Ashley Lynn Carlson earned her B.A. in English and French from Chapman University and her M.A. and Ph.D. in English literature from the University of New Mexico, where her research focused on nineteenth-century literature. Her research interests include nineteenth- and twentieth-century women’s literature, science and literature, cultural studies, television, and popular culture.
Carlson has published essays on nineteenth-century authors Mary Shelley and Sarah Stickney Ellis, as well as multiple works on contemporary television. She has published two edited collections, Genius on Television: Small Screen Depictions of Big Minds (2015) and Women in STEM on Television (2018) and is currently another collection on The CW network. In 2019 she received a Fulbright Scholar award to teach and research in Madagascar. Her ongoing research project focuses William Ellis, a nineteenth-century British missionary to Madagascar, and his wife, Sarah, a popular writer of conduct literature and domestic fiction.
At Montana Western, Ashley Carlson teaches courses in British literature, cultural studies, and composition.
Recent Publications
The CW: Essays on the Past, Present, and Future of the Network (co-edited with Lisa K. Perdigao). McFarland Press, Forthcoming.
“Sarah Stickney Ellis” and “Family Secrets” in The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Victorian Women’s Writing. Ed. Lesa Scholl. Palgrave MacMillan, 2020.
“Sarah Stickney Ellis,” “Family Secrets,” and “Social Distinction” in The Encyclopedia of Victorian Popular Fiction. Ed. Kevin Morrison. McFarland Press, 2018.
Women in STEM on Television: Critical Essays (editor). McFarland Press, 2018.
“Simians, Cyborgs, and Smoak: Felicity’s Gendered Roles,” in Arrow and Superhero Television: Essays on themes and Characters of the Series, edited by Jim Iaccino, Cory Barker, and Myc Wiatroski. McFarland Press, 2017.
“Dr. Frankenstein and the Review Board: Research Ethics in Frankenstein,” in Critical Insights: Mary Shelley, edited by Virginia Brackett. Salem Press, 2016.
“Gratifying a Divine Instinct: Sarah Stickney Ellis on Pleasure-Seeking and Feminine Morality,” in Decadences: Morality and Aesthetics in British Literature, 2nd edition, edited by Paul Fox. Ibidem, 2014.
Educational Background
- B.A., Chapman University
- M.A., University of New Mexico
- Ph.D., University of New Mexico