Priscilla Wald
Producing Boundary-Crossing Scholars
Priscilla Wald, professor of English and women's studies, joined the Duke community in 1999 after teaching in the English departments at Columbia University and the University of Washington . Dr. Wald is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate with a B.A. degree in English from Yale University . She continued her advanced study at Columbia University , receiving both the M.A. and Ph.D. in English. Professor Wald's scholarship focuses on U.S. literature and culture of the late-18 th to mid-20 th centuries and examines the intersections among law, literature, science, and medicine.
A signature element in Wald's character is her affinity for guiding scholars whose academic work is widely varied. As one student summarizes, “It is astonishing that Wald was able to advise so many successful projects that were so different from each other. Literary History. Anthropology. Psychoanalysis. Urban Studies. Critical Race Studies. Transnational American Studies. Wow.” This is one of the most important things that Professor Wald does—authorizing her students to follow leads into interdisciplinary directions. One former student offered this description: “No one I know in my field reaches farther into its many specialties; and no one reveals more in all the possibilities that they offer.”
Because she so highly values intellectual exploration, it is not surprising that Wald makes a noted impact through the quality and nature of her questions.
“Priscilla taught me that learning to question is perhaps the most useful skill an academic can have, particularly if one wants to write in a way that's different from the mainstream. Anyone who has attended a presentation with Priscilla knows to listen for her during the question and answer session; she asks excellent, thoughtful questions—not the kind that are calculated to show how smart she is, but the kind that a genuinely intelligent and a curious person wants to know.”
What is strikingly clear from students' observations is that Priscilla's support in helping them to navigate through their doctoral programs and challenging them to cross disciplinary boundaries has never flagged. Acknowledging these tireless efforts, Professor Wald's students collectively echo their respect for her philosophy of mentoring and their aspiration to model her scholarship, teaching, and mentoring.
“No one I know conceives of mentoring in the broadest sense that Priscilla Wald enacts—a relationship that extends far beyond a degree, a first job, or even tenure. For Priscilla Wald, mentoring is about the relationships that sustain our intellectual life and that are greater than the titles that we happen to hold.”
“I try to do for my students what Priscilla has done for me…She has made my work better, she has taught me how to be a teacher, and she has continually counseled me in how to have integrity in situations where that seems to no longer be an option.”
“Priscilla taught me well about the kinds of support a mentor can give—and the way in which mentoring students is part of a vision of the profession that draws its strength from connection, collegiality and community rather than competition.”