Research Interests
Scandinavian & global north medieval literature; Old Norse sagas & poetry; premodern religion, mythology, & folklore; gender & sexuality studies; queer & trans theory; medievalism in contemporary children’s & YA literature; apocalypse & Anthropocene studies
Education
PhD Candidate in English, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2019-present
MA in English, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2019
MA in Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University, 2017
BA in Medieval Studies & Humanities, Drew University, 2014
Awards and Honors
- The Block Grant Fellowship – Fall 2023, Spring 2024.
- Research Fund Award for Excellence in Medieval Programming – Summer 2023.
- Roxanne Decyk Fellowship – Summer 2023.
- Kirkpatrick Travel Fund Travel Grant – Summer 2023.
- Kirkpatrick Travel Fund Travel Grant – Spring 2023.
- Program in Medieval Studies Travel Grant – Fall 2022.
- College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Fellowship – Spring 2023, Fall 2022.
- Árni Magnússon Icelandic Award – Spring 2022.
- Gragg-Bar Fund – Spring 2022.
- College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Fellowship – Summer 2021.
- Department of English Summer Research Award – Summer 2019.
- Roxanne Decyk Fellowship – Fall 2017, Spring 2018.
- Renaissance Consortium Grant – Winter 2016.
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List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent (Ranked Top Percentile/Outstanding) – CLCV 115, Fall 2021, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2018.
List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent (Ranked Top Percentile/Outstanding) – ENGL 245, Fall 2020.
List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent (Ranked Top Percentile/Outstanding) – SCAN 251, Fall 2019.
List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent (Ranked Top Percentile/Outstanding) – GER 251, Spring 2019.
List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent (Ranked Top Percentile/Outstanding) – RHET 105, Fall 2018.
Courses Taught
----Selected Invited Talks (Feel free to contact meganec3@illinois.edu or megdieval@gmail.com for invited lectures/talks.)
MDVL 500/GER 571: Vikings in the West - "Children's Literature & the Viking Legacy"
ENGL 109: Global Fairy Tales & Folktales Retold - "Adapting the Viking World(s)"
----UIUC
CLCV 115: Classical Mythology (Fa 2021, Sp 2020, Fa 2019, Sp 2019, Fa 2018) - TA, 9 sections
ENGL 245: The Short Story-Telling Tales Throughout Time (Fa 2020) - Instructor of Record
ENGL 209: Intro to British Literature to 1800 (Sp 2020) - TA, 2 sections
SCAN 251: Viking Mythology (Fa 2019) - TA, 3 sections
GER 251: The Grimm's Fairy Tales in Context (Sp 2019) - TA, 2 sections
RHET 105: Writing & Research (Fa 2018) - Instructor of Record
-----WMU
MDVL 1450: Medieval Voices (Sp 2017, Fa 2016) - Instructor of Record
Additional Campus Affiliations
The Medieval Globe - Assistant Editor
The Bulletin of the Center of Children's Books - Reviewer
"Medieval Movie Knights" Undergraduate Outreach Program Co-President with Jamie Keener & Modje Taavon
Premodern World Reading Group - Member of the Board
HRI Adaptation Studies Reading Group, co-founded with Fiona Hartley-Kroeger
Scandinavian Program (Department of Germanic Language & Literatures)
The Center for Children's Books