Abigail Palko, Associate Director, Gender Studies Program
Abigail L. Palko holds an appointment in Gender Studies; she is also a Fellow of the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies and an affiliate faculty member of the Department of Africana Studies. Dr. Palko’s research focuses on contemporary (modernist and postcolonial) Anglophone literature, specializing in Irish and Caribbean novels; she examines questions of gender and sexuality, especially the construction and representation of motherhood. Her book, Imagining Motherhood in Contemporary Irish and Caribbean Literature, is forthcoming from Palgrave Macmillan. She teaches Introduction to Gender Studies and Gender Studies electives (including Monstrous Mothers of Literature, Jane’s Heirs, Reading Joyce and Walcott, Caribbean Women Writers, and (En)Gendering Revolution). She is also the faculty supervisor of the Gender Studies Program’s Teaching Apprenticeship.
Abby’s students emphasized her ability to make difficult topics palatable. One student wrote that she “masterfully crafted lively discussions to ensure that all voices – especially those of undergraduates – were heard in the classroom. Few other professors have so subtly and successfully crafted a classroom safe space.” Another commended her care for students beyond the classroom: “She always makes time for her students …to support them and encourage them in any way possible…She has gone above and beyond the requirements of her job in order to see her students flourish.”
Gender Studies courses taught by Abigail Palko:
GSC 10001/20001: Introduction to Gender Studies
GSC 20509: Miranda’s Meaning/Sycorax’s Speech: Caribbean Women Writers
GSC 30535: Dublin Streets to Caribbean Beaches: Reading Joyce and Walcott
GSC 30628: (En)Gendering Revolution: Literature of the Irish Fight for Independence
GSC 40508/60508: Jane’s Heirs
GSC 40512/60512: Monstrous Mothers of Literature
GSC 43514/63514: Body Politics
GSC 43603/63403: Mother Nature?: An Interdisciplinary Introduction to Motherhood Studies