Jennifer Wagner-Lawlor

Jennifer Wagner-Lawlor is a Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and English at Pennsylvania State University, serving as Acting Director of Graduate Studies. Her research focuses on utopian and speculative literature, feminist utopianism, and intersections of literature with environmental philosophy and cognitive science. She explores themes such as climate change, plasticity in society, and the Anthropocene through narrative analysis.

Her academic career spans contemporary women’s literature and 19th-century British literature. Key works include Postmodern Utopias and Feminist Fictions (2013) and curated exhibits like This Way to Utopia (2011–2012). Recent research examines climate change literature and the concept of plasticity in both environmental contexts and cognitive studies.

Publications span journals like Utopian Studies, Other, and Routledge Research, with a focus on feminist speculative fiction, environmental risk narratives, and interdisciplinary studies. She has guest-edited special issues on utopia and education, reflecting her commitment to bridging literary theory and pedagogy.