Samantha M. Lepak, PhD
English Lecturer
Loyola University Chicago
samanthalepak.com
slepak@luc.edu
→ EDUCATION
PhD in English, Emphasis in Queer Modernism and Trauma Narratives May 2025
Special interest: Modernist Intersections with Classical Mythology
Loyola University Chicago
Dissertation Title: “Modernism’s Mythic Mothers: Queering Motherhood Through
Classical Matrilineage”
Advisor – Dr. Suzanne Bost
MA in English, Literary Studies Emphasis, summa cum laude May 2018
University of Minnesota Duluth
Thesis Title: “Rape Poems: A Selection, with Critical Commentary”
Advisor – Dr. Joshua Bernstein
Thesis Title: “Somebody to Love Pecola: Motherhood in Toni Morrison’s Bluest Eye”
Advisor – Dr. Evan Brier
BA in English, Minor in Philosophy, cum laude Dec 2014
University of Minnesota Duluth
→ RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Dickinson’s Birds Aug – Dec 2022
Loyola University Chicago
Advisor – Dr. Marta Werner
• Research Assistant
• Gathered, cataloged, and coordinated over 900 bird sounds for soundscape project
• Completed miscellaneous project tasks as assigned
Lili Elbe Digital Archive (LEDA) Jan – May 2020
Loyola University Chicago
Advisor – Dr. Pamela Caughie
• Research Assistant
• Proofread and copyedited website data and copy for project website
• Proofread final book text at time of publication
• Completed other project tasks as assigned
Amy Lowell Letters Project (ALLP) Aug 2019 – May 2025
Loyola University Chicago
Advisor – Dr. Melissa Bradshaw
• Research Assistant and Transcriptionist
• Conducted research on Amy Lowell for project website
• Proofread and copyedited project website
• Transcribed over 150 letters from Amy Lowell’s archive into a more accessible digital
format
• Transcribed letters from Amy Lowell to multiple poets and prepared for archiving
Undergraduate Research Opportunity Project (UROP) Spring 2014
University of Minnesota Duluth, Department of Philosophy
Title: “Greece Lightning: Classical Myths Retold”
Advisor – Dr. Eve Browning
• Comprehensively researched Classical Mythology
• Retold stories for young readers
• Compiled research on different iterations of myths and wrote an in-depth analysis
→ PUBLICATIONS
Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature 2022
• Lepak, Samantha (2022) “Mette Leonard Høeg, editor. Literary Theories of Uncertainty. Bloomsbury, 2021.,” Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature: Vol. 46: Iss. 1, Article 24. https://doi.org/10.4148/2334-4415.2233
Queerlings 2021
• “Something in Exchange: Ethical Vampirism and Chosen Family as an
Act of Resistance in Gilda Stories.”
Queerlings, no. 3, 2021.
UMD Statesman Newspaper 2012 – 2014
University of Minnesota Duluth
• Contributed periodically to the campus newspaper
• Wrote a serial murder mystery published monthly from Spring to Fall 2012
• Contributed to a poetry corner column regularly from 2012 to 2014
Roaring Muse Spring 2013
University of Minnesota Duluth Literary Guild
• “Miss Eleanor”
Roaring Muse, no. 16, pg. 9, 2013.
•“My Echo”
Roaring Muse, no. 16, pg. 20, 2013.
→ TEACHING/CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE
Instructor, ENGL 281 Women in Literature x1
Loyola University Chicago, Department of English
• Create lesson plans and lead class as Instructor of Record
• Proficiently manage students and resources
• Communicate with students via online and in-person support as well as in weekly office
hours
• Evaluate students according to department standards and course requirements
• Curate texts for student reading to represent a wide variety of subjects written by and
about female authors
Instructor, ENGL 290 Values in Literature x1
Loyola University Chicago, Department of English
• Create lesson plans and lead class as Instructor of Record
• Grade weekly assignments
• Proficiently manage students and resources in Sakai Learning Management System
• Communicate with students via online and in-person support as well as in weekly office
hours
• Formulate class syllabus, guidelines, and assignments from scratch and implement
department policies throughout the semester
Instructor, UCWR 110 Core Freshman Writing x8
Loyola University Chicago, Department of Writing
• Create lesson plans and lead class as Instructor of Record
• Grade weekly assignments
• Proficiently manage students and resources in Sakai Learning Management System
• Communicate with students via online and in-person support as well as in weekly office
hours
Instructor, ENGL 271-W Exploring Poetry (Writing Intensive) x2
Loyola University Chicago, Department of English
• Create lesson plans and lead class as Instructor of Record
• Proficiently manage students and resources in Sakai Learning Management System
• Conduct classes on a variety of literary eras and poetic schools from ancient to contemporary
• Grade weekly assignments in a timely fashion
• Communicate with students via email and weekly office hours
• Evaluate students according to department standards and course requirements
• Lead students in a vigorous writing-intensive course to improve both subject knowledge and writing skill.
Instructor, UCLR 100E Interpreting Lit. x5
Loyola University Chicago, Department of English
• Create lesson plans and lead class as Instructor of Record
• Proficiently manage students and resources in Sakai Learning Management System
• Conduct classes on three distinct units: Poetry, Drama, and Novel
• Grade weekly assignments and exams in a timely fashion
• Communicate with students via email and weekly office hours
• Assist students in adjusting to in-person classroom learning during a global pandemic
• Evaluate students according to department standards and course requirements
Graduate Teaching Assistant, UCLR 100E Interpreting Literature Spring 2020
Loyola University Chicago, Department of English
Supervisor – Dr. Harveen Mann
Graduate Teaching Assistant, UCWR Core Freshman Writing Spring 2019
Loyola University Chicago, Department of Writing
Supervisor – Laura Goldstein
Graduate Writing Consultant Fall 2018-Spring 2019
Loyola University Chicago Writing Center
Supervisor – Amy Kessel
Graduate Teaching Assistant, ENGL 1666 Tales of Terror Spring 2018
University of Minnesota Duluth, Department of English
Supervisor – Dr. Kathryn Van Wert
• Create lesson plans and lead class periods in conjunction with class syllabus
• Grade weekly assignments
• Proficiently manage students and resources in Canvas Learning Management System
• Communicate with students via online support and weekly office hours
• Meet regularly with supervising professor for course upkeep
Teaching Assistant, PHIL 1021 Classical Mythology Fall 2014
University of Minnesota Duluth, Department of Philosophy
Supervisor – Dr. Eve. Browning
• Graded weekly assignments
• Managed exams and quizzes for 200 students
• Graded papers with supervisor’s guidance
Independent Tutor, Multiple Subjects 2012-2014, 2016
University of Minnesota Duluth, Departments of English, Linguistics, and Writing Studies
• Held one-on-one tutorials with students seeking assistance with essays and
writing-based assignments
• Specialized in MLA, APA, and Chicago style citations
→ PRESENTATIONS
Lepak, S., (2026, July). Making Strange: H.D.’s Fragmentary Myth Making and Defamiliarization. Modernist Studies Association Conference, held in conjunction with the British Association for Modernist Studies. Loughborough, UK.
Lepak, S., (2026, May). Psychoanalysis and the Ancient Body: H.D.’s Hellenism as Therapeutic Reimagining. American Literature Association Conference. Chicago, IL.
Lepak, S., (2024, November). Surviving the War: The Gift and H.D.’s Divine Maternal Legacy. Midwest Modern Language Association Conference. Chicago, IL.
Lepak, S., (2024, November). Crossing: Transnational Gender and Temporality in H.D. Modernist Studies Association Conference. Chicago, IL.
Lepak, S., (2022, November). Rupture and Rebuild: Modernism in “Times Like These.” Midwest Modern Language Association Conference. Minneapolis, MN.
Lepak, S., (2022, May). Queer Gestation: Hippolyta, Hedyle, and Life on the Outskirts. American Literature Association Conference. Chicago, IL.
Lepak, S., (2018, November). Something in Exchange: Ethical Vampirism and Family in Gilda Stories. Queering the Literatures of Slavery Conference. Chicago, IL.
