معرفی
Wendy Raphael Roberts serves as Associate Professor in the Department of English at the University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY). She joined the faculty in 2013 following completion of her PhD in English from Northwestern University. Her academic profile combines rigorous literary scholarship with deep engagement in early American religious and cultural history.
Professor Roberts' educational background includes:
- PhD in English from Northwestern University
- Master's in English from the University of Arizona
Her research program centers on early American literature and culture, with particular expertise in early evangelical culture, the intersections of religion and historical poetics, conceptions of the secular, manuscript cultures, and the writer Phillis Wheatley. Her work demonstrates how poetic forms served as crucial vehicles for religious expression and community formation during America's colonial and early national periods. Professor Roberts approaches literary history through careful archival investigation combined with theoretical sophistication.
Professor Roberts' publication record reveals a consistent scholarly trajectory focused on revival poetry and its cultural significance. Her work traces the development of evangelical poetics from the Great Awakening through the early national period, examining how verse forms facilitated religious expression and community building. Recent scholarship has increasingly centered on Phillis Wheatley, exploring her manuscript presence and influence in early American literary networks, culminating in the discovery of new Wheatley poems and reevaluating her place in American literary history.
Her scholarly excellence has been recognized through prestigious awards:
- NEH Fellowship (2023-2024)
- Early American Literature 2022 Book Award for Awakening Verse
- Beinecke Library Short-term Research Fellowship, Yale University (2022)
- African American History Mellon Short-Term Fellowship (2022)
- Multiple NEH Fellowships at major research institutions
Professor Roberts has secured significant research funding through competitive national fellowships, enabling extensive archival work at premier repositories including the Massachusetts Historical Society, American Antiquarian Society, and Library Company of Philadelphia. Her current NEH Fellowship supports continued research on Phillis Wheatley's manuscript presence. Her scholarly contributions have established her as a leading voice in early American literary studies, particularly in the intersection of religion and poetics.
