Andy Harper, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
English
Education
- Ph.D. in English, Southern Illinois University
- M.F.A. in Writing, University of Nebraska Omaha
- B.A. in English, Truman State University
Research Interests
19th and Early 20th Century American Literature and Culture; Multiethnic and African
American Literatures; Social Movements and History of the Left; Form, especially the
dialect story, Gothic tale, historical fiction, immigrant narrative, propaganda novel,
naturalism, realism, regionalism, and utopia.
Dr. Harper’s research focuses on the politics of literary form in the turn-of-the-century
U.S. His recent work compares the ways regionalist and utopian fiction engage various
socialist and labor movements, first-wave feminisms, racial justice organizing, environmental
protection, and immigration reform during the Long Gilded Age (1877–1920). His ongoing
work focuses on how a generation of writers confront the critical capacities and limitations
of literary realism to engage radical politics during the Age of Empire (1875–1914).
Dr. Harper’s secondary area of expertise is contemporary creative nonfiction writing,
with a particular focus on place-based nonfiction, the personal essay, braided narrative,
and humor. He has served as Prose Co-Editor for the museum of americana: a literary review, and he regularly teaches ENGL 3080 Creative Writing: Non-Fiction.
Publications and Media Placements
“‘The Wisdom of the New’ and Sui Sin Far’s Critical Travelers.” Legacy: A Journal of American Women Writers, vol. 43, no. 2, December 2026.
“The Black Utopia: Secret Societies and Time Travel in W. E. B. Du Bois and Sutton
E. Griggs.” MELUS: Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States, vol. 47, no. 1, Spring 2022, pp. 1-21.
“The Joke’s On Me: The Role of Self-Deprecating Humor in Personal Narrative.” Assay: A Journal of Nonfiction Studies, vol. 1, no. 1, 2014.
Creative work has been featured in Longridge Review, Boston Accent Lit, IDK Magazine, Lime Hawk, Jenny, Hippocampus Magazine,
the museum of americana: a literary review, and Prairie Gold: An Anthology of the American Heartland.
Recent Presentations
“Speaking For/Speaking Over: Howells, James, and the Working Poor of Realist Fiction,”
Howells on Politics and Law, William Dean Howells Society, American Literature Association,
May 2025
“‘The Political Economy of the Sweating World’: ‘Race,’ Class, and Realism in the
Gilded Age Ghetto,” Society for the Study of the American Short Story, American Literature
Association, May 2024
“‘Alien World[s]’ and ‘Half-Human Forms’: The Ecocritical Chopin,” Science and Fiction:
Post-humanism and the Post-Apocalyptic, Midwest Modern Language Association, November
2022
“Teaching Kate Chopin in St. Louis: Deep Mapping, Undergraduate Research, and Scholarship
in Place,” Kate Chopin International Society, American Literature Association, May
2022
“Race, Region, and Community Formation: The Politics of Friendship in Jewett, Chesnutt,
and Sui Sin Far,” Multicultural Literature in the Classroom, Midwest Modern Language
Association, November 2021
Honors and Awards
He was awarded Mellon Faculty Development funding from the College of Arts and Sciences
for Summer 2022 to complete work on his first book, which is now under contract.
He was awarded a Dissertation Research Award fellowship from the Graduate School at
Southern Illinois University for the 2018-2019 academic year.