Dr. Jamie Carr

Biography

My writing situates authors in their historical contexts. In addition to several scholarly articles and book chapters on the 20th C Anglo-American writer Christopher Isherwood, my book Queer Times: Christopher Isherwood’s Modernity (Routledge 2006; reissued in paperback 2015), examines the four decades Isherwood spent responding to his experiences witnessing the rise of Nazism in 1930s Berlin.

Since arriving at Niagara in 2007, my interests have been shaped by place as well. I recently published a trade book written for general readers aimed to preserve the literary and cultural heritage of Niagara Falls. Niagaras of Ink: Famous Writers at the Falls (SUNY Press, 2020;) is both a curated anthology of travel essays by a well-known but diverse selection of 19th- and early 20th-C British and American authors who visited the Falls, and anecdotes about their experiences while there—what they did, what they saw, and what happened to them during their visits.

I have combined these interests in historical and place-based contexts in more recent public pieces of writing, including: an op-ed on literary tourism, connecting the COVID-19 pandemic to the 19th century cholera epidemic, and a work of creative nonfiction for a special issue on Geographies of Justice in About Place Journal, in an essay on Niagara Falls, the pandemic, environmentalism and racism (2021)

Focus of Teaching

• Dr. Jamie Carr’s teaching includes Methods of Literary Study and courses in Modern and Contemporary literatures.
• She regularly teach our general education course, ENG 110: Literary Perspectives, focusing on topics of interest, such as the literature of Niagara Falls, and the history of book banning.

Current Research

Dr. Jamie Carr continues to remain interested in seemingly diverse strands of research – the life and writing of Christopher Isherwood, and the life of Niagara Falls through its many writers. In particular: How might we read the here and now through the lens of the past?

Current Involvement

• In addition to serving currently as department chair, Dr. Jamie Carr most recent service interest includes the College of Arts and Sciences Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Workgroup.
• Dr. Jamie Carr also serves as a Board member for the Greater Niagara Ballet Company.

Educational Background

• Ph.D. English, University of Rhode Island
• M.A. English, Northeastern University
• B.A. English, State University of New York at Potsdam College