Beth Windle teaches in the Department of English & American Literature and the Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
With two decades of experience in the classroom, Beth has taught a broad range of courses at Washington University and elsewhere. Currently, she regularly teaches First-Year and Sophomore Seminars, Introduction to Literary Theory, Argumentation, and Introduction to Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She teaches a number of topics courses as well, most frequently on queer U.S. literature and on the true crime genre. Previously, she taught in the College Writing Program. With a College Writing faculty member, she convenes the Arts and Sciences writing pedagogy study group for faculty and graduate students.
Her literary research centers on how contemporary queer culture deploys nostalgia as a tool for world-making in the present. That work has been published in MELUS: Multi-Ethnic Literature of the U.S. and Camera Obscura. Most recently, her research has shifted to questions of pedagogical practice in the literature and writing classroom. Her article on teaching intersectionality appeared in 2025 in Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, Composition, and Culture. She is currently at work on a project that explores the history and politics of the class participation grade.
Beth was recently awarded two teaching grants, one from Literacies for Life and Career through the College of Arts and Sciences and one from the Bauer Leadership Center. She serves on the Executive Board of the Association for Teaching, Research, and Practice Faculty, a university group dedicated to advocating for the interests of non-tenure-track faculty across Wash U.
She holds a PhD in English and American Literature with a certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.