Laura Knoppers
George N. Shuster Professor of English Literature
Laura L. Knoppers’s primary research focus is on John Milton’s works and life in religious, political, and cultural context. Her area of study, 17th-century English literature, presents a world sharply different from present day. Yet it is also a world from which present day comes, raising questions about religion, science, global relations, politics, and gender that still resonate today.
Knoppers was drawn to the 17th-century literary writer Milton by the intellectual challenge of his magisterial poetry and by its reach into philosophy, religion, politics, and social history. Knoppers said Milton's 1667 epic, Paradise Lost, is one of the most influential, moving, and beautiful works of poetry in English. Milton was also deeply committed to advocating liberty against what he saw as monarchical tyranny; he strove for a balance between hierarchy and mutuality in gender relations; and he ambitiously addressed the problem of evil through his imaginative recreation of the story of the Genesis fall.
“Notre Dame's commitment to the humanities, as a premier Catholic research institution, is more important today than ever,” Knoppers said. "At a time when the humanities are shrinking on many other campuses, Notre Dame continues to build upon its rich heritage in literature, philosophy, theology, history, and language studies. Learning about the human experience equips our students with skills of analysis, understanding, and discernment that help them to serve as a force for good in the world today and to prepare for a better future.”
