Dr. Michael Cohen

Biography

Michael C. Cohen is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at the University of California, Los Angeles. His research interests primarily focus on the literature of the transatlantic nineteenth century, especially poetry from the 1790s to the 1890s in the United States and the broader English-speaking world. Cohen is particularly interested in the means through which poems were received and circulated, examining the practices of reading, memorization, group recitation, and the influence of genre and media on how poems were understood. His book, entitled 'Social Lives of Poems in Nineteenth-Century America' published by University of Pennsylvania Press in 2015, exemplifies these interests, drawing connections between material history and literary culture. He is currently working on a new project that tentatively explores 'Poetry History Reading,' a speculative investigation into the relationships among historical reading practices, literary traditions, and contemporary theory. Cohen offers courses on nineteenth-century literature and poetry, including seminars on significant authors such as Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson.

Research Interests

Experience