Department of English

Nancy West has been on the MU faculty since 1995. She has taught 17 courses on subjects ranging from Dickens to photography and literature. Her classes are called “creative and intellectually challenging” and have been cross-listed by the Honors College and the Campus Writing Program. It has been said her engagement with students “brings her innovative courses to life.”

West’s teaching style is infectious. One colleague, herself a former Kemper Fellow, writes: “What a joy it is to be in the same room with Nancy West. Her energy and genuine love of life and literature fill the space and add new potential for all our lives.” A student said: “I believe that she genuinely cared about my work, my performance, and my development as a student. This was obvious in her overall teaching style and in the feedback she provided me.”

Nancy West received her bachelor’s in English from Rutgers University and her master’s and doctorate degrees from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her book Kodak and the Lens of Nostalgia was published in 2000 and she has written numerous chapters for books as well as encyclopedia entries.