D. Berton Emerson, Ph.D.
– Director of the Honors Program –
Associate Professor of English
My specialization focuses on the late-eighteenth and nineteenth century U.S. and draws upon a variety of disciplinary investments: literary aesthetics; critical theory; democracy; and material history (esp. book and print culture history). I have two current projects nearing completion: a monograph titled “American Literary Misfits: Vernacular Aesthetics and Alternative Democracies, 1830-1860,” which is currently under review; and an edited volume (with Gregory Laski) titled Democracies in America: Keywords for 19th Century and Today, which is forthcoming from Oxford University Press. My essays and reviews have appeared in Nineteenth-Century Literature, American Literature, ESQ, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. As a teacher, I strive to design mindful learning experiences and foster a dynamic environment promoting the open exchange of ideas. As Director of the Honors Program, I love working with students to develop lofty goals and to build the foundation at this stage to pursue them.
