Sharon Aronofsky Weltman

Sharon Aronofsky Weltman serves as Professor and Chair in the Department of English at Texas Christian University's AddRan College of Liberal Arts. She holds a PhD in English from Rutgers University (1992) and has established herself as a leading scholar in Victorian literature and adaptation studies.

Her research expertise spans multiple interconnected fields including Nineteenth-Century British Literature, Theatre and Visual Culture, Musical Theater, Global Adaptation, Transmediation, and Appropriation of Victorian Literature. She also specializes in Gender and Sexuality Studies, Race and Ethnic Studies, and Adaptation Theory. Her scholarly work demonstrates particular strength in analyzing the intersections between Victorian literary culture and contemporary performance practices.

Professor Weltman teaches undergraduate courses including Introduction to Poetry, Introduction to Drama, British Literature since 1800, Introduction to Literary Theory, 19th Century British Literature, Victorian Women Writers, The Wilde Years, and Melodrama. At the graduate level, she offers seminars on Global Dickens: Adaptation, Appropriation, Performance; Seminar in British Literature of the Victorian Period; Victorian Poetry and Prose; and American Stagings: Culture, Theatre, Performance.

Her publications reveal a consistent trajectory of scholarly excellence with significant contributions to Victorian studies, adaptation theory, and theater history. Her work demonstrates sophisticated analysis of how Victorian literature transforms across media and cultural contexts, with particular attention to gender, race, and performance.

• SCMLA Book Award (2021) for Victorians on Broadway
• 2020 Nineteenth Century Studies Association Best Article Prize
• 2024 David Paroissien Prize for best article on Charles Dickens
• Outstanding Academic Book (Choice magazine, 1999)
• Top 40 Academic Best Seller in music and art by Library Journal (2021)
• Named 'Must Read' summer theater book by Playbill (2020)

Professor Weltman maintains an active research agenda with recent publications examining Victorian London's Black Playwrights and innovative analyses of Dickens' works. Her scholarly leadership extends through her editorial work and participation in major academic conferences where she frequently presents on adaptation theory and Victorian cultural studies.