Dickensian Office Artifacts With Dean McKnight
Upon walking into Dean Natalie McKnight’s office, the first thing people see is her collection of Charles Dickens memorabilia. In BU Today’s “Office Artifacts” feature, McKnight talks about her love for Dickens and some of the fun trinkets she has in celebration of him.
McKnight was first introduced to the world of Charles Dickens when she was four years old while watching Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol. While the television special served as a starting point for McKnight, she would delve deeper in graduate school by taking a seminar about Dickens. McKnight tells BU Today, “We did these close readings of texts, and we would laugh out loud and we would cry,” she says. “I would think, wow, now there’s an author.”
From that point on, Dean McKnight would continue to closely study the works of Charles Dickens by publishing multiple books as well as becoming the co-editor of Dickens Studies Annual. In addition to her publications, this past summer McKnight hosted the 22nd Annual Dickens Symposium at BU.
A member of the CGS faculty since 1990, McKnight has collected numerous items to decorate her office throughout her tenure. While there are plenty of books written by Dickens all throughout the office, McKnight also has a personalized Boston Red Sox jersey with Dickens’ name on the back, as well as multiple action figures dedicated to Dickens’ characters.
For more information about the unique items in Dean McKnight’s office, please visit BU Today.