark times, but you have to love the topic that you’re working on. What I can say is that if you can’t think of anything else you want to do, then there’s probably not anything else you’re going to do. I can’t imagine doing anything else besides academics. I just want to learn for the rest of my life. I do encourage people to go to grad school, even though I know that’s kind of an unpopular opinion at the moment. I would personally never feel prepared to go into the field without an advanced degree. It’s rewarding, regardless of whether you go into academics or not.