Kate Polak is Assistant Director of the University Center for Excellence in Writing and Visiting Instructor in the English Department at Florida Atlantic University, where she teaches writing and literature, focusing on contemporary women's writing, the representation of violence, and digital humanities.
Her book, Ethics in the Gutter: Empathy and Historical Fiction in Comics, was nominated for an Eisner Award.
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, Trespassing, 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, a collected edition on the intersection between historical fiction and science fiction (co-edited with her husband, Dr. Ian MacDonald), and a monograph on the effect of new technology on Holocaust remembrance.