Mary Lenard, Ph.D.

Director of Composition and Associate Professor - English
Literature and Languages Department
Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, 1996
PHONE: (262) 595-2018
EMAIL: lenard@uwp.edu

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Victorian literature
Children's Literature
Young Adult Literature
British literature
Nineteenth-Century British Literature

Mary Lenard grew up in Falls Church, Virginia, has a B.A. from the University of Virginia (1989) and a M.A. (1991) and Ph.D. (1996) from the University of Texas at Austin. She started at UW-Parkside in 1998, after having taught at Alma College in Michigan for two years. Her first book, Preaching Pity: Dickens, Gaskell, and Sentimentality in Victorian Culture, was published in 1999. She lives in Racine, has taught at UW-Parkside for almost twenty years, and is currently serving as the Chair of the English Department.

Teaching, Research/Creative & Consulting Interests

Teaching Interests

Dr. Lenard’s primary research and teaching field is 19th Century British Literature, so she teaches the British Literature 1700-1900 survey course (English 318), as well as 400 level special topics courses on the Brontës, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, the Romantics, and more. Currently, she is working on a book about British and American children’s fantasy literature in the women’s suffrage era, so she also teaches courses on children’s and young adult literature. Dr. Lenard also regularly teaches writing courses: Fundamentals of English (ENGL 100) and Composition and Reading (ENGL 101), and occasionally Advanced Composition (ENGL 201).

Research Interests

Dr. Lenard is currently researching and writing a book on portrayals of powerful women in British and American children's fantasy fiction during the women's suffrage era.

Consulting Interests

Publications

Selected Publications

2014: "The Gospel of Amy: Biblical Teaching and Learning in Little Dorrit", Christianity and Literature (337-355 pp.)

2005: "Dealing With Online Selves: Ethos Issues in Computer-Assisted Teaching and Learning", Pedagogy, Winter 2005, Volume 5 Issue 1 (19 pp.)

2003: "Deathbeds and Didacticism: Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna and Victorian Social Reform Literature" in _Silent Voices_, Greenwood Press (22 pp.)

2000: Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna, Greenwood Press (3 pp.)

1999: Preaching Pity: Dickens, Gaskell, and Sentimentalism in Victorian Culture, Peter Lang

1998: "Mr. Popular Sentiment:" Dickens and the Gender Politics of Sentimentalism and Social Reform Literature, Dickens Studies Annual

Key Service Activities

Departmental Service

: Chairperson - Department of Literatures and Languages

: Chairperson - Department of Literatures and Languages chair

: Chairperson - English Department Chair

College Service

2015: - Interim Associate Dean, College of Arts and Humanities

Professional Service

2018: Committee Member - The Astrid Lindgren Award Committee, ChLA

2016: Committee Member - Carol Gay Award Committee, ChLA

UW System Service

2016: Committee Member - Wisconsin English Placement Test Committee

Courses Taught

ENGL 101 - Composition and Reading
ENGL 112 - Women In Literature
ENGL 253 - Literature Into Film:
ENGL 268 - Intro to Holocaust Studies
ENGL 290 - SPECIAL TOPICS IN ENGLISH:
ENGL 318 - British Literature, 1700-1900
ENGL 354 - Young Adult Literature
ENGL 451 - Studies in Literature/Culture:
ENGL 468 - Holocaust Studies
ENGL 489 - Teaching/Assessing Composition
ENGL 499 - INDEPENDENT STUDY:
HIST 268 - Intro to Holocaust Studies
HIST 468 - Holocaust Studies
WGSS 112 - Women In Literature

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