Gretchen Woertendyke

Gretchen Woertendyke serves as Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of South Carolina's College of Arts and Sciences. Her scholarship bridges early American literature, hemispheric studies, and genre theory with rigorous attention to geographical and historical contexts across the Americas.

Her academic foundation includes a Ph.D. in English from the State University of New York, Stony Brook (2007) and a B.A. in English from DePaul University (1998).

Woertendyke's research explores intersections of literary form, spatial dynamics, and historical trauma, particularly focusing on secrecy, regionalism, and transnational exchanges in nineteenth-century literature. Her work consistently examines how genres like romance respond to events including the Haitian Revolution and slavery, while incorporating Caribbean perspectives into American literary studies. Current projects extend these investigations into Walter Scott's influence and novelistic secrecy.

Her publication trajectory reveals deepening engagement with hemispheric frameworks and secret histories, evolving from geographical analyses of regionalism toward nuanced examinations of Caribbean-American literary connections and narrative concealment mechanisms.

Major recognitions include:

• Excel Fellowship, Office of the Vice President of Research (Fall 2024)
• Morrison Research Fellowship, Department of English (Spring 2024)
• American Council of Learned Societies Faculty Fellowship (2010-2011)
• Mayers Faculty Fellowship, Huntington Library (2009)
• Teacher of the Year Award, Department of English (2015-2016)

As Director of Graduate Studies, Woertendyke shapes graduate curriculum and mentors emerging scholars while serving as Early Career Mentor for the C19: Society of Nineteenth-Century Americanists (2024-2027). Her research has been sustained by prestigious fellowships including the Provost Arts and Humanities Fellowship (awarded twice) and the Josephine Abney Fellowship for Women's and Gender Studies.

She actively contributes to academic communities through editorial work for Eighteenth-Century Fiction, service on the Edinburgh Network for Studies in Secrecy, and participation in the South Carolina Race and Reconciliation Collaborative as a Faculty Fellow.