Research Overview
The primary focus of my research is the intellectual, cultural, and political formation of the child at the fin de siècle.
My research investigates how the imagination, nostalgia, and political ideologies translate into habits and lived practice. I explore these questions by engaging with the classic works of British children’s literature. My inquires focus upon those points of intersection between the literature, psychological and educational theory of the time, and the political influences of culture upon both the child reader and the text itself.
My current research looks specifically at nineteenth-century liberalism’s influence upon Golden Age children’s literature, focusing on the works of Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson), Frances Hodgson Burnett, Kenneth Grahame, and Robert Louis Stevenson.
Besides my primary research, I also work in the public digital humanities bridging the distance between academic scholarship and community engagement.
Selected Publications
“The Indemonstrable Monster: Shelley’s Sublime Demogorgon in Prometheus Unbound (1820)” Keats-Shelley Journal | Forthcoming: Spring 2024
“John O’Malley as a Guide for Eloquentia Perfecta, Community-Engaged Work, and Graduate Education.” Co-authored article with Allen Brizee and Stephanie Hurter Brizee. Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal. Vol. 11: No. 2, 2022. https://doi.org/10.53309/2164-7666.1422
“Visual Rhetoric: Making Meaning Via Visuals: Chapter 1.” A Visual Rhetoric Field Guide, ed. Sheila Coursey, et al. Saint Louis University, 2022.
“1619 – 2023: Tracing Systemic Racism in Saint Louis and Missouri.” Co-authored with Allen Brizee and Stephanie Hurter Brizee. The Saint Louis Story: Learning & Living Racial Justice. Summer 2023.
Current Project
Dissertation: Liberalizing Wonder: How Nineteenth-Century Liberal Practices Inspired the Golden Age of Children’s Literature
My dissertation explores nineteenth-century liberalism’s complex influence upon the genre conventions of Golden Age children’s literature (1865-1928). I use the canonical works of Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson), Frances Hodgson Burnett, Kenneth Grahame, and Robert Louis Stevenson as literary case studies to prove that these fantastic works of the Golden Age of Children’s literature are essentially “liberal” in character as they model and inculcate self-expression and personal liberty.
Public Digital Humanities: The Saint Louis Story
The Saint Louis Story: Learning & Living Racial Justice is collaborative project among scholars at Saint Louis University, local educators, and community partners. This public digital humanities project is a community-based research initiative and an educational resource that serves the local community by exploring the history of slavery and systemic racism in St. Louis, Missouri and the surrounding area.
Research Grants
2023 Beaumont Scholarship Research Award (Saint Louis University)
We are currently preparing a grant application for the National Endowment for the Humanities: “Saint Louis Through the Years: An Immersive Virtual Reality Experience.”
Colten Biro 