Dr. Simone Chess is an Associate Professor of English and Director of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies.
Main Discipline(s):
Main Professional Societies:
Affiliation(s):
- Early Modern English Literature and Culture, with a focus in queer, trans, asexuality, and disability studies.
- Modern Language Association
- Shakespeare Association of America
Associate Professor of English and Director of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies
What are your undergraduate and graduate degrees in and from where?
I received my undergraduate degree in English at Smith College, and then an MA and PhD in English with an emphasis in Women’s Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Give a brief summary (250 words or less) of your current area of research.
I’m working on two book projects right now. The first one is about the ways that Shakespeare and other early modern literature and culture are present in modern trans culture, art, media, and discourse. For example, how Shakespeare shows up in transgender periodicals, or how historical fiction with trans characters is set in the early modern period, or how Shakespeare gets used in political and social debates about trans lives and rights. The second one is about the intersections of queerness and disability, about how disabled and queer knowledges about assistive techniques and technologies shape the history of sexual practice.
How did you arrive at your current area of research?
I’ve always approached the field of early modern literary and cultural studies through the lens of gender and sexuality studies. It has been the great joy of my career to have my work be a part of the emergence of new subfields in that area, especially early modern trans studies, and my current work emerges from the collaborations and experiments made possible by this opening communities of scholarship.
What do you see as a current emerging area of research that you would like to participate in and why?
As I mentioned above, I am very excited to be part of the growing area of premodern trans studies. I am also excited to work in other growing and emerging areas like early modern disability studies and early modern asexuality studies. In each of these, it’s meaningful to see not only how new methods and approaches continue to be possible within very old fields, and also to see how much scholarly work can be intertwined with community.
What do you do for fun outside of work?
I spend most of my time with my partner, Max, our three kids, and our overplus of pets.