Paul Kelleher

Paul Kelleher is an Associate Professor of English and Director of Graduate Admissions at Emory University, where he also leads the Disability Studies Initiative. His research bridges eighteenth-century British literature with moral philosophy, political theory, and disability studies, focusing on how Enlightenment discourses shaped modern concepts of 'normality.' He holds a B.A. from Duke University and a Ph.D. from Princeton University.

Key research interests include deformity representation in Enlightenment texts, intersections of sexuality and morality in literature, and the evolution of disability studies. His work analyzes figures like Shaftesbury and Adam Smith while examining novels such as Tom Jones and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Published articles explore topics ranging from Smith's moral sentiments to Shaftesbury's aesthetic theories, with a focus on how disability and deformity were discursively constructed. Current projects include a monograph on deformity in eighteenth-century thought.

No formal awards are listed, though his academic leadership includes directing Emory's Disability Studies Initiative. Teaching spans seventeenth- to twentieth-century literature with an emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches.