معرفی
Associate Professor Louisa Mackenzie of the University of Washington's Department of French & Italian Studies specializes in early modern French literature and ecocriticism, with research spanning 16th Century studies, Gender/Women/Sexuality Studies, and historical ecology. Her scholarship investigates ecological frameworks in Renaissance poetry through the lens of οικος (household) rather than environmental separation, positioning humanist thought as foundational to contemporary relational value systems.
Professor Mackenzie's work centers on how Du Bellay, Peletier, and Ronsard's poetry articulates ecological senses of place that challenge modern wilderness paradigms. She argues Renaissance humanism maintains continuity with current academic humanities through its privileging of relational over extractive value systems, directly engaging with concepts like naturecultures and transcorporeality to reclaim humanist thought from posthumanist critiques.
Her recent scholarship, including the 2022 keynote article "Revisiting Places: Can We Still Be Early Modern?", demonstrates how early modern pastoral poetry anticipates contemporary environmental humanities by modeling human-environment connectivity. This research bridges historical literary analysis with current eco-theoretical frameworks, revealing enduring relevance in Renaissance relational ontologies.
Within university governance, Professor Mackenzie serves on the Faculty Senate Executive Committee and collaborates with the Council for Gender, Equity, and Justice to eliminate gender-exclusionary language from institutional policies. She actively volunteers with the GSBA scholarship fund providing academic support to LGBT-identified students, reflecting her commitment to inclusive academic communities.
