Dr. Monica Flegel
From children and animals in the Victorian era to fan fiction in contemporary times, Dr. Monica Flegel's students enjoy great selection in terms of the literary subject -and time period- on which to focus their studies.
A Lakehead English professor, Dr. Flegel researched child abuse in the 19th century for several years before expanding this focus to analyze pets in the Victorian period. She is presently examining spinsters and their feline companions in addition to other animalities of the era.
More recently, she's begun to explore legal discourses in relation to fan fiction in a shared project with Dr. Jenny Roth from Women's Studies, focusing on issues such as copyright and cease and desist orders. "I'm interested in how fan fiction breaks the law but also how it stretches the boundaries of what should be publishable."
Branching off these literary inclinations, her students are currently exploring the human-animal divide through such texts as Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde and Black Beauty and looking at various forms of fans and fandom. One former student studied Twilight fan fiction, while another decided to complete her thesis on Sailor Moon. "That was highly enjoyable!" exclaims Dr. Flegel. "We both had to watch a lot of episodes!"
Dr. Flegel emphasizes that with every student, she offers as much free rein as possible in terms of what they decide to study. While this can provide a source of growing pains for students coming out of their undergrad, she explains that for many, it provides an opportunity to shine. Dr. Flegel also wholeheartedly encourages any student with a passion for literature and learning to consider graduate studies in English - and adds that this can lead to some very exciting (and employable) prospects.
"In my experience, if you do what you love, you will find employment...the students I went to school with are all gainfully employed from writing at the National Post and Globe and Mail to teaching in Dubai."
She adds that the communication and critical thinking skills an MA in English offers are invaluable. "In such a competitive world, those who can speak and represent themselves well have a serious advantage over those that can't."