Max Kaisler

Max Kaisler is a scholar and educator affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley. With a BA in English and Classics from Amherst College and an MFA in Poetry from the University of Montana, she has held teaching and research roles at institutions such as Mount Tamalpais College in San Quentin Prison, State Correctional Institute Greene, and Berkeley. Her work spans literary analysis, poetic practice, and interdisciplinary studies linking literature to science, environment, and media.

Education:

• MFA in Poetry, University of Montana
• BA in English and Classics, Amherst College

Research Interests:
Max’s research explores the intersection of literature and science, the cultural and environmental dimensions of the 18th and long 19th century, Victorian studies, Romanticism, Realism, Surrealism, and the history of art and media. She is particularly interested in the concept of atmospheric reading across historical periods.

Awards:
She has received notable honors including the Folger Fellowship for research on Seneca’s influence on madness and medicine in revenge tragedy and the Greta Wrolstad Travel Award for exploring ancient and modern oracular sites in Italy.

Teaching Experience:
Max has taught courses such as Media and Realism (COM LIT 190), Boroughs and Barrios (W60AC), and Phantoms of Contagion (COM LIT R1B), alongside roles as a Graduate Student Instructor, Reader/TA, and Tutor at both Berkeley and correctional institutions.

Contact:
Email: max_kaisler@berkeley.edu