PhD, Toronto
MA, Toronto
BA, Toronto
Extension: 43965
Office: HH 264
Email: klawson@uwaterloo.ca
Biography
I grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Southampton, Ontario. After completing my PhD at the University of Toronto, I taught at Wilfrid Laurier University, the University of Toronto, and the University of Northern British Columbia before joining the Department of English at the University of Waterloo in 2002.
I am fortunate to teach a variety of undergraduate courses, including ENGL101A Introduction to Literary Studies, the survey course ENGL200B English Literatures 2, ENGL451A Literature of the Victorian Age 1, and recently a special topics course entitled “Bleak House, Bleak Nation” (ENGL485 Literatures Romantic to Modern). I also offer graduate courses in Victorian literature, including “The Brontës,” an in-depth exploration of five Brontë novels, and “Radical Fiction and Violence,” an examination of the intersection of violence with radical social and political thought in five British novels of the 1840-1850s.
My research focuses on mid-nineteenth-century British fiction, especially Charlotte Brontë, forms of literary influence, and the relationship between literature and history.
I have also made contributions to academic-labour and higher-education policy and advocacy. As President (2013-15) and Chair of the Board (2017-2020) of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA), I advocated for improved government funding of Ontario’s post-secondary institutions and for better terms and conditions of employment for all faculty, especially contract academic staff. I also chaired the OCUFA ad hoc Committee on Online Learning (2012-15).
At Waterloo, I served as Chair of the Department of English (2015-18) and as Associate Chair, Undergraduate Studies (2008-11). I was a member of the Senate (2010-12). For the Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo (FAUW), I served as a Board member (2006-07) and subsequently as a member of the Executive Committee and Faculty Relations Committee (2020-22) and as Vice-President (2021-22).
Selected Publications
Books
Charlotte Brontë. Villette. Ed. Kate Lawson. Broadview, 2006; 2024, included in the new “Broadview British Bookshelf Collection” https://broadviewpress.com/bbb/
Kate Lawson and Lynn Shakinovsky. The Marked Body: Domestic Violence in Mid-Nineteenth-Century Literature. Albany, NY: SUNY, 2002.
Recent Articles
Kate Lawson, “The ‘impassable gulf’ and the Epistemology of Ignorance in Elizabeth Gaskell’s Mary Barton.” Victorian Review. 50.1 (2024) (in press)
Kate Lawson, “The Victorian Past and Emily’s Quest’s War with Failure.” L.M. Montgomery’s “Emily of New Moon”: A Children’s Classic at 100. Eds. Yan Du and Joe Sutliff Sanders, UP of Mississippi, 2024, pp. 23-37.
Kate Lawson, “Walking as Literary Influence in the Brontë Dining Room.” Cahiers victoriens et édouardiens. [Victorian and Edwardian Journal] 97 (2023). doi:10.4000/cve.12714 https://journals.openedition.org/cve/12714
Kate Lawson. “Shirley: History after Wuthering Heights.” Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900. 61. 4 (Autumn 2021) 623–639. doi:10.1353/sel.2021.a910832
Kate Lawson, “Church Building, Community, and Nation in Charlotte Yonge’s The Daisy Chain.” VIJ: Victorians Institute Journal. 47 (2020) 200-223.
Fellowships & Awards
- Outstanding Performance Award (2016)
- SSHRC 4A Grant (2005)
- UW/SSHRC Seed Grant (2003)
- Merit Award, University of Northern B.C. (2001)
- SSHRC Grant to Occasional Conferences (with Dr. Gordon Martel, 1997)
- SSHRC Standard Research Grant (with Dr. Lynn Shakinovsky, 1993-97)
- SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship (1985-87)
- Ontario Graduate Scholarship (1983-85)
Current research
The Brontë novels; literary influence; Elizabeth Gaskell.
Areas of graduate supervision
Victorian literature and culture, especially fiction from the 1840s and 1850s.