She may be the only member of the English and American Literature and Language Department to adorn her office walls with pictures of Sandra Bernhard and Madonna.

Assistant Professor of English and American Literature and Language Ann Pellegrini'86 is no slave to conformity.

Signs featuring Ellen DeGeneres's mug promoted her fall course, English 197: "Introduction to Lesbian and Gay Studies." More than a gimmick, this advertising well suits the self-described "performative" Pellegrini.

"I often confuse the words 'lesbian' and 'thespian' so there you are," Pellegrini says, explaining her dramatic flair.

Pellegrini's class constitutes Harvard's first formal foray into the realm of lesbian and gay studies. She says the prospect of pursuing previously unexplored academic territory excites her.

"It's a delight to teach a course I never could have taken on this campus or any other when I was an undergrad," Pellegrini says.

Few courses explicitly devoted to the study of "queer theory" and other lesbian and gay topics were available until Pellegrini's arrival this year.

She has returned to this campus where she earned her undergraduate and doctorate degrees following a three-year teaching stint in Barnard College's Women's Studies program.

Explaining why she left New York for Cambridge, Pellegrini says, "Harvard's offer was extremely enticing. I am working in a new department facing new challenges."

In addition to English 197, Pellegrini is teaching a sophomore seminar,English 90x: "Performance and Performativity."

Both courses examine texts and films from a cultural theory perspective, but while English 90x employs a range of approaches, English 197 primarily focuses on issues of gender and sexual identity.

John A. Fisher'99, who was alerted to English 197 by the Ellen DeGeneres posters, says he is surprised at Pellegrini's reluctance to introduce her own politics into her lectures.

"She detatches herself from the class, which is unfortunate," Fisher says. "She divorces her personal experience from her pedagogy."

Pellegrini says she does not deem her history appropriate to the lesbian and gay studies analysis of literature and film.

"My pedagogic practice doesn't involve transparent self-disclosure,"Pellegrini says.