Rachel Elin Nolan

Dr. Rachel Elin Nolan is a Lecturer in American Literature at Manchester Metropolitan University since 2021, with prior teaching experience at the University of Manchester, Pennsylvania State University, and North Dakota State University. Her research focuses on 19th- and 20th-century American literature, women’s writing, and feminist thought, emphasizing Progressive-Era professional women’s narratives and literary recovery projects. She is editor of the Broadview critical edition of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Women and Economics and is completing her first monograph, Professions of Intimacy, exploring late 19th- and early 20th-century women’s professional practices. Nolan’s work bridges feminist theory, historical materialism, and cultural studies, with articles in Signs, Legacy, and Journal of American Studies. She received the 2018 MLA Florence Howe Award for Feminist Scholarship. Nolan’s current projects include investigations into early 20th-century Black feminist theater and 19th-century women’s economic discourses. Her interdisciplinary approach connects literary analysis with broader social and political contexts.

Her publications span monographs, edited volumes, peer-reviewed articles, and book reviews, reflecting a commitment to both traditional and recovered literary canons. Nolan also engages with contemporary debates through media interviews, including a 2017 Slate Magazine piece on intersectional feminist history. Her teaching philosophy integrates primary source analysis with critical theory, fostering student engagement with overlooked voices in American literary history.