Assistant Professor of English, Core Fellow
Sr. Maria Frassati Jakupcak is a member of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist and an Assistant Professor of English at the University of St. Thomas in Houston. Her dissertation was on player-dramatists present in William Shakespeare’s plays, though she has a strong interest in the 20th Century Catholic literary revival and has published on Tolkien, Belloc, and Rumer Godden as well. Her current research centers on Shakespeare as he interacts with other figures – notably Thomas Aquinas and Fulton Sheen. A member of the Association of Literary Scholars, Critics, and Writers, Sister is also interested in aesthetic questions relative to narrative and story. In addition to her academic work, her devotional writing regularly appears in Magnificat and occasionally in other venues like “Deep Down Things” or Our Sunday Visitor. Sister is also active in the University community, teaching primarily the introductory classes in the Core, moderating the Corpus household, and speaking at a great many engagements.
Ph.D. in English, The Catholic University of America
Master of Arts in English, The Catholic University of America
Master of Theological Studies, Providence College
Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, Eastern Michigan University
Selected Publications:
“Providence and Healing Remembrance in Rumer Godden’s Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy.” Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture. Vol. 29, no. 3 (2025), 117-139.
“Between Life and Art: Hilaire Belloc’s the Path to Rome.” Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture. Vol. 18, no. 4 (2015), 59-81.
Anthologized in Children’s Literature Review 224. Gale (2018), 87-97.
“‘A Particular Cast of Fancy’: Addison’s Walk with Tolkien and Lewis.” Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review.
Vol. 11 (2014), 45-66.