Biography - Tracy L Harris

With a doctorate in French literature, specializing in nineteenth-century poetry at the University of California at Irvine, I have a strong background in interdisciplinary studies within the humanities and critical theory. During my graduate studies and as a professor, fifteen years of teaching experiences have prepared me to instruct in a variety of disciplines within the Humanities with a strong emphasis in essay writing, literary analysis and French language.

As a graduate student, I took every opportunity to visit France in order to immerse myself in French language and culture. For example, I spent six weeks as a volunteer in the role of a counselor in a children’s summer camp and worked as an orderly in a hospital in the Champagne region. After the completion of my doctoral qualifying exams, I received a Chateaubriand Fellowship from the French Ministry of Culture to gather and analyze materials for my dissertation in France. My reading in the evolution of feminist organizations throughout the Second Empire and the Third Republic motivated me to investigate whether or not the progressive ideals disseminated by these sociopolitical associations influenced late nineteenth-century women poets as they devised strategies for self-representation as feminine subjects. With this historical framework in mind, I concentrated my research on the aesthetics, rhetorical tactics, and critical reception of Parnassian and Symbolist poets.

My areas of research interest are nineteenth-century poetry and poetics, women’s literature, psychoanalytic theory, feminist criticism, philosophy and literature, and the history of literature and aesthetics.

I am a southern California girl at heart, since I love beaches, riding bikes, and above all, swimming. I also enjoy playing tennis and golf. I am looking forward to meeting and working with each of you.

Best regards,
Tracy

Tracy L. Paton-Harris, Ph.D.