Keja Valens
Professional Details
| Title: | Associate Professor |
| Office: | MH-104 |
| Phone: | 978-542-7050 |
| Email: | keja.valens@salemstate.edu |
| Resume: | Keja Valens [DOC 70KB] |
Spring Courses
| Cat. # | Term | Course # | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2803 | 04 | ENL261 | World Literature II |
| 3535 | 01 | IDS360 | Gender, Identity and Nationalism |
| 4176 | 04 | ENL601H | Honors Essay in English |
Professional Biography
Keja Valens received her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Harvard University in 2004. She has been at Salem State University since 2005 where she is currently Associate Professor of English.
Professional Interests
Keja Valens teaches and writes on Caribbean literature, literatures of the Americas, American Ethnic literatures, feminisms, and literary and queer theory. She also publishes and teaches on Food Writing, and is co-author of the blog Cooking the Seasons, www.cookingtheseasons.com.
Responsibilities
Literature Coordinator, Salem State University English Department
Assessment Liaison, Salem State University English Department
Selected Publications
Desire between Women in Caribbean Literature. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Forthcoming.
A Barbara Johnson Reader. Ed. with Melissa Feuerstein, Bill Johnson González, and Lili Porten. Duke UP. Forthcoming, 2014.
“Words Matter.” with J.D. Scrimgeour. African American Review. Forthcoming.
“Afro-Caribbean Ghosts,” “Afro-Caribbean Demons,” and “Afro-Caribbean Witches.” Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters. Ed. Jeffrey Weinstock. Ashgate. Forthcoming, 2013.
“The Love of Neighbors: Rosario Ferré’s Eccentric Neighborhoods/Vecindarios eccéntricos.” Contemporary Women Writers. 6.2 (November, 2012): 251-266.
“Book Review: Lawrence LaFountain Stokes, Queer Ricans.” Caribbean Vistas. 1.1 (2012).
“African American Lesbian Literature,” “Mexican American Lesbian Literature,” “Multiculturalism and LGBTQ Literature.” The Greenwood Encyclopedia of LGBTQ Literature. Ed. Emmanuel Nelson. ABC-CLIO, 2009.
Passing Lines: Sexuality and Immigration. Ed. with Bradley Epps and Bill Johnson González. Harvard University Press, 2005.
Selected Presentations
“Recipes for National Culture in Guadeloupe and Martinique.” Eleventh Annual Eastern Caribbean Islands Literature and Culture Conference. Saint Thomas, USVI, November 4, 2012.
“Empowering Resistance, and Consent, to Abuse.” American Literature Association, San Francisco, CA, May 25, 2012.
“Limits of Consent.” American Comparative Literature Association Annual Meeting. Providence, Rhode Island. March 29, 2012.
“Queer Persons and Things: Using Barbara Johnson for Queer Theory.” Northeast Modern Language Association Annual Conference. New Brunswick, NJ. April 7, 2011.
“Reconstructing Gender, Race, and Nationality in Patricia Powell’s The Pagoda.” American Comparative Literature Association Annual Meeting. Vancouver, Canada. April 3, 2011.
“Relations Between Women in Rosario Ferré’s “El regalo” and Eccentric Neighborhoods/Vecindarios excéntricos.” Cuarto Congreso Internacional Escritura, Individuo y Sociedad en España, las Américas y Puerto Rico. Arecibo, Puerto Rico. November 20, 2010.
“Barbara Johnson.” Theorizing: A Symposium. Philadelphia, PA. March, 2010.
Personal Interests
Food, from seed to stomach.