By Lesly Luna
Photo by Lesly Luna
Name: Katie Manthey
Position: Assistant Professor of English, Director of the Writing Center, Signature Advisor
First day at Salem: August 17, 2015
Hometown: Fargo, North Dakota
As a child of university professors in the Midwest, Dr. Manthey grew up on a college campus influenced by a passion for STEM. When she was in college her intended major was chemistry, although she felt writing was always a part of who she was.
Dr. Manthey graduated with a degree in English and classical studies. An inspiration for that dates back to one of her earliest memories: her father reading The Hobbit and her instant fascination with the fictitious language. She soon found that her broad interests now included translating and women’s studies. Her masters and doctoral education include feminist approaches to size and dress studies and addressing socially-constructed ideas of beauty among other body-positive work.
Campus spot: “Definitely the Writing Center. By the way shout out to the Writing Center, as promised. It is like a second home, it’s been nice watching students blossom here in the short time I’ve overseen it.”
Salem met expectations: “I honestly cannot imagine working anywhere else even though I’ve only been here a short amount of time. This summer I actually graduated on a Sunday and then flew out to visit the campus that Monday. I like how personal this campus is, it’s the embodiment of every ideal school setting.”
On sisterhood: “I honestly believe that being part of a sorority prepared me for Salem since I’ve experienced sisterhood in a personal way. Here at the big sorority that is Salem though, you can almost feel the history of the former generations in the walls of this place. It is really neat to see the connection of supportive women who encourage you to do great things in the world.”
The road not taken: “If I had not taken the career path I did, I would’ve probably been the owner of a bakery while still doing the activist work and blogging I do.”
The plot thickens: “I have my own blog so I in fact live writing. The website is dressprofesh.com and its purpose is to bring light to issues concerning socialized ideas of a gender binary subjected dress code. I am currently in the process of publishing my first book with the tentative title Fa(t)shion which illustrates that same rhetoric regarding body positivity.”
thesalemite.org 