Holly Wiegand

Dr. Holly Wiegand is a dedicated teacher-scholar in the Division of Modern Language, Literature and Communication and the John Wesley Honors College. She completed a Bachelor of Arts in English at Corban University in 2017, a Master of English at Boston University in 2018, and a Ph.D. in English at Boston University in 2025.

Dr. Wiegand’s research charts interdisciplinary approaches to nineteenth-century U.S. and British literature and culture. Her book manuscript, entitled “Bold Devotion: Female Religious Authority in 19th-Century Literature,” argues historical and fictional representations of the female preacher offer a unique piece of history by bridging, subverting, or creating alternatives to conventional political and domestic spheres. Her research interests also include videogame studies, literature and religion, poetry, and more.

At IWU, Dr. Wiegand teaches courses in World Literature, American Literature, Great Texts, and more. In the classroom, she emphasizes holistic hospitality as a crucial faith discipline that honors others’ voices and ideas. Her priority in every classroom is to furnish students with a toolkit of reading and writing skills and the ability to use them widely, confidently, and generously in the university and beyond.

When she’s not reading and writing, Dr. Wiegand enjoys indoor rock climbing, downhill skiing, playing videogames and Dungeons & Dragons, and cooking.

Interests:

• 19th-Century British and American Literature
• Women’s Writing
• Literature and Religion
• Female Preachers
• The Novel
• Poetry
• Videogame Studies