Alyssa MacLean
Assistant Professor
University College 4429
519-661-2111 ext. 87416
alyssa.maclean@uwo.ca
Office Hours: Tuesdays 1:30-4:30 pm
Research
My scholarly work focuses on the literary relationship between Canada and the United States prior to the U.S. Civil War. Canada-U.S. relations are such a prominent and familiar focus in contemporary North American culture that it’s easy to overlook the long history of these cultural interactions, which stretches back to an era when the idea of “America” was only being formed and when the nation-state now known as Canada had not yet come into being. My book project, entitled America’s Canada: Hemispheric Literary Relations and the Construction of U.S. Citizenship, 1830-1865, offers a reassessment of the American Renaissance by examining how U.S. authors developed ideas about U.S. citizenship, racial identity, and national belonging through their literary representations of Canada. My other research publications share a similar focus on Canada-U.S. interactions in both historical and contemporary contexts.
I teach in English, American Studies, and Writing Studies. My teaching interests focus broadly on North American literature and culture, political countercultures, transnational studies, and race and ethnic studies.
