Congratulations to our associate professor Dr. Gillian Knoll for receiving the AY 27 Traditions Professorships award! This award is given to professors who engage in research along with outstanding teaching skills. Dr. Knoll has been a member of the WKU faculty since 2015, and she has continuously fostered growth of the English Department through her positive and encouraging attitude with students.

Dr. Knoll has been interested in all things Shakespeare from an early age. “I think I pursued Shakespeare before I pursued English,” she describes, after retelling her experience partaking in Shakespeare plays in her high school years. “I wanted to be close to those plays in some way, because I found myself returning to them again and again,” Dr. Knoll says as she is reflecting on the beginning of what would soon be a prominent part of her life and career.

Given Dr. Knoll’s love of Shakespeare, her research has shifted focus throughout the years, but the main theme has always been on related topics. Dr. Knoll’s research focuses on early modern English literature specifically by Shakespeare and his contemporaries. She describes her research focus on sexuality. Her technique is to “often weave other academic interests into that work—for example, interests in gender, early modern science, ancient philosophy, and cognitive linguistics.” As she continues to deepen her research, she continues to find more interesting topics. Lately, she has been interested in “poems and other forms of writing from this time” (e.g., John Donne’s letters), which coincides with her main interest in early modern English literature.

When asked what winning this award meant to her, Dr. Knoll expresses gratitude by saying, “This award means that I have support from the department to expand a teaching project I’m excited about. I really enjoy incorporating project-based learning activities into my classes. This takes extra planning and some more work than traditional lecture/discussion activities, so I’m grateful for the support.”

Along with Dr. Knoll’s research, she is also the author of two published books, Conceiving Desire in Lyly and Shakespeare and The Kinky Renaissance where others can learn about her research about Shakespeare and early modern English Literature. The English Department is immensely proud of Dr. Knoll and her accomplishments! We will support her throughout this next exciting step in her career.