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Margaret Russett

Professor of English
Pronouns She / Her / Hers Email russett@usc.edu Office THH 435 Office Phone (213) 740-3749

Research & Practice Areas

Romantic literature, aesthetics, Gothic fiction, canon-formation, literary transmission

Biography

I took my B.A. from Yale University in 1983 and my Ph.D. from The Johns Hopkins University in 1992. At USC, where I’ve been for twenty-some years now, I teach British literature with an emphasis on Romanticism, as well as courses on Gothic fiction and the family for the GE and CORE programs. I have also spent several semesters and summer terms teaching at Bogazici University, in Istanbul, and this has led to a secondary interest in Anglo-Turkish literary relations. My research focuses on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century authorship, literary authority, and canon-formation–most recently, looking at Romanticism through the lens of literary forgery and imposture. I also write from time to time on contemporary fiction. My current project examines Romantic aesthetics and pedagogy in the context of translation and foreign-language education. I’ve published two books, both with Cambridge University Press: *De Quincey’s Romanticism: Canonical Minority and the Forms of Transmission* (1997), and *Fictions and Fakes: Forging Romantic Authenticity, 1760-1845* (2006), as well as essays in journals such as ELH, Studies in Romanticism, MLQ, and Discourse.

Education

  • Ph.D. British Literature, The Johns Hopkins University, 1/1992

  • Tenure Track Appointments

    • Professor of English, University of Southern California, 02/2006 –
    • Associate Professor, University of Southern California, 01/01/1996 –
    • Assistant Professor, University of Southern California, 01/01/1990 – 01/01/1996

    Visiting and Temporary Appointments

    • M.A. Faculty, Bread Loaf School of English, 06/2006 – 07/2006
    • Visiting Professor, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Spring 2006
    • Fulbright Senior Lecturer, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Spring 2002

  • Summary Statement of Research Interests

    My research focuses on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British literature, with emphases on Romanticism and the gothic tradition. I am particularly interested in questions of authorship, authority, and canon-formation. My most recent book considered the problem of authenticity through the lens of literary forgery and imposture; my current project approaches problems of Romantic aesthetics and pedagogy in the context of translation and foreign-language study. I also write essays on contemporary fiction, considered in terms of its Romantic legacies, and maintain a secondary interest in Anglo-Turkish literary relations.

    Research Keywords

    romanticism, critical theory, the gothic novel, eighteenth and nineteenth-century, Turkey

    Research Specialties

    Romantic literature, aesthetics, Gothic fiction, canon-formation, literary transmission

  • Contracts and Grants Awarded

    • INTELLECTUAL EXCHANGE AND SUMMER INSTITUTE, (CIES Fulbright Alumni Initiative Awards Grant), Margaret Russett, $21,000, 06/01/2003 – 07/31/2005
    • Literature and Abstraction in Nineteenth-Century Britain, (John Simon Guggenheim Foundation), Margaret Russett, $35,000, 2001-2002
    • Fulbright Senior Lectureship, (Council for the International Exchange of Scholars), Margaret Russett, $12,000, Spring 2002

  • Book

    • Russett, M. (2006). Fictions and Fakes: Forging Romantic Authenticity, 1760-1845. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
    • Russett, M. E. (1997). De Quincey’s Romanticism: Canonical Minority and the Forms of Transmission, Cambridge University Press, 1997. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Book Chapters

    • Russett, M. (2010). Genuity or Ingenuity? Invented Tradition and the Scottish Talent. pp. 31-57. Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Russett, M. E. (2005). Three Faces of Ruth Rendell: Feminism, Popular Fiction, and the Question of Genre. pp. p. 143-65.
    • Russett, M. E. (2005). The Knocking at the Gate: Shakespeare, Regicide, and Romantic Theatricality. pp. p. 386-95. Bogazici University Press.

    Journal Article

    • Russett, M. (2007). Recent Studies in the Nineteenth Century. SEL. Vol. 47 (4), pp. 943-98.
    • Russett, M. E. (2005). Race Under Erasure. Callaloo/Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. p. 358-68.
    • Russett, M. (2003). Meter, Identity, Voice: Untranslating “Christabel”. Studies in English Literature 1500-1900/Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. p. 773-97.
    • Russett, M., Dane, J. A. (2002). ‘Everlastinge to Posterytie’: Chatterton’s Spirited Youth. MLQ.
    • Russett, M. E. (1998). Narrative as Enchantment in The Mysteries of Udolpho, 1998.
    • Russett, M. E. (1995). The ‘Caraboo’ Hoax: Romantic Woman as Mirror and Mirage, Discourse, Winter 1994-5. Discourse.
    • Russett, M. E. (1991). Wordsworth’s Gothic Interpreter: De Quincey Personifies “We Are Seven”. Studies in Romanticism/International Society for the Classical Tradition, Boston University. pp. p. 345-65.
    • Documentary Interview Subject, Appear in Learning Channel Documentary on “Wuthering Heights,” dir. Rick King, 2001-2002
    • Documentary Interview Subject, Appear in Discovery Channel Documentary on “Impostors,” dir. Jay Miracle, 2001-2002
    • Video Game Content Consultant, Content Consultant on “Modern Prometheus,” an interactive game in development., 2005-2006
    • Who’s Who Among American Women, 2004 –
    • USC Phi Kappa Phi Faculty Recognition Award, Best Book in the Humanities, 2007-2008
    • Fulbright Award, Fulbright Alumni Initiatives Awards Grant, 2003 – 2005
    • Monroe Kirk Spears Award by Studies in English Literature for “Meter, Identity, Voice: Untranslating Christabel, 2003
    • Fulbright Award, Senior Lectureship at Bogazici University, Istanbul, 2002
    • Guggenheim Fellowship Recipient, 2001 – 2002
    • USC Zumberge Research and Innovation Fund Award, 1992

  • Administrative Appointments

    • Chair, 08/16/2008 – 08/15/2011

    Committees

    • Member, Modern Language Association Executive Committee, Division on English Romanticism, 2014 – 2019

  • Professional Memberships

    • American Association of Colleges and Universities, 2005 –
    • Poetics and Linguistics Association, 2003 – 2005
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