Belle K. Maniates published eight books and hundreds of short stories which explored immigrant life and childhood in early 20th. A working class woman without a college education, Maniates’ works were quite popular and frequently described as “comedic” and “rollicking.”
Today, she’s largely forgotten and few other biographical details about her can be found.
Dr. Patricia Oman, Assistant Professor of English at Hastings College, seeks to change that. She has earned the College’s Faculty Development Fund Award to research and write a book on Maniates.
Made possible through generous donors, the Faculty Development Fund Award carries a grant up to $2,500 and is distributed annually on a competitive basis. The fund broadly defines faculty development as related research, professional service in one’s discipline, or instructional development. In keeping with the donors’ wishes, each grant will allow, or subsidize, a faculty member to do something that he/she would otherwise not be able to do.
Bio for Dr. Patricia Oman
Dr. Patricia Oman, Assistant Professor of English at Hastings College, teaches courses in literature, film, publishing, and writing. Her research specialty is twentieth-century American regional literature and film, focusing particularly on the Midwest. She is currently writing a book on early twentieth-century author Belle K. Maniates.
Dr. Oman earned her bachelor’s degree in classics and comparative literature from the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, a master’s in modern literature from the University of Leicester and her doctorate from the University of Oregon.
