Karen Manna, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
About
Before joining the faculty at the University of Central Oklahoma, Karen Nehlsen Manna earned her Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. Her research focuses on representations of masculinity and Frenchness in old regime France from the methodological standpoints of gender studies, cultural history, and the history of ideas. Her courses include: European Masculinities, which examines performativity of national types and gender in literature from France, England, and Germany; Colonialism in Eighteenth-Century French and English Novels, which investigates the theme of early modern imperialism in novels from the perspective of post-colonial theory; and Le Théâtre Français et son Interpretation, which combines literary analysis of early and post modern plays with lessons on phonetics and dramatic performance. Manna currently is writing an article on how historical modes of sociability inform and idealize a post-revolutionary apotheosis of democratic civility.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. in French, Johns Hopkins University
M.A. in French, Bryn Mawr College
B.S. in French/Business Option, Pennsylvania State University
Research, Published Work, and Scholarly Activities
Recent Publications
"Reappropriating Honnêteté: Madame de Staël's comte d'Erfeuil and modern national character". Women in French Studies. 2019 (forthcoming)
"Acting Honnête: Masculinity, Effeminacy, and the Ethos of Social Virtue". Oxford University Studies in the Enlightenment. Eds. Marine Ganofsky and James Fowler. 2018 (forthcoming)
Review of Manning the Margins : Masculinity and Writing in Seventeenth-Century France. Lewis C. Seifert. Modern Language Notes 124:4, September 2009. pp. 1014-18.
Review of Voluptuous Philosophy: Literary Materialism in the French Enlightenment. Natania Meeker. Modern Language Notes 123:4, September 2008, pp. 968-71.
En Avant. "Online component". Andersen. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Recent Scholarly Conferences
"Representing Gender on the Revolutionary Stage"
International Conference on Gender and Sexuality, University of Central Oklahoma, October 4-6, 2018
"Voltaire’s Zadig ou la destinée and Identities of Social Detection"
Cincinnati Conference on Romance Languages and Literatures, University of Cincinnati, March 31-April 1, 2017
"Financial crisis and the early modern stage: nobles, capitalism, and masculinity"
Kentucky Foreign Language Conference, University of Kentucky, April 21-23, 2016
"English Fops and French Petits-maîtres: trans-Channel sociability and gender politics in 17th and 18th century comedy"
South Central American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, University of Central Oklahoma, February 25-26, 2016.
Classes Taught
Elementary French II
Intermediate French II
French Masculinities
The French Revolution
Discovering the Text
Modern French Culture, Civilization, and Literature (1700-1900)
20th/21st-Century French Culture and Literature (1900-present)
Colonialism in Eighteenth-Century French and English Novels
Le Théâtre Français et son Interpretation
Office Hours
Spring 2019
Monday/Wednesday: 1-2 p.m.
Tuesday/Thursday: 2-3 p.m.
and by appointment
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