Jerry Varsava, BA, MA, PhD

Professor, Faculty of Arts - English & Film Studies Dept

Contact

Professor, Faculty of Arts - English & Film Studies Dept
Email
jvarsava@ualberta.ca
Address
4-41 Humanities Centre
11121 Saskatchewan Drive NW
Edmonton AB
T6G 2H5

Overview

About

I hold a BA and MA in Comparative Literature and Aesthetics from the University of Helsinki, and a PhD in Comparative Literature from Vanderbilt University. I spent the first part of my career in the Department of English at Memorial University, moving through the ranks to the level of Full Professor in 1998. I joined the University of Alberta in 1999 as a department Chair. After an extended period of administrative service in a variety of roles at the departmental, Faculty, and university levels, I am now back to full-time teaching, and am greatly enjoying the experience. I am jointly appointed the Department of English and Film Studies and the Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, and teach courses in both departments. I take an interest in pretty much anything related to matters international--travel, current events, cultural developments, cuisine, etc.


Research


Research

During the early part of of my career, my research focused on American and continental postmodern fiction, e.g., Robert Coover, John Edgar Wideman, Thomas Pynchon, Peter Handke, Italo Calvino, among others. In recent years, I have turned my attention to a constellation of less experimental, but equally important writers. In line with this, I have published on such novelists as Don DeLillo, Michel Houellebecq, Jiang Rong, and Ha Jin. I review academic monographs on a regular basis. My current major research project examines the depiction of economic life in global fiction of the early twenty-first century, focusing on novels by, among other, Jonathan Franzen, Paul Auster, and Chan Koonchung.


Teaching

My current teaching interests in American Literature are from the immediate post-bellum period to the twenty-first century, with a primary emphasis on fiction. I recently taught a first-year English course for the first time in a while, and greatly enjoyed the experience. On the Comparative Literature side, among other courses, I teach literary Science Fiction and, newly, Scandalous Fictions. I recently taught a graduate seminar in modern World Literature, with an emphasis on canon formation, to a group of quite wonderful students drawn from a number of countries; it was a richly rewarding pedagogical experience. In all of my courses, I emphasize the importance of engaging relevant socio-political issues, while calling for close attention to matters of literary form and rhetorical strategy. I am active in graduate studies, and encourage my students to energetically disseminate their research in various venues.

Courses

C LIT 102 - World Literature II

An introduction to major works of the world's literary heritage, presented in their historical, social, and cultural contexts. Covers the period from the 17th century through the present day. Not open to students with credit in C LIT 100.


C LIT 242 - Science Fiction

An introduction to science fiction as an international genre and a survey of works and trends


C LIT 347 - Elements of Genre

Variable content. A detailed survey of the main features of one given genre, either narrative fiction, poetry, or drama. Not open to students who have completed C LIT 344, 345 or 346.


ENGL 103 - Case Studies in Research

This variable content course introduces methods of literary research as an in-depth process through one or more case studies. Not to be taken by students with *6 in approved junior English. This course can only be taken once for credit. Note: refer to the Class Schedule and the Department of English and Film Studies website for specific topics.


Browse more courses taught by Jerry Varsava

Publications

Review of "The Dream of the Great American Novel," by Lawrence Buell.

Author(s): Jerry Varsava
Publication Date: 2017
Publication: Amerikastudien
Volume: Forthcoming

“Spheres of Superfluity in Ha Jin’s China Fiction.”

Author(s): Jerry Varsava
Publication Date: 2015
Publication: LIT: Literature Interpretation Theory
Volume: 26
Issue: 1
Page Numbers: 128-49

“Thomas Piketty for Literary Comparatist of the Year? or, (Just) the Case for Economic Humanities”

Author(s): Jerry Varsava
Publication Date: 2015
Publication: Inquire: Journal of Comparative Literature
Volume: 4
Issue: 2
External Link: http://inquire.streetmag.org/articles/159

Review of "Toward the Geopolitical Novel: U.S. Fiction in the Twenty-First Century," by Caren Irr.

Author(s): Jerry Varsava
Publication Date: 2014
Publication: Studies in the Novel
Volume: 46
Issue: 4
Page Numbers: 517-518