Megan Dennis

Megan Dennis is a Lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Kansas. She earned her PhD and MA from the University of Kansas and her BA from William Jewell College, alongside a graduate certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (2018). Her research focuses on twentieth-century U.S. literatures, particularly African American literature and crime literature, examining how representations of victims intersect with identity and audience perceptions of victimhood. In 2018, she contributed to digital humanities projects at The Pendergast Years: Kansas City in the Jazz Age and Great Depression site through the Hall Center for the Humanities.

• Education: PhD and MA in English (University of Kansas), BA in English (William Jewell College), Graduate Certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (University of Kansas, 2018)

Research interests include twentieth-century U.S. literatures, African American literature, crime fiction, and victimhood theory. Her dissertation analyzes case studies in crime literature to explore identity dynamics in audience interpretations of victimhood.

• Awards: Applied Humanities Summer Fellowship at Kansas City Public Library (2018)