Ben Click

Ben Click is a Professor of English at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, where he has taught for 25 years. He directs the Mark Twain Lecture Series on American Humor and Culture and has been teaching in higher education since 1981. His work spans rhetoric, poetics, southern literature, American humor, and Mark Twain studies. He has published extensively on these topics, including the book Refocusing Chaplin: A Screen Icon in Critical Contexts (2013) co-edited with Larry Howe and Jim Caron.

• B.A., English, Stephen F. Austin State University (1980)
• M.A., English, Stephen F. Austin State University (1982)
• Ph.D., English, The Pennsylvania State University (1994)

Research Interests: Focus on American humor, Mark Twain, and rhetorical theory. His scholarship bridges theoretical frameworks (Marxism, feminism, psychoanalysis) with cultural analysis of screen icons like Charlie Chaplin.

Teaching Expertise: Specializes in rhetoric and poetics, southern literature, and writing instruction. Has taught over 30 distinct courses in his career.

• Awards: 2014 Norton L. Dodge Award for Teaching Excellence

Professional Contributions: Served as editor of The Mark Twain Annual (2018–2023), organized Twain symposia at Elmira College, and presented over 50 conference papers. Affiliated with the Mark Twain Circle, American Humor Studies Association, and Rhetoric Society of America.