Dr. Sheerin is a professor of Renaissance and Medieval Literature
Dr. Sheerin specializes in English Renaissance Literature, and teaches courses in Shakespeare, Milton, Medieval Literature, and Arthurian Fiction. He is involved in the St. Edward's General Education Program, and teaches introductory literature classes on Uncanny Fiction. In the classroom, Dr. Sheerin's goal is to make obscure and archaic texts accessible, relevant, and compelling for students. His scholarly work has examined the intersections of early British literature with cultural developments in economics and mathematics. He is currently engaged in a project examining the evolution of Medieval grail narratives.
“When studying early British literature, it's sometimes easy to forget that stories and plays from cultures very distant from our own were once vitally important to the people who wrote them. I help students understand that these texts are voices one must learn from, argue with, and respect.” – Dr. Sheerin
•Postdoctoral appointment in Renaissance Literature at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 2009.
•Ph.D. in Literature from the University of Illinois at Chicago, 2008.
•M.A. in Literature from the University of Illinois at Chicago, 2002.
•B.Music in Organ Performance from Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, 2000.
2019–2020, 2023–present, School Committee member, St. Edward’s University.
2022–Present, Council for the Arts and Humanities member, St. Edward’s University.
2021–Present, General Education Coordinator for Exploring Artistic Works, St. Edward’s University.
2024–Presidential Excellence Grant recipient, St. Edward’s University.
2022–2023, Faculty Performance Evaluation Committee (FPEC) co-chair, St. Edward’s University.
2016–2017, Distinguished Teaching Award Nominee, St. Edward’s University.
2014, Innovation Fellowship Award recipient, St. Edward’s University.
Book
Desires of Credit in Early Modern Theory and Drama: Commerce, Poesy, and the Profitable Imagination. London: Routledge, 2016. Reprinted in paperback 2019.
Book Chapter
“Money and the Issues of the Age: Coinage, Sovereignty, and the Liquidity of Imagination.” In A Cultural History of Money: The Renaissance, edited by Stephen Deng. Bloomsbury Press, 2019.
Peer-Reviewed Articles
“How to Do Things With Numbers: Love’s Labour’s Lost and Quantitative Uncertainty.” English Literary Renaissance 52.1 (Winter 2022), 72-100.
“Making Use of Nothing: The Sovereignties of King Lear.” Studies in Philology 110.4 (Fall 2013), 789-811.
“The Substance of Shadows: Imagination and Credit Culture in Volpone.” The Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies 43.2 (Spring 2013), 369-91.
“Patronage and Perverse Bestowal in The Spanish Tragedy and Antonio’s Revenge.” English Literary Renaissance 41.2 (Spring 2011), 247-79.