Jessica Van Gilder

Brittain Fellow

Member Of:
  • Writing and Communication Program
Email Address: jgilder3@gatech.edu

Overview

Jessica Van Gilder's research explores the relationship between fantasy and reality, and how that relationship impacts our understanding of the world. Her current project examines the intersection between trust, epistemology and fictionality in 19th century America genres (e.g, gothic, historical romance, satire, and so on). Beyond early America, her teaching and scholarly interests integrate cognitive literary and cultural studies, public humanities, and the study of graphic novels and speculative fiction. She has been a producer for the C19 Podcast for the past two years, and will be serving as co-chair for the podcast starting January 2026.

Education:
  • PhD in English, University of Kentucky
  • MA in Liberal Studies, Specialization in Cognitive Psychology, University of Minnesota
  • BA in Journalism and English-Creative Writing, Seattle University
Areas of
Expertise:
  • Cognitive Literary And Cultural Studies
  • Fictionality Studies
  • Nineteenth-Century American Literature And Culture
  • Speculative Fiction

Interests

Research Fields:
  • Literary and Cultural Studies
Issues:
  • Community engagement
  • Digital Humanities
  • Literary Theory
  • Philosophy

Courses

  • ENGL-1101: English Composition I