She completed her doctorate in Renaissance poetry and critical theory at New York University. As a graduate student, she served as chair of the Feminist Forum and explored feminist perspectives on psychoanalysis and trauma through courses in psychology, philosophy and literature. Inspired by her undergraduate English professor Susan Gubar’s book The Madwoman in the Attic, Hillary created a section of Literature and Interpretation called “The Madwoman in the Text,” which traces representations of mad, monstrous women across literary periods and genres. In addition to finishing her book Unknowing Herbert: The Dark End of The Temple, Hillary’s working on several articles, including “The Case of Katharina: Freud’s Gothic Romance.” Her classes invite students to examine personal and cultural assumptions about gender and to actively question what it means to be a woman or a man.