Emily Stelzer, PhD

College of Arts and Humanities
English, Communication, Great Texts, and Modern Languages
  • Professor of Literature
  • Associate Dean for Academic Programs for the College of Arts and Humanities
  • Program Coordinator, Great Texts (BA and Minor)
  • Content Expert for English, Language Arts, and Reading (4-8) with ESL
  • Content Expert for English, Language Arts, and Reading (7-12) with ESL and SPED

Education

  • PhD in Literature, University of Dallas
  • MA in English, University of Dallas
  • BA in English, Hillsdale College

Courses Taught

  • John Milton
  • Shakespeare
  • Menippean Satire
  • English Literature I
  • Great Works of Literature I
  • Great Works of Literature II
  • Composition and Literature I
  • Composition and Literature II
  • Honors Writing III
  • Honors Writing IV
  • Honors Seminars

Publications

Dr. Stelzer’s monograph Gluttony and Gratitude: Milton’s Philosophy of Eating (Penn State UP, 2018) considers the theme of temperance and the role of gluttony in the tradition of the Fall, tracing medieval and Augustinian influences in the work of John Milton.

“Miltonic Liberty and the Grounds for Disestablishment in A Treatise of Civil Power.” The Palgrave Handbook of Religion and State, Vol. I: Theoretical Perspectives, edited by Shannon Holzer (Palgrave, 2023), pp. 371-98.

“Euphrasy, Rue, Polysemy, and Repairing the Ruins.” Scholarly Milton, edited by Thomas Festa and Kevin J. Donovan, Clemson University Press, 2019, pp. 185-208.

“Lear, Luke 17, and Looking for the Kingdom Within.” Religions 10(8), 456; 2019; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel10080456

“Tanquam Explorator: A Classical Model for Christian Readers.” The City, A Publication of Houston Christian University, July 20, 2018; https://hc.edu/news-and-events/2018/07/20/a-classic-is-a-story-that-might-save-us-meditations-on-the-christian-gospel-and-platos-story-of-er/

Dr. Stelzer has also published articles and review essays in Religion & Literature, Appositions, Early Modern English Studies, Early Modern Literary Studies, and the Ben Jonson Journal.

Additional Information

Dr. Stelzer is happy to teach a wide variety of literature courses at HCU, but she especially enjoys discussing early modern poetry, including the works of Shakespeare, Donne, Milton, and Marvell.