Karen Humphreys has taught courses in French literature, language and cinema at Trinity College since 1998.  Her research focuses on nineteenth-century French literature and culture and extends into the early twentieth century, particularly in the areas of surrealist poetry and collage. She has published articles on dandyism, Barbey d’Aurevilly, the reception of women writers in the press in France between 1830 and 1870, and intersections in verbal and visual representation in surrealist poetry.  Currently, she is completing a book on Barbey d’Aurevilly and his role as fiction writer and critic in the print culture of nineteenth-century Paris. 

In all of her courses, student participation is the focus of classroom interaction. In order to understand a language or culture, one must engage with it— actively, collectively, and personally. Student responses to her teaching include commentary such as: “particularly impressed with Professor Humphreys’ tactic of incorporating films, YouTube videos, music, and art into our discussions;” “very interesting, intellectually worthwhile class;” and “she doesn't just teach French from a textbook…” Humphreys hopes that each semester, students will leave her course with either a deeper understanding of literature or cinema, stronger writing skills, increased language proficiency or a passion for Francophone culture.

Dr. Humphreys' book, Decadence, Gender and Dandyism in the Work of Barbey d’Aurevilly: Literary Culture in Crisis in 19th-century France, is in progress.

Publications:

• "Barbey d’Aurevilly and Mlle Duverger: Spectacle and Performance in the Théâtre de la Gaîté and Le Gaulois." In The Art of Theatre: Le Romantisme et Après, edited by Claire Moran and Dominique Jeannerod, 43-57. UK: Peter Lang, 2013. 
• "Le rôle des femmes dans la sublimation littéraire des tensions: de la Courtoisie aux salons des Lumières." In La France et les lettres: Actes du colloque de l’association des professeurs de lettres, 157-170. Paris: Classiques Garnier, 2012. 
• "Bas-bleus, Filles Publiques, and the Literary Marketplace in the Work of Barbey d’Aurevilly." French Studies Quarterly 46, no. 1 (Winter 2012): 26-40. 
• "Barbey, Baudelaire, and the 'Imprévu': Strategies in Literary Dandyism." Modern Language Studies 29, no. 1 (1999): 63-80.  Rpt. Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism 240, edited by Kathy D. Darrow. Detroit: Gale Cengage Learning, May 2011.
• "Dandyism, Gems, and Epigrams: Lapidary Style and Genre Transformation in Barbey’s Les Diaboliques." Nineteenth-Century French Studies 31, no. 3-4 (spring/summer 2003): 259-277.  Rpt. Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism 213, edited by Kathy D. Darrow, 86-96. Detroit: Gale Cengage Learning, 2009. 
• "'Collages Communicants': Visual Representation in the Collage-Albums of Max Ernst and Valentine Penrose." Contemporary French and Francophone Studies 10, no. 2-3 (Fall/Winter 2006): 377-387. 
• "French Literature," "Marion de Lorme," "Marie Duplessis," "Directories." In The Historical Encyclopedia of Prostitution [Two volumes], edited by Melissa Hope Ditmore with Greenwood Publishing Group (August 2006).
• "Dandyism, Gems, and Epigrams: Lapidary Style and Genre Transformation in Barbey’s Les Diaboliques." Nineteenth-Century French Studies 31, no. 3-4 (spring/summer 2003): 259-277.
• "The Poetics of Transgression in the Work of Valentine Penrose." French Review 76, no. 4 (March 2003): 740-751.
• "Robert Desnos." Dictionary of Literary Biography 258, edited by Jean-François Leroux, 173-188. 2002.

Reviews:

• Barbey d’Aurevilly:  Lettres à Trebutien (1832-1858), edited by Philippe Berthier. Review for Nineteenth-Century French Studies (forthcoming).
• Barbey d’Aurevilly et la modernité: Colloque du Bicentenaire (1808-2008), edited by Philippe Berthier. The French Review (forthcoming).
• Prophètes, sorciers, rumeurs. La violence dans trois romans de Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly, by Hélène Celdran Johannessen. French Studies Quarterly 65, no. 4 (October 2011): 539-540.
• Les Illusions de l’écriture ou la crise de la representation dans l’Œuvre romanesque de Jules Barbey d’Aurevilly, by Alice de Georges-Métral.  Nineteenth-Century French Studies 37, no. 1-2 (Fall/Winter 2008-2009): 161-163.
• Barbey d’Aurevilly: sur le sacré, edited by Philippe Berthier. Nineteenth-Century French Studies 34, no. 1-2 (2005-06): 181-184.
• Barbey d’Aurevilly,  Bibliographie des Ecrivains Français, by Marie-Françoise Melmoux-Montaubin. Nineteenth-Century French Studies 34, no. 1-2 (2005-06): 180-181.

• Tournées Grant from the French American Cultural Exchange Council (FACE) for promotion of French Films on campus, 2011, 2012
• Trinity College Faculty Research Expense Grant, 2007-2008
• Sabbatical Leave, Spring ‘08 (To research book on Barbey d’Aurevilly), 2006
• Nominated for the Arthur H. Hughes Award for Teaching Achievement, 2004, 2006
• Trinity College Research Expense Grant (For consultation of Penrose correspondence at the Scottish Gallery of Modern Art), 2001-2002.
• Faculty Development Grant (Randolph-Macon Women's Studies Program), 1998
• Award for Excellence in Teaching (Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni), 1993