Seth Lerer

Seth Lerer is Distinguished Professor in the Literature Department at UC San Diego, where he teaches medieval and Renaissance literature, history of English, children's literature, and book history. Recipient of the 2014 Outstanding Teaching Award, his scholarship examines literary traditions from antiquity to modern children's literature.

Research spans Chaucer's reception, Shakespearean lyricism, and the cultural history of reading. Recent work explores marginalia in children's books, Tudor devotional practices, and medieval textual transmission. Publications demonstrate interdisciplinary approaches combining philology, material culture studies, and performance theory.

Lerer has published extensively on literary history, including award-winning works like 'Children's Literature: A Reader's History' (National Book Critics Circle Prize). Current projects investigate Shakespeare's engagement with Chaucer and the materiality of Early Modern texts.

Educational background includes: BA (Wesleyan), BA/MA (Oxford), PhD (Chicago). He has held fellowships at the National Humanities Center and the Guggenheim Foundation.