Sharon Nell

Dr. Sharon Nell is Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities at St. Edward's University since 2012. Previously, she held roles as Director of the Comparative Literature Program at Texas Tech, Chair of Modern Languages and Literatures, and Associate Dean at Loyola University Maryland. A specialist in 17th- and 18th-century French literature, she has published extensively on early modern texts and Proust. Her 2021 book Lucrece and Brutus focuses on 17th-century writer Madeleine de Scudéry. She earned a Ph.D. in French from Rice University (1989) with a focus on Rococo poetry, and holds prior degrees from the University of Houston.

Her research emphasizes gender dynamics, salon culture, and literary form in early modern France. Recent work explores intersections of colonial narratives, feminist readings of epistolary fiction, and carnivalesque elements in theater. She has received grants for digital humanities projects analyzing metrical conventions in French poetry.

Dr. Nell’s academic leadership prioritizes fostering critical thinking and adaptability in arts and humanities education. She has advised numerous faculty development initiatives and contributed to curriculum design emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches.