Professor Dr. Seeta Chaganti

Biography

Seeta Chaganti joined the faculty of the UC Davis English Department in 2001. She specializes in Old and Middle English poetry and the intersections of material culture. Her book, 'Medieval Poetics Reliquary' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008), and her more recent work, 'Strange Footing' (Chicago, 2018), examine how medieval audiences engaged with poetic form as a multimedia experience shaped by their encounters with dance. Chaganti proposes a new method of reenacting medieval dance that draws on contemporary dance experiences. Currently, she is working on a project titled "Carceral Angels: Abolitionist History of the Sheriff," which traces the historical roots of the shrieval office from pre-Conquest England to modern America. Her research argues that a longer historical perspective on policing can inform anti-carceral efforts without defaulting to liberal reformism. Chaganti has served as a Trustee for the New Chaucer Society and as a Councillor for the Medieval Academy of America. She is also a member of the Executive Board of Race and Medievalists of Color. Her work has been recognized with the 27th annual Modern Language Association Aldo Jeanne Scaglione Prize for Comparative Literary Studies.

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