Lepak, S., (2018, March). Toni Morrison and Bible in Beloved. Research Display for Ramseyer-Northern Bible Society Collection. Duluth, MN
Lepak, S., (2016, December). The Right to Choose: Isolation and Havelock Ellis in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Fiction. Graduate Seminar Research Presentation. Duluth, MN
→ CONFERENCES ATTENDED
Midwest Modern Language Association (MMLA) Annual Conference (2024, November).
Chicago, IL. Attendee and Panelist.
Modernist Studies Association (MSA) Annual Conference (2024, November). Chicago, IL.
Attendee and Panelist.
Emerging Perspectives in H.D.’s Hellenic Modernity and the Future of New Modernist Studies
(2024, May) Hosted by Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Remote/virtual Attendee.
Midwest Modern Language Association (MMLA) Annual Conference (2022, November). Minneapolis, MN. Attendee, Panelist, and Panel Chair.
American Literature Association (ALA) Annual Conference (2022, May). Chicago, IL. Attendee and Panelist.
Modern Language Association (MLA) Annual Conference (2022, January). Washington, D.C. Attendee.
Midwest Modern Language Association (MMLA) Annual Conference (2021, November). Milwaukee, WI. Attendee.
Beyond Binary Conference (2021, October). Hosted by University of Illinois Chicago. Attendee.
Victorian Society Conference (2018, October). Hosted by Loyola University Chicago. Attendee.
Narratives of Myth and Reality Conference (2021, March). Hosted by Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Remote/virtual Attendee.
Queertopia Conference (2021, April). Hosted by Northwestern University. Remote/virtual Attendee.
Modern Language Association (MLA) Annual Conference (2019, January). Chicago, IL. Attendee.
→ HONORS AND AWARDS
The Edward Crown Fellowship 2023-2024
The Gravett-Tuma Book Scholarship Award Aug 2022
Elected English Graduate Student Association (EGSA) Vice President 2021-2022
Graduate Teaching Assistantship 2018-2023
Graduate Summer Plan B Fellowship Award May 2017
English Department Academic Grant January 2017
Undergraduate Research Grant Spring 2014
Richard I. Ianni Merit Scholarship Aug 2011-2013
→ PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Copyeditor Jan 2025
• Completed copyediting project of The Politics of Educational Aid in Tunisia: Fighting Jihadism and Islamic Extremism through Educational Diplomacy for Dr. tavis jules
• Read, and modified manuscript with fast turn-around time for a time-sensitive project
• Standardized format of publication according to Chicago Manual of Style, 18th edition
• Ensured excellence in grammar, citation style, and comprehensibility
Graduate Reference Assistant
Loyola University Chicago, Cudahy Library Summers 2021-2023
• Assisted patrons with reference questions using mastery of Loyola’s library resources
• Provided excellent service to library patrons both in-person and via online “Ask a Librarian” chat
• Ensure patron satisfaction through attentive, careful, and meticulous problem-solving
Writing Center Consultant 2018-2019
• Provided writing assistance for undergraduate and graduate students at the Loyola University Chicago Writing Center
• Assisted faculty members in fine-tuning articles and book projects to prepare for publication
Freelance Writer, Editor, and Proofreader 2014-2016
• Created website and advertisement copy for several businesses located around Minnesota and in Chicago, IL
• Proofread creative and administrative manuscripts for companies and for private clients
• Copyedited one collection of short stories for publication by a client in Chicago, IL
• Designed, wrote, and managed website construction for one business in Duluth, MN
In-House Administrator and Proofreader 2015-2016
Major Lindsey, & Africa, Chicago, IL
• Managed legal job searches for in-house clients
• Proofread assorted documents for distribution to clients and candidates
• Met with attorneys regarding adjustments to documents to ensure clarity and grammatical and legal accuracy
→ PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
• Midwest Modern Language Association (MMLA)
• Feminist inter/Modernist Association (FiMA)
• Modern Language Association (MLA)
• Loyola University Victorian Society (LUVS)
• Hilda Doolittle International Society (HDIS)
• Modernist Studies Association (MSA)
• American Library Association (ALA)
• Hellenic Association for American Studies (HELAAS)
• Hellenic Association for the Study of English (HASE)
→ LANGUAGES
• Greek (Elementary Proficiency)
• Spanish (Conversational Proficiency)
samanthalepak.com 