Amanda Claybaugh

Amanda Claybaugh is a Professor of English at Harvard University and serves as the Dean of Undergraduate Education. Her scholarship bridges nineteenth-century literature with contemporary social issues, focusing on trans-Atlantic literary traditions and the intersection of government and narrative.

• Education: BA from Yale University (1993), PhD from Harvard University (2001)

Her research explores:

• Anglo-American realism
• Social reform movements in Victorian literature
• Federal government representation during the Civil War and Reconstruction
• Genre evolution across global contexts (e.g., Bildungsroman)

Her publications highlight bureaucratic structures in American fiction and the trans-Atlantic literary exchange, particularly in works concerning the Civil War era and Anglo-American realism. She also contributes to public discourse through outlets like the London Review of Books.

Scientific awards include:

• Rudikoff Prize in Victorian Studies for her groundbreaking work on literature and social reform

As an educator, she has taught diverse courses spanning the 19th and 21st-century novels, the Civil War, and comparative literary analysis, including seminars on Goethe's Bildungsroman and trans-Atlantic author pairings like George Eliot and William Dean Howells.