Carmen Faye Mathes
poetry and poetics; British Romanticism; transatlantic and global Romanticism; history of feeling; history of medicine; affect theory and theories of the emotions; aesthetic philosophy; literary theory and criticism
I am a British Romanticist with expertise in poetry and poetics, affect theory and the history of the emotions, aesthetic philosophy, and literary theory and criticism. My teaching and research focus on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British literature, mostly poetry, in transatlantic and global contexts. Related interests include the history of medicine, contemporary book review culture and contemporary Canadian poetry. I鈥檓 the author of Poetic Form and Romantic Provocation (Stanford UP, 2022), a book about aesthetic disappointment and the ethical work of poetry. A question central to my work is how to square that subjects are 鈥渟ubject to鈥� forces and systems beyond their control, and even beyond their awareness, with the desire for self-determination, for volition and choice. How ought we to live towards a better future when such forces are at play?
My current book project,听Poetry鈥檚 Postures of Labour and Longing,听takes up such questions in Romantic appeals for social justice by investigating the particular 鈥減ostures鈥� that poets enact in order to call for change. I'm also in the early stages of a project on the history of seizure disorders in the long eighteenth century.
I鈥檝e published scholarly articles in聽Critical Inquiry聽(蹿辞谤迟丑肠辞尘颈苍驳),听Representations,听Studies in Romanticism听补苍诲听European Romantic Review. I am proud to have been involved in the聽聽project, which has created a fully searchable, publicly accessible digital edition with functionality comparable to other modern scholarly dictionaries. I鈥檓 the book reviews editor at聽Prose Studies聽and a she/her person who wears a lot of hats.
Ph.D., UBC
M.A., University of Toronto
B.A., University of Calgary
Books
(Stanford University Press, 2022)
Articles and Chapters
鈥淎postrophe鈥檚 Occasions: Two Postures of Abolitionist Address.鈥澛�Critical Inquiry聽(accepted and forthcoming, Spring, 2025)聽
鈥�.鈥� Representations 159 (Summer 2022): 43-57.
鈥�.鈥� The Year鈥檚 Work in Critical and Cultural Theory, edited by Emilia Quinn and Ranjan Ghosh, vol 30 of The English Association鈥檚 Year in Review Series (Oxford University Press, 2022): 1-17.
鈥�.鈥� Studies in Romanticism 59 (Summer 2020): 185-208.
鈥溾�� in Affect Theory and Literary Critical Practice: A Feel for the Text. Edited by Stephen Ahern (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019): 85-104.
鈥溾赌樷�� in Keats鈥檚 Negative Capability: New Origins and Afterlives. Edited by Brian Rejack and Michael Theune, (Liverpool UP, 2019): 60-75.
鈥�.鈥� European Romantic Review 28.3 (2017): 315-324.
鈥�.鈥� European Romantic Review 25.3 (2014): 309-318
Reviews and Public Scholarship
I鈥檓 passionate about the value of book reviews for engaging in and advancing critical conversations in and beyond academia. I鈥檝e written scholarly reviews about books that explore capitalism鈥檚 investment in the ; on ; on ; and on the now-ish (in 2021), among others. I鈥檝e written reviews of contemporary Canadian poetry for the , the and . Doing so has taught me so much, and I often find that what I鈥檝e learned from reviewing creative works informs my scholarship. As Book Reviews Editor at , I endeavour to bring reviewers together with books that will similarly inspire them, and to support early career scholars by paying careful editorial attention to their reviews. Are you interested in reviewing a book about nonfiction prose for Prose Studies? Please reach out!
I鈥檓 invested too in questions around pedagogy and the limits and potentials of what we call 鈥渢he classroom.鈥� Here鈥檚 an essay about teaching , and another, co-written piece (forthcoming) that reflects on anti-racist course design in a graduate seminar on labour and longing in the context of British Romanticism鈥檚 global interests.
Finally, is a place you can find out how words were used in and before 1773, like 鈥�,鈥� which is perhaps a feeling you鈥檝e experienced. For Public Books, I wrote a reflection about finding the sources of Johnson鈥檚 illustrative quotations called 鈥�.鈥�
- SSHRC Insight Development Grant, 2023
- Durham Residential Research Library - Barker Fellowship, 2023
- NEH Humanities Collections and Reference Resources Implementation Grant, 2019
As co-Principal Investigator, with Beth Rapp Young, Principal Investigator; Jack Lynch, co-Principal Investigator; and Amy Giroux, co-Principal Investigator - University of Central Florida Vice President for Research Advancement of Early Career Researchers Grant, 2017
I would welcome expressions of interest from graduate students interested in any aspect of British Romanticism; the history of slavery and empire; history of medicine; British abolitionism; aesthetic philosophy; historical and contemporary theories of the affections, feelings and emotions; and the poetics and politics of revolution and reform.
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, unceded x史m蓹胃k史蓹y虛蓹m (Musqueam), S岣祑x瘫w煤7mesh (Squamish), and s蓹lilw蓹ta涩 (Tsleil-Waututh) territory
University of Central Florida, Orlando, traditional Seminole, Mascogo and Miccosukee territory
University of Regina, Treaty 4 territory, Saskatchewan