Middle Tennessee State University's assistant professor Bridget Donnelly, has just snagged the prestigious 2025 Martha F. Bowden Teaching Prize. This recognition, given by the Southeastern American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, is a shout-out to those educators who are shaking up the way we look at and learn about the 18th century. According to MTSU News, Donnelly is being celebrated for her unique course design that brings a fresh breath of interactivity to dusty old texts.
At the heart of this recognition is Donnelly's brainchild, a project where students dove headfirst into making a critical edition of "The Abbey of Clugny," by the nearly forgotten 18th-century pen pusher, Elizabeth Meeke. Describing her course, Donnelly said, "They are not likely to have much experience reading the super weird and wacky types of texts that were popular in the period," as stated by MTSU News. Her design for ENGL 4230: Selected British Writers, was a deliberate move to make an alienating historical period a whole lot more relatable to contemporary students.
The intrigue of this course went beyond academia; Donnelly secured interest from a book series editorial team to publish the students' hard work. This hands-on approach gave her students a stake in the game, "This gave students a sense of exigency and made it real for them," Donnelly explained, as per MTSU News. Fast forward a bit, and Routledge's Chawton House Library: Women’s Novels series is now on track to publish "The Abbey of Clugny" as the first modern edition of this ghost from the literary past.
Donnelly's groundbreaking endeavor didn't just win her accolades, it provided a template for juxtaposing cutting-edge research with student engagement in the learning process. Stephen Severn, chair of MTSU's Department of English, told MTSU News, "I have never before encountered a more exciting student-focused research project." And it's not just Donnelly who's getting her name in print. Brittany Eidemiller, Karsen Gray, Heather Sandefur, and Brynlee Wolfe, the students funded by Undergraduate Research Experience and Creative Activity grants, will be co-editors to this landmark publication.
