Bio
Kate Polak is Assistant Professor of English and Director of Creative Writing at Wittenberg University, where she teaches writing and literature, focusing on contemporary transnational literature, digital humanities, and new media.
Her book, Ethics in the Gutter: Empathy and Historical Fiction in Comics, was nominated for an Eisner Award. She works primarily on comics, digital humanities and new media, affect, and the representation of violence.
Her courses consider the representation of violence in contemporary literature and other cultural forms, particularly in diasporic and transnational contexts. Working in both traditional and digital formats, she feels that opening up a space for students to explore the complex interface between technology and humanity is essential.
Her scholarship has appeared in Diegesis, Tresspassing, and several collected editions. Her public scholarship has been featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Hooded Utilitarian, and elsewhere. Her creative writing, including poetry and comics, have appeared in a variety of venues. She is currently developing a graphic novel and two poetry collections.
She lives in Yellow Springs with her husband and four familiars, and has painted her house to resemble a jack-o’-lantern.