Karen Schaller

Karen Schaller is a Lecturer in Literature at the University of East Anglia, affiliated with the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing. She is an active member of the Gender and Its Intersections research group and the Modern and Contemporary Writing Research Group. Her work bridges literary scholarship, feminist theory, and embodied methodologies, with a focus on affect, gendered labor, and institutional critique in the contemporary university.

Education:

• Honours BA in English Literature and European History, Dalhousie University, Canada (1993–1997)
• MA in Pedagogical Philosophy, Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada (2000–2002), specializing in radical feminist, critical anti-racist, and social justice epistemologies
• DPhil in English Literature, University of Sussex, UK (2005–2011), supervised by Professor Peter Boxall

Research Interests: Karen’s research interrogates the emotional and affective textures of academic life through feminist, queer, and anti-racist lenses. She explores how feeling operates in teaching, administration, and collegiality, and how these gendered practices shape knowledge production. Her work draws on literature, film, and art to expose and rework the violent misogynies embedded in cultural and institutional imaginaries. She is developing a book titled Feminist Tactics: Feeling, Gendered Labour and Praxis in the Contemporary University. She also works on Elizabeth Bowen’s theorization of affect and mid-twentieth-century literature’s affective economies.

Recent Publications Trends: Her recent and forthcoming articles reflect a strong trajectory in feminist institutional critique, affect theory, and multimodal scholarship. She increasingly employs performative and ritualistic forms—such as film and live performance—as scholarly interventions. Collaborative work with Dr. Ruth Charnock on 'Witching the Institution' exemplifies this shift toward embodied, counter-spell methodologies that challenge the boundaries between academic and public knowledge. Her publications span high-impact journals like Signs and presses like Duke University Press, indicating growing influence in feminist and literary studies.

Scientific Awards:

• Canadian Governor General's Gold Academic Medal
• Senate Medal of Distinction

Advising and Grants: Karen has supervised eight PhD students to completion, five of whom were funded by AHRC/CHASE. Her students work on topics related to emotion, feminism, trauma, and neglected women writers. She has examined over 13 PhDs for upgrade and served as internal examiner for a viva. She co-designed and co-taught the Faculty of Humanities AHRC/CHASE-funded doctoral training programme 'Preparing to Teach' (2010–2016), demonstrating sustained engagement with research training and funding infrastructures.

Labs, Teams, and Collaborations: Karen is a core member of the 'Witching the Institution' collaboration with Dr. Ruth Charnock (Lincoln University), which produces film, performance, and written scholarship. She is active in the Gender and Its Intersections and Modern and Contemporary Writing Research Groups at UEA. Her work with public humanities initiatives like 'ThoughtOut' and 'Art in Mind' shows commitment to community-engaged research.