A standing ovation goes to Dr. Sarah Tanner, who landed a tenure-track position at Coastal Carolina starting in Fall 2026.
“The English department at USC has provided me with the tools and the motivation to write, to think, to teach, to keep advocating for the generative power of literary studies,” Tanner says. “I’m genuinely so excited to continue teaching the novels and poems and films that have made a difference in my life.”
Tanner’s dissertation, under the directorship of Prof. Catherine Keyser, was entitled Ecological Bodies: Affective and Material Entanglements in American Environmental Literature. It is a work “both gorgeously written and deftly theorized,” Prof. Keyser explained. In her research, the author argues that “modern U.S. fiction from the South and West may seem to enshrine settler-colonial ideals but in fact often unravels the coherence of the human in favor of an affective reverberation that traverses both body and land. Sarah finds in these new models for imagining interconnection a hope for environmental futures even under the shadow of catastrophe.”
When asked about what teaching means to her, Tanner pointed out that one of her favorite aspects of being in the classroom is “introducing students to something I think they will love,” adding: “Every text is an opportunity for us all to grow, to learn from each other, to become better people with bigger hearts for one another.”
As per her experience on our campus, Tanner remarked on the welcoming, collegial, and inspiring atmosphere that characterized her graduate life: “I’ve found incredible friends and mentors in my committee and specifically in my advisor, Dr. Keyser. Her thoughtful revision comments and unflagging encouragement have shaped my writing as much as my own research and reading. She has consistently modeled rigorous scholarship and enthusiasm for the work we do, and she’s shown me how to both respect and delight in serious thought. And more than anything else, I hope my future work reflects this foundation.”
As she begins her career as an academic, Tanner will turn her focus to publishing her dissertation while advancing her research in the field of eco-criticism.
“Literature matters. Curiosity and imagination and empathy matter. It’s no small thing to protect these things and to insist on their survival, and I am happy and grateful and humbled to continue participating in that process.”
We congratulate Dr. Tanner and wish her great success with her professional and personal future.