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Katie Warczak

  • Visiting Lecturer

Katie Warczak studies the intersections of race, animality, and disability in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century American and African American literature. When it comes to children’s texts, she is primarily interested in how animals’ presence affects this literature’s messaging and marketing. Non-human creatures have been historically deemed “lesser” than Homo sapiens, yet animals are often used to teach children about racism, and literature involving animal protagonists frequently gets designated as “juvenile” regardless of the author’s intentions (Black Beauty, The Call of the Wild, and The Yearling, among others, were not originally intended for young readers). In her examinations of children’s literature, Katie explores the nuances and intersections of race and animality to better understand cultural perceptions of children, non-humans, and Black, Indigenous People of Color between the nineteenth century and today.