As a specialist in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century literature, theater and intellectual history, Larry Norman's work is driven by a concern with the dynamic interaction between texts and their aesthetic and historical framework. More specifically, Norman is interested in how individual works play in surprising ways with social norms and literary expectations. In practice, these concerns led Norman from his first book on Molière, an examination of the contentious exchange between playwright and audience that gave birth to modern satirical comedy (The Public Mirror), to Norman's study re-evaluating the creative conflict between ancient literature and early-modern ideals (The Shock of the Ancient: Literature and History in Early-Modern France).

In his teaching, Norman aims to create broad interdisciplinary conversations. He has designed graduate seminars to engage not only in dialogues across research fields (such as “Réalisme classique,” “Re-Writing Homer in Early-Modern France,” “Lumières et Primitivismes,” and “Aesthetics of French Classicism”), but also to integrate scholarship with theatrical performance and curatorial practice (“The Theatrical Baroque” and “The Theatrical Illusion: From Corneille to Kushner”).

For more details on his research and publications, please visit his profile page at the University of Chicago.