Rita Felski
Encyclopedia
Rita Felski is William R. Kenan, Jr. , Professor of English at the University of Virginia
, and editor of New Literary History
. Felski is a prominent scholar in the fields of aesthetics and literary theory, feminist theory, modernity and postmodernity, and cultural studies. She is the author of Beyond Feminist Aesthetics: Feminist Literature and Social Change (Harvard UP, 1989), The Gender of Modernity (Harvard UP, 1995), Doing Time: Feminist Theory and Postmodern Culture (New York UP, 2000), and Literature After Feminism (Chicago UP, 2003). Her most recent book, the Blackwell’s manifesto Uses of Literature, was featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education in December, 2008. She is also the editor of Rethinking Tragedy (Johns Hopkins, 2008). Her work in progress deals with the hermeneutics of suspicion. She has also published articles in numerous essay collections and in such scholarly journals as PMLA, Signs
, New Literary History
, Modernism/Modernity
, Cultural Critique, Theory, Culture and Society, and New Formations.
Felski received an honors degree in French and German literature from Cambridge University and her PhD from the Department of German at Monash University
in Australia. Before coming to the University of Virginia
in 1994, she taught in the Program for English and Comparative Literature at Murdoch University
in Perth. She served as Chair of the Comparative Literature Program at Virginia from 2004 to 2008.
From 2003-2007 Felski served as U.S. editor of Feminist Theory. She has also served on the editorial boards of Modernism/Modernity
, Modern Fiction Studies
, The International Journal of Cultural Studies, Criticism, and Echo: A Music-Centered Journal.
Her work has been translated into Korean, Russian, Polish, Swedish, Hungarian, Italian, Croatian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Turkish.
, the Commonwealth Center for Literary and Cultural Change at the University of Virginia
, and the Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen (IWM)
in Vienna, and was the recipient of an Australian Research Council Major Grant. In 2000, she was awarded the William Parker Riley Prize for the best essay in PMLA. In 2010, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
.
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
, and editor of New Literary History
New Literary History
New Literary History: A Journal of Theory & Interpretation is an academic journal founded at the University of Virginia where it is still edited, and published by Johns Hopkins University Press. New Literary History focuses on the history and theory of literature, and key questions of interpretation...
. Felski is a prominent scholar in the fields of aesthetics and literary theory, feminist theory, modernity and postmodernity, and cultural studies. She is the author of Beyond Feminist Aesthetics: Feminist Literature and Social Change (Harvard UP, 1989), The Gender of Modernity (Harvard UP, 1995), Doing Time: Feminist Theory and Postmodern Culture (New York UP, 2000), and Literature After Feminism (Chicago UP, 2003). Her most recent book, the Blackwell’s manifesto Uses of Literature, was featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education in December, 2008. She is also the editor of Rethinking Tragedy (Johns Hopkins, 2008). Her work in progress deals with the hermeneutics of suspicion. She has also published articles in numerous essay collections and in such scholarly journals as PMLA, Signs
Signs (journal)
Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society is a feminist academic journal established in 1975. It is published quarterly by the University of Chicago Press. Signs publishes articles on women's studies.- See also :* Cultural studies...
, New Literary History
New Literary History
New Literary History: A Journal of Theory & Interpretation is an academic journal founded at the University of Virginia where it is still edited, and published by Johns Hopkins University Press. New Literary History focuses on the history and theory of literature, and key questions of interpretation...
, Modernism/Modernity
Modernism/modernity
Modernism/modernity is a peer-reviewed academic journal founded in 1994 by Lawrence Rainey and Robert van Hallberg. Since 2001 it has been the official publication of the Modernist Studies Association and each September issue presents papers from their annual conference.The journal is...
, Cultural Critique, Theory, Culture and Society, and New Formations.
Felski received an honors degree in French and German literature from Cambridge University and her PhD from the Department of German at Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
in Australia. Before coming to the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
in 1994, she taught in the Program for English and Comparative Literature at Murdoch University
Murdoch University
Murdoch University is a public university based in Perth, Australia. It began operations as the state's second university in 1973, and accepted its first students in 1975...
in Perth. She served as Chair of the Comparative Literature Program at Virginia from 2004 to 2008.
From 2003-2007 Felski served as U.S. editor of Feminist Theory. She has also served on the editorial boards of Modernism/Modernity
Modernism/modernity
Modernism/modernity is a peer-reviewed academic journal founded in 1994 by Lawrence Rainey and Robert van Hallberg. Since 2001 it has been the official publication of the Modernist Studies Association and each September issue presents papers from their annual conference.The journal is...
, Modern Fiction Studies
Modern Fiction Studies
Modern Fiction Studies is a peer-reviewed academic journal established in 1955 at Purdue University's Department of English, where it is still edited. It publishes general and themed issues on the topic of modernist and contemporary fiction using original research from literary scholars. It seeks...
, The International Journal of Cultural Studies, Criticism, and Echo: A Music-Centered Journal.
Her work has been translated into Korean, Russian, Polish, Swedish, Hungarian, Italian, Croatian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Turkish.
Awards
She has held fellowships at the Society for the Humanities at Cornell UniversityCornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, the Commonwealth Center for Literary and Cultural Change at the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
, and the Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen (IWM)
Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen (IWM)
The Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen is an independent institute for advanced study in the humanities and social sciences based in Vienna, Austria...
in Vienna, and was the recipient of an Australian Research Council Major Grant. In 2000, she was awarded the William Parker Riley Prize for the best essay in PMLA. In 2010, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
.
Selected publications
- “After Suspicion,” Profession, 2009.
- “Everyday Aesthetics,” Minnesota review 71, 2009.
- Uses of Literature. Blackwell, 2008.
- Rethinking Tragedy, Editor. Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 2008.
- Literature After Feminism. Chicago University Press, 2003.
- “Modernist Studies and Cultural Studies,” Modernism/Modernity, 10, 3 (2003)
- Doing Time: Feminist Theory and Postmodern Culture. New York University Press, 2000.
- "Nothing to Declare: Identity, Shame and the Lower Middle Class," PMLA 115:1, 2000.
- "The Invention of Everyday Life," New Formations 39, 1999/2000.
- "The Doxa of Difference," Signs 23:1, 1997.
- The Gender of Modernity. Harvard University Press, 1995.
- Beyond Feminist Aesthetics: Feminist Literature and Social Change. Harvard University Press, 1989.