Kate Costello-Sullivan, Ph.D.
- Professor of Modern Irish Literature English
- Program Director Irish Studies
Professor Costello-Sullivan is a Professor of Modern Irish literature and the current (and inaugural) Mary A. Carroll Endowed Professor in Arts and Sciences. She served as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Le Moyne from 2014-2019. Kate teaches courses in 19th-21st-century English and Irish literature, post-colonial literature, and writing. She began at Le Moyne in 2004, after earning a B.A. in English and Spanish at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in English/Irish Studies from Boston College (2004). Kate is the author of the monographs Mother/Country: Politics of the Personal in the Fiction of Colm T贸ib铆n (Reimaging Ireland series, Peter Lang 2012) and of Trauma and Recovery in the Twenty-first-Century Irish Novel, (Syracuse UP, March 2018). She recently co-edited The Routledge Handbook on Irish America (summer 2024) with Dr. Cian McMahon. Kate has also edited two critical editions, J. Sheridan Le Fanu鈥檚 novella Carmilla (2013, Syracuse UP) and Norah Hoult鈥檚 Poor Women! (2016, Anthem Press). She is a former President of the American Conference for Irish Studies鈥攖he largest academic Irish organization in the world鈥攁nd has served since summer 2018 as the (first female) Series Editor of the Syracuse University Press鈥檚 prestigious Irish line, the oldest line of its kind in North America. Kate is currently researching representations of the nurturing parental body in Irish literature for her next monograph; she has another co-edited collection and multiple articles pending publication.
Education
- Ph.D. (English Dept., Irish Studies Program), Boston College
- M.A. (English Dept., Irish Studies Program), Boston College
- B.A. (English and Spanish), Rutgers College
Areas of Specialization
- 20th-21st Century Irish Literature
- Irish Cultural Studies
- 19th Century Irish and British Literature
- Trauma Theory
- Feminist Theory & Literature
- Anglo-Irish Women鈥檚 Fiction
Selected Awards and Honors
- Inaugural Mary A Carroll Endowed Professor of Arts and Science (June 2025-2028).
- Nominee, Faculty Career Mentor Award (*Nominated by student). (August 2022).
- Rev. Richard M. McKeon S.J. Scholar of the Year (April 2022).
- Nominee, Rev. Richard M. McKeon S.J. Scholar of the Year (2022, 2020, 2014).
- 鈥淗onorary Arts Administrator鈥� award (Inaugural). MS Arts Admin program (May 2019).
- Friend of Gender and Women鈥檚 studies award, GWSS program (April 2019).
- Rev. Msgr. A. Robert Casey Teacher of the Year. (*Nominated by student). (April 2007).
Selected Publications
- The Routledge History of Irish America. 聽with Cian T. McMahon. (NY: Routledge). July 2024.
- Trauma and Recovery in the Twenty-first-Century Irish Novel. (Syracuse: Syracuse UP, 2018).
- Poor Women! by Norah Hoult. A Critical Edition. Editor, Introduction author. (London: Anthem Press, December 2016.)
- Carmilla: A Critical Edition by J. Sheridan Le Fanu. Editor, Introduction author. (Syracuse: Syracuse UP, March 2013).
- Mother Country: Politics of the Personal in the Fiction of Colm T贸ib铆n. 鈥淩eimagining Ireland鈥� series. Series ed. Eamon Maher. (England: Peter Lang, March 2012).
Selected Presentations
- 鈥淭ime to consider it鈥�: Immigrant Regret and Redemption in Colm T贸ib铆in鈥檚 Long Island.鈥� ACIS National Conference, Savannah, GA. February 23-26, 2025. Also presented on the 鈥淚rish Writing in the 1990s鈥� roundtable.
- 鈥淩eading Trauma in The Dark.鈥� ACIS National Conference. Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, Ireland. June 16-20 2024.
- 鈥溾�橞eing human never did…any good鈥�: Redefining Society in Sara Baume鈥檚 Spill Simmer Falter Wither.鈥� Animal in Ireland symposium. University of W眉rzburg, Germany. February 2023.
- 鈥溾�楶uppeting it Back to Life鈥�: Corpses, Motherhood, and Authorship in Doireann N铆 Ghr铆ofa鈥檚 A Ghost in the Throat.鈥� American Conference for Irish Studies National conference. San Jose, CA. June 6-9, 2023. 聽聽A version of this paper was also given at the Mid Atlantic Regional ACIS conference, Sacred Heart U., Fairfield, CT. Oct 2022.
- 鈥淏edrooms and Dishwashers: Reclaiming the Domestic and the Maternal in The Gathering and The Green Road.鈥� Panel discussion on Anne Enright before Keynote. NEMLA conference. March 23, 2023.
