Prestigious regional literary award goes to Claggett
Shalyn Claggett
Mississippi State University’s Shalyn Claggett, professor of English, is the awardee of the 2024 South Atlantic Modern Language Association Book Award for her publication “Equal Natures: Popular Brain Science and Victorian Women’s Writing” (SUNY Press, 2023). This honor is the most prestigious accolade presented by the association, recognizing scholarly excellence in literary studies and celebrating critical works that further understanding of various aspects of language and culture.
“Equal Natures” explores how prominent Victorian women writers, including Harriet Martineau and George Eliot, engaged with contemporary science to challenge gendered norms and societal power structures. Claggett’s research highlights the intersection of literature, science and gender in the 19th century, offering fresh insights into the period’s intellectual landscape.
“Every year there are so many amazing books published in the field of English studies, so it is incredibly humbling that my book was recognized with this honor. Writing and publishing a scholarly book takes an incredible amount of time, labor and effort. Winning the SAMLA prize, and particularly the judges’ kind appreciation, makes me feel that all of that work was both seen and appreciated,” Claggett said.
Claggett has published numerous journal articles throughout her career and is the co-editor, with Lara Karpenko of Carroll University, of “Strange Science: Investigating the Limits of Knowledge in the Victorian Age.” She serves as the MSU Department of English’s director of graduate studies and specializes in 19th-century British literature and the interplay between science and literature.
For more details about MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences or the Department of English, visit www.cas.msstate.edu and www.english.msstate.edu.
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Sarah Nicholas | College of Arts and Sciences
