Mara Scanlon

Mara Scanlon is a Professor of English at the University of Mary Washington, with a focus on poetry, literature of the First World War, ethics and literature, women's studies, digital humanities, and modern poetry. Her academic journey began with a B.A. from the University of Virginia and continued with M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

• Education:
  • B.A., University of Virginia
  • M.A., Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison

Scanlon’s research explores dialogic poetry, ethical engagement in literature, and the intersection of digital humanities with literary tourism. Her published works analyze topics such as gender identity in Rebecca West’s The Return of the Soldier, Bakhtinian theory in H.D. and Walcott, and postcolonial identity in Sara Suleri’s Meatless Days.

Recent publications include an investigation into Walt Whitman’s influence on digital age tourism and a reevaluation of beauty in Mary Borden’s World War I poetry. Her scholarship has appeared in The Journal of Modern Literature, College Literature, and World Literature Today, among others.

Scientific Awards and Grants: Scanlon has received the Donald Glover Award for Excellence in Teaching in English (2021-2023) and the Grellet C. Simpson Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (2014). She co-edited a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant for the Looking for Whitman digital humanities project.