WGS professor examines literature, politics and cultural history across borders

Margaret D. Stetz, Mae and Robert Carter Professor of Women’s Studies and professor of humanities at the University of Delaware, continues to contribute prominently to international conversations in literary and cultural studies through recent scholarly events and publications.

In December 2025, Stetz participated in a hybrid research seminar sponsored by the British Comparative Literature Association. Titled “Literature, History, Translation,” the seminar examined how state politics influence official policies surrounding the publication and circulation of works in translation. Her participation underscored ongoing global interest in the intersections of literature, history, and political power.

Stetz’s international engagement continued in January 2026, when she traveled to Toronto, Canada, to take part in the Modern Language Association’s annual convention. She served as the invited respondent for the session “Oscar Wilde, French by Sympathy?” organized by the UK-based Oscar Wilde Society, contributing to discussions on Wilde’s transnational influence and literary legacy.

In addition to her recent conference activity, Stetz is the author of a chapter in Neo-Victorian Decadence: Media, Genres, Eras, a newly published volume edited by Kostos Boyiopoulos and Joseph Thorne and released by Brill as part of its Neo-Victorian Series. Her chapter, “‘No identity was fixed and no identity was disparaged’: Queerness, Empire and Butterflies in Sandi Toksvig’s Valentine Grey,” analyzes Toksvig’s 2012 novel through themes of queer identity, gender nonconformity, and imperial critique. Stetz has also contributed to earlier volumes in the series, including Neo-Victorian Cities (2015) and Neo-Victorian Humour (2017), reflecting her sustained scholarly engagement with Neo-Victorian studies.