معرفی
Valerie Surrett serves as Associate Professor and Assistant Director of Honors at the University of North Georgia's College of Arts & Letters, English Department. Specializing in US literature and media representations of carceral systems, her work bridges academic scholarship with direct prison engagement through the Appalachian Prison Book Project.
- Ph.D., English, West Virginia University (2017)
- M.A., English, University of North Carolina Wilmington (2010)
- B.A., English Literature, University of North Carolina Wilmington (2008)
- A.A., English Education, Cape Fear Community College (2006)
Her research centers on US prison literatures and critical carceral studies, examining how incarceration functions as an iconic American cultural landscape across fiction, film, and television. Current book project Locked Up analyzes America's cultural obsession with prison narratives, incorporating frameworks from critical race theory and necropolitics to expose systemic injustices. Her scholarship connects literary analysis to prison reform advocacy, particularly focusing on digital access inequality in correctional facilities.
Publications demonstrate consistent focus on carceral themes across mediums, with recent work exposing exploitative prison tablet programs (2024) and analyzing feminist prison pedagogy (2023). Early scholarship established foundations in dystopian studies and media nostalgia.
- Presidential Semester Award (2023-2024)
- Teaching Excellence Award (2023)
- LEAP Grants with Ralph Hale (2020, 2022)
Surrett's teaching spans core English curriculum including American Literature I/II, African American Literature, and specialized courses on prison narratives. Her advisory work extends beyond traditional student mentorship through the Honors program and prison education initiatives. Current projects address digital equity in carceral settings and the cultural function of prison nostalgia in media.
