PhD, Stony Brook University, 1997
Specialization(s):
Renaissance and 17th century lit, and the intersection between science and literature.
Bio: My book, Milton the Dramatist (Duquesne University Press, 2007) fills a long-standing gap in Milton scholarship by considering his dramatic works (Comus and Samson Agonistes) and projected plays, and thus restores a more equitable balance to our understanding of Milton's total literary achievement.
Some blurbs:
"A refreshingly original study … covers a lot of ground very neatly and effectively … groundbreaking work." -- Studies in English Literature
"[In Milton the Dramatist] Burbery is admirably clear, attentive to the full range of critical debate, and thorough in his analysis of relevant issues. In all these ways, his book is a model of responsible literary criticism. … Burbery's argument contributes substantially to showing how staging completes and enhances what has too often been seen as merely an armchair poem." -- Renaissance Quarterly
In addition, I've published in Milton Studies, Milton Quarterly, The Ben Jonson Journal, English Language Notes, Christianity & Literature, and Books & Culture.
Courses Taught: Hobbits in Appalachia: Development Issues in West Virginia and Kentucky; The Poetry of John Milton; 17th Century Poetry and Prose; Revolution and Literature in the 17th Century; Shakespeare's Histories and Tragedies; Greening the Long Eighteenth Century; Tolkien and Film; Tolkien in Context; Green Tolkien+: Nature in Tolkien, Lewis and Pullman; Gnosticism and its Discontents in Literature and Film; Poets' CSI: An Introduction toLiterary and Linguistic Forensics; Langua-Palooza!/ Texting the World;
Family: Hannah (wife), Pete, Claire, Brownie (lab mix).
Favorite quotes:
"The solution to the riddle of life in space and time lies outside space and time." -- Ludwig Wittgenstein
"The intellect, that dealer in second-hand goods ...." -- George MacDonald