Celebrating a Book Release and New Research with Dr. Veronica Litt
Cape Breton University is proud to celebrate the recent accomplishments of Dr. Veronica Litt, Assistant Professor in the School of Arts and Social Sciences (SASS). In addition to the release of her debut book Ugh! As If! 鈥� a celebration of the 1995 cult classic Clueless, Dr. Litt has also received new research funding to continue her work on 18th century literature and the transformative power of reading.聽
Though relatively new to CBU, Dr. Litt has quickly become a vibrant part of campus life, leading workshops, hosting student events and teaching a variety of courses from first-year writing to sex and gender in pre-1800 literature. Now, she鈥檚 gaining national attention for her work in pop culture and historical literary criticism.聽
In Ugh! As If!, Dr. Litt revisits Clueless, a film she鈥檚 loved since childhood, to uncover its deeper emotional and cultural value. 鈥淭hough rom-coms and teen movies are often underestimated as obvious and vapid, I would argue that this kind of art can be quietly revolutionary,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he people behind these movies see the same terrible world I do, and instead of amplifying brutality and inequity, carve out a space for relief and light-heartedness.鈥�
Her book invites readers to reconsider 鈥榞irly鈥� media and its significance in shaping empathy, joy and resistance through connection. 鈥淏y overthinking a movie about a chronic underthinker,鈥� she laughs, 鈥淚 wound up seeing Clueless as a complicated but ultimately hopeful story about our shared capacity for compassion and goodness.鈥�
Publishing the book was a dream come true for Dr. Litt. 鈥淲hen I finally signed the paperwork and realized my publisher was officially stuck with me, I had to pinch myself,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t was so exciting and affirming.鈥�
But Dr. Litt鈥檚 academic curiosity doesn鈥檛 stop with Cher Horowitz. Her current research dives into the reading habits of 18th-century audiences, exploring how shared mass reading experiences shaped public opinion and social change. Her work looks beyond elite voices to uncover how marginalized readers, especially women, queer people and those outside the upper class, used literature to challenge the status quo.
In one example, she explores reader reactions to Rousseau鈥檚 Julie, or the New Heloise, a novel that emboldened readers to pursue forbidden love across class lines. 鈥淭his kind of historical evidence shows that books didn鈥檛 just entertain, they gave people the courage to live differently,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t sounds romantic but it happened in real life! My work uncovers these kinds of stories.鈥�
Thanks to recent funding from CBU鈥檚 Research, Innovation, Scholarship and Exploration (RISE) grants, Dr. Litt will travel to the University of Toronto鈥檚 Robarts Library to build a database of 18th-century reader responses. The project will fuel future academic publications and inform her teaching here at CBU. 鈥淚鈥檇 love to create an assignment where students explore real readers鈥� responses to the novels we study,鈥� says Dr. Litt. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great way to make the past feel personal and alive.鈥�
As her research and writing continue to gain momentum, Dr. Litt remains committed to the students who make her job so rewarding. 鈥淐BU students are endlessly curious, funny and thoughtful. And my colleagues? Just tops. I feel so lucky to be here.鈥�
Dr. Litt鈥檚 advice for aspiring writers is to remember that perfection is the enemy of progress. 鈥淒on鈥檛 wait for the perfect idea or the perfect sentence, just start writing,鈥� she says. 鈥淓veryone has to start somewhere.鈥澛