Caroline Woidat received her Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University and has been a member of the Geneseo faculty since 1994. Along with Dr. Oberg in the History department, Woidat is a co-founder of the Native American Studies program at Geneseo. She often teaches courses examining American women writers, Native American literature, American studies, and textual recovery through archival research. She participated in the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges hybrid course sharing in Native American studies. In 2008 she received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Her research currently centers on the religious writings by 19th-century author and activist Elizabeth Oakes Smith. In 2015 Woidat published The Western Captive and Other Indian Stories (Broadview Press).
Woidat coordinates the Center for Interdisciplinary Programs, the American Studies and Native American Studies programs at Geneseo. She has traveled with Geneseo students to attend lectures and participate in seminars at the Yeats International Summer School in County Sligo, Ireland.
Curriculum Vitae
Education
B.A., University of Notre Dame
M.A., Ph.D., Vanderbilt University
Selected Publications
"Captivity, Freedom, and the New World Convent: The Spiritual Autobiography of Marie de l'Incarnation Guyart." Legacy: A Journal of American Women Writers 25.1 (2008): 1-22.
"The Truth Is on the Reservation: American Indians and Conspiracy Culture." The Journal of American Culture. 29.4 (December 2006): 454-467.
"The 'Indian Detour' in Willa Cather's Southwestern Novels." Twentieth-Century Literature 48.1 (Spring 2002): 22-49.
"Puritan Daughters and 'Wild' Indians: Elizabeth Oakes Smith's Narratives of Domestic Captivity." Legacy: A Journal of American Women Writers 18.1 (Spring 2001): 21-34.
"Talking Back to Schoolteacher: Morrison's Confrontation with Hawthorne in Beloved." Modern Fiction Studies 39.3/4 (1993): 527-46. Reprinted in Reading Toni Morrison: Theoretical and Critical Approaches. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1997. 181-200.
Professional Recognitions and Awards
Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2008
Interests
- Native American Literature
- American Literature
- Creative Writing
- Women's Studies
Classes
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AMST 201: U/TopAmSt: Mass Incarceration
This course will be an interdisciplinary investigation of major influences on and developments in American culture. Each semester there will be a focus on one chronological period, but a variety of topics will be covered. Such topics could include gender, religion, race, social movements and conditions, and artistic and literary developments. The course will emphasize student use and study of period writings and cultural materials. Integrative learning will enhance the interdisciplinary nature of the course.