Rachel Prusko, PhD, MA, BA

About

I'm an early modernist, with a research focus on Shakespeare and his contemporaries; I also research and teach in the fields of youth cultures and children's literature. I'm an Edmontonian born and raised, but spend plenty of time south of the border, as most of my family is scattered across the U.S. I've been teaching university English courses since 2000, beginning at Grant MacEwan University and then moving to North Hennepin College in Minnesota. I returned to the University of Alberta in 2010 to pursue my PhD, and have been happily studying and teaching here ever since. When I'm not working, I can usually be found at the barn, hanging around with my kids and our horses. 

Research

Recent publications include: 

"'A Prince so Young as I': Agequeerness and Marlowe's Boy King." Queering Childhood in Early Modern English Drama and Culture, edited by Jennifer Higginbotham and Mark Johnston. Palgrave, 2018, pp. 195-214.

“Queering the Reader in Peter and Wendy.” Jeunesse: Young People, Texts, Cultures 4.2 (2012): 107-25.

“’Who hath got the right Anne?’: Gossip, Resistance, and Anne Page in Shakespeare’s Merry Wives.” The Merry Wives of Windsor: New Critical Essays, edited by Evelyn Gajowski and Phyllis Rackin. Routledge, 2014.  

"'Yong, and the unworthiest of thousands': Youth and Subjectivity in Shakespeare and Speght." Renaissance and Reformation 45.2 (2022): 139-64.

“Young Widowhood in The Duchess of Malfi.” The Duchess of Malfi: Webster’s Tragedy of Blood Anatomized Anew, edited by William C. Carroll and Pascale Drouet, Belin/Humensis, 2018, pp. 97-109.

“Youth and Privacy in Romeo and Juliet.” Early Theatre: A Journal Associated with the Records of Early English Drama 19.1 (June 2016): 113-36.

Teaching

I teach a range of first-year literature and writing courses. At the senior level in English I teach Shakespeare, non-Shakespearean early modern drama, sixteenth-century texts, youth cultures, children's literature, and essay writing for Education students.

ENGL 102 - Introduction to Critical Analysis

Introduces methods of critical analysis through a range of literature written in English, broadly conceived, from different historical periods and cultural locations. Not to be taken by students with 6 units in approved junior English.

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 units 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.

ENGL 199 - English for Engineering Students

This course aims to develop the student's ability to provide effective written and oral information. It will focus on instruction in fundamental writing skills, including building effective sentences and paragraphs, and on learning to communicate clearly across a range of genres and media used in academic and professional contexts, including correspondence and presentations. Students will be introduced to the principles of information gathering, analysis, and citation. Note: Restricted to students in the Faculty of Engineering only.

ENGL 388 - Children's Literature

Studies in print and oral texts, including picture books, historical, critical and theoretical approaches to literature for young people. Content and period focus may vary. Prerequisite: 6 units of junior English, or 3 units of junior English plus WRS 101 or 102.

Browse more courses taught by Rachel Prusko