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 Renaissance Drama. He is involved in the St. Edward's Writing Program, and also teaches introductory literature classes on the intersections of science and fiction. In the classroom, Dr. Sheerin's goal is to make obscure and archaic texts accessible, relevant, and compelling for students. His scholarly interests focus on the intersections of early British literature with cultural developments in economics, science, and mathematics.
When studying early British literature, it's sometimes easy to forget that poems or 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.
•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.
Honors and Awards
2014, Innovation Fellowship Award, St. Edward’s University
2013 - 2015, Presidential Excellence Research Grant, St. Edward’s University
Articles
“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.