In November 2022 I was floored to learn that my essay “Remembering Dorothy May Bradford’s Death and Reframing ‘Depression’ in Colonial New England,” won the 2021 Richard Beale Davis Prize for the best essay published in Volume 56 of Early American Literature, the official journal of both the Society of Early Americanists and the MLA’s Forum on Early American Literature.
This fall I was honored to receive the 2021-2022 Siena College School of Liberal Arts Contingent Faculty Award for Outstanding Teaching! Recipients may only win the award one time in their career, and are eligible for nomination after 3 years at Siena. Here is what the Dean and Awards Committee wrote about my teaching:
In order to be considered for this award, one must demonstrate passionate teaching, engagement of students, and contributions to the intellectual life of the college. The selection committee found evidence in your application of going above and beyond in each of these areas, stating, “Stacey consistently creates a warm and welcoming learning environment that is respectful of diversity and inclusion. Stacey employs innovative teaching approaches that successfully engage students across a wide variety of topics and levels. Her eclectic pedagogical repertoire that makes her classes interactive and impactful appears to be very much appreciated by her students, as reflected in her glowing student evaluations. She is clearly an engaged member of the community.”
-Chris Farnan, Dean of Liberal Arts, and the Awards Committee
Thank you to my colleagues who nominated me, to my department chair for supporting my nomination, and to the awards committee for your kind words about my teaching.
Check out this video from Siena’s Saints Go Marching segment for Oct 31-Nov 4 2022. From 0:03-1:15, the video showcases my ENGL 345 (American Literature 1500-1820) class’ partnership with the Brookside Museum in Ballston Spa, NY. The partnership is part of the English Department’s initiative as Siena’s first “Community Engaged Department”!
For our community engaged project, the class is transcribing approximately 40 pages of the ledger and then researching content for an online exhibit to be hosted by the Brookside museum. I’m grateful to Sarah Toledano in the Center for Academic Community Engagement at Siena, and to Anne Clothier, the Education Director at Brookside.
For the first time, I will be teaching WRIT 220: Rhetoric and Oral Communication at Siena! I’m looking forward to new assignments and challenges as we build a community together in WRIT 220 this fall!
In addition to WRIT 100: Rhetoric and Writing and ENGL 101: Introduction to Literature, I am super excited to be teaching ENGL 350: American Renaissance Literature (1820-1865)! Can’t wait to read some of my all-time favorite texts and to study the diverse literature of this period 🙂
My first article on Dorothy May Bradford was published this week in Early American Literature! I am grateful to Sarah Schuetze and Katherine Grandjean for editing this special issue. Like many in the field, I am also devastated by Sarah’s unexpected passing a few weeks ago. She was a generous and constructive editor, and I had looked forward to working with her in the future. My thoughts and prayers are with her friends and family, as well as with all of our colleagues.
I also wrote this piece while on fellowship at the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge, MA. Before I include the abstract, I would like to thank the many people who supported this project from its inception:
This project was funded by the Erik H. Erikson Institute at the Austen Riggs Center. I am particularly grateful for the insights and support of Dr. Jane G. Tillman, Dr. Katie Lewis, Alison Lotto, Dr. Kathryn Gallagher, Dr. Elizabeth Weinberg, Lee Watroba, Barbara Keegan, Dr. Jeremy M. Ridenour, and Dr. Eric M. Plakun. I would like to thank everyone at Riggs for their generosity and enthusiasm, without which this project would not have been possible. My thanks also to Arielle McKee, John Raymond, Sarah C. Symans, and Kari Holloway Miller. Finally, I am grateful for the thoughtful and constructive feedback provided by the anonymous reviewers.
Scholarship is collaborative; I am grateful to the many people who have enthusiastically listened to me talk about this project. I’m still working on my book manuscript, tentatively titled The Many Deaths of Dorothy May Bradford: Investing Mental Health, Suicide, and American Myth-Making. Stay tuned for more details!
This spring, I am teaching an Honors Section of the Novel, Rhetoric and Writing, and (my favorite): Early American Literature 1500-1820! Here’s the flyer I made advertising the course on Instagram
On December 4th, I presented a selection from my current book project at the Siena College English Department’s annual faculty research Colloquium! There was a great turnout, and many students attended. My paper, titled “Woman Overboard: Depression and Suicide on the Mayflower” gave an overview of the main argument in my book and explored some of the dominant myths surrounding Dorothy May Bradford’s mysterious death in December 1620.
For the second year in a row, I joined my Siena colleagues in preparing a panel to advise Siena students who are interested in going to grad school in English. It was a fun conversation, and a great chance to mentor undergraduates as they consider the next step in their careers.
A journalist from the Promethean, Siena’s student newspaper, wrote a response in the paper:
Full text:
“Are you someone who isn’t sure what they are planning to do for the future? Has Graduate school been something you are interested in, but unsure of where to start? Well for starters, just know that you are not alone. There are plenty of students here on campus who look at their future with excitement, but also fear of the unknown. I myself am one of those students. That is why I attended the English Graduate School Seminar on Friday, November 22 during free period. There I was able to gain insight on the application process and experience of Graduate school from some professors who have recently gone through it themselves. Dr. Stacy Dearing, Dr. Shannon Draucker and Dr. James Belflower were there to answer questions and provide some tips.
As someone who is interested in Graduate school but wasn’t even sure where to start, this seminar was so helpful. Dearing, Draucker and Belflower answered questions that I didn’t even know I had questions about. They taught us to make sure to only go to programs that are funded, to ask about the curriculum, whether or not one will teach while they are going through school, the kind of support that students receive from faculty and so much more. We all have gone through the process of finding undergraduate study, but Graduate school is an entirely different being. For an MA it can take about 1-2 years. An MFA is usually about 3 years and a PhD is typically anywhere from 5-8 years, but that is something that differs for everyone but it truly does take time. To earn a PhD is a great achievement, but Dearing, Draucker and Belflower told us that it is not an easy task. Not only does it take time, but it takes a lot of effort. Not everyone who starts the program finishes it. However, they stressed that one should not feel ashamed if they do not finish this. It is better to realize that getting a PhD is not for them early on than completing it and hating the field that you are in. The professors told us the truth about continuing your studies after undergraduate school. It is not easy, it is not for everyone, but if it is truly something you love and want to do then it is totally worth it.
There were so many helpful tips and answers provided from the Professors that spoke at the seminar. They gave us handouts with a timeline to stay on track, questions to ask before applying for certain programs and how to ask current professors for letters of recommendation. The seminar was focused mainly on applying to an English-area for Graduate school, but I feel much of the advice embedded in this article can be used for other areas as well. Being able to learn and ask questions about something that I myself have considered was really helpful. Going down the path of Graduate school is not for everyone, but for those who are interested, be sure to look into it. Don’t be afraid to ask your professors for advice, tips and of course letters of recommendation. Good luck to all of those unsure of the road they are going to follow and good luck to those deciding on Graduate studies!”
Stacey C Dearing 