Katherine Scharfenberg

Lecturer

Katherine Scharfenberg teaches core literature and writing courses in the English Department at Loyola. A former publicity director, copywriter, and marketing specialist, Katherine draws upon her professional communication experiences to help her students write impactfully with confidence and verve. Prior to her work at Loyola, Katherine taught writing in Northwestern University's Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences, where she coached student capstone projects for external non-profit and corporate clients including Coca-Cola, Dunkin’, Target, and UPS. 

Katherine's research background in U.S.-American literatures and Native American and Indigenous Studies shapes the materials, methodologies, and ideas she brings to her classroom. Katherine holds degrees from University of Chicago, Freie Universität Berlin, and Northwestern University.

Education

• BA, University of Chicago, Comparative Literature
• MA, Freie Universität Berlin, North American Studies
• PhD, Northwestern University, English Literature

Research Interests

• American Literature
• Native American and Indigenous Studies
• Geography and Space Studies
• Biography and Narrative History
• Rhetoric in Technical and Business Writing
• Pedagogy

Publications/Research Listings

Awards

• Minnetta Nichols Hammer Award for Teaching Excellence, Northwestern University Department of English (2020)
• Franke Graduate Fellow, Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities, Northwestern University (2020-2021)
• Visiting Scholar, Newberry Library (2017-2019)
• Willi-Paul-Adams Prize, Honorable Mention, John F. Kennedy Institute (2015)