David Kaloustian

Research and Teaching Areas and Interests

• British Romanticism; and, secondarily, European Romanticism
• History of literary criticism and theory
• 18th-century and Romantic aesthetics; esp. canon theory
• 17^th-century metaphysical poetry; & Milton
• Modernism; esp. modern European novel
• Existentialism; esp. literature of existentialism
• History of the novel; esp. the Quixote, the picaresque, & the 18th-century British novel
• Ancient Greek literature; esp. ancient Greek tragedy
• Utopian and dystopian literature
• Gothic literature and film
• Cultural studies; esp. the Frankfurt school
• Blues music, Beat poets, 60s culture
• Comedy, satire, parody, and humor

David Kaloustian holds the B.A. and M.A. in Comparative Literature from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he studied a range of subjects from Ancient Greek and Latin language and literature to European modernism. He also holds the MPhil and DPhil from the University of Oxford, where he specialized in British Romanticism and literary criticism and theory, and studied under such scholars as Jonathan Wordsworth, John Bayley, Stephen Gill, Lucy Newlyn, and Terry Eagleton, among others. He has conducted research at notable libraries and archives in England, France, Spain, and the U.S. Though predisposed towards new historicism and cultural criticism, Kaloustian’s critical orientation may be described as an “eclectic bricolage” of various critical approaches, as is evidenced in his publications and presentations, the subjects of which are reflected in the Research and Teaching interests list cited above. As a thesis advisor, he is eager to share research, theory, and practical approaches that will help graduate students explore their chosen texts and achieve a viable thesis project.