Gina Caison Named Kenneth England Professor of Southern American Literature

ATLANTA—Gina Caison, Associate Professor of English, has been appointed to the Kenneth England Professorship in Southern American Literature in the College of Arts & Sciences at Georgia State University.

Gina Caison

The endowed professorship, which sits in the Department of English, was established to support teaching, academic research and service in the field of Southern American literature.

Caison’s research in American literature focuses on cultures and literatures of the U.S. South, with an emphasis on Native American literatures. She also carries out research in the fields of critical regional studies, television and media studies and environmental humanities.

Her first book Red States: Indigeneity, Settler Colonialism, and Southern Studies won the 2019 C. Hugh Holman Award for best book in Southern literary studies bestowed by the Society for the Study of Southern Literature. She is working on a new book, Erosion: American Literature & the Anxiety of Disappearance. In 2020, Caison was elected president of the Society for the Study of Southern Literature, which will hold its 2022 biennial conference in Atlanta in June.

Caison teaches courses in Southern literature and Indigenous literatures. She succeeds Professor Emeritus Pearl McHaney, who recently retired, as the England professor.

“I am honored to accept this professorship, and I look forward to working with my colleagues and students to further develop our department’s commitment to the study of a South that is dynamic and diverse,” Caison said. “There is exceptional research about the South happening across our University, and I am excited to contribute to that vital conversation in this new role.”

Audrey Goodman, chair of the Department of English, said Dr. Caison is a worthy recipient of the award.

“With research that works across media, historical periods, and cultural traditions, Dr. Caison has already redefined the literary study of the U.S. South,” Goodman said. “The English Department is grateful for this generous gift that allows us to recognize Dr. Caison’s innovative scholarship and her dedication to sharing this scholarship with students.”