Hi!  I'm originally from Morristown, New Jersey.  I attended undergrad in Massachusetts at Wheaton College, a small (then women's) liberal arts college, where I began my work in American Studies/Literature.  I also participated in the Wheaton Chorale and acted as a peer tutor for the English Department.  After Wheaton, I went to Purdue University for my master's and doctoral degrees.

I received my Ph.D. from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana in May, 1999 in American Studies.  My major field is contemporary American literature, and I have secondary fields in pre-1865 American literature, women’s history, and women’s studies.  I am heading to California State University, Sacramento, this summer (2001) to teach in their Humanities/Religious Studies program.  I will be teaching multicultural studies, film, and western civilization.  My past experience includes the following:  I taught classes for ten years at Purdue, including freshman composition (regular and advanced), sports and literature, science fiction and fantasy literature, film, and women’s studies.  Last year and this year, I have been working as a visiting assistant professor of English at, respectively, Illinois College and Austin College, both of which are small liberal arts colleges.  In 2000-2001, I have taught Writing, Topics in 20th-Century American Literature: Multicultural Literature of the Americas, Studies in American Literature of the 20th-Century: American Space and Identity, and Introduction to Literature.  Last year I taught freshman composition, multicultural literature, and an upper level survey course in African-American literature.

I’ve had several articles published in the fields of literature, race and ethnic studies, women’s studies, and science fiction.  My most recent piece is forthcoming from FEMSPEC and is entitled “‘What Good is All this to Black People?’: Octavia Butler’s Reconstruction of Corporeality.” Octavia Butler is one of a handful of black science fiction and fantasy authors, and I am interested in further exploring the intersections of race and genre.  My current research includes the works of Walter Moseley, Samuel Delaney, and Steven Barnes, as well as those of Butler.  I am also working on a piece about pedagogy as well as the publication of my dissertation.

Entitled “The Monster Strikes Back: American Women Revising Abjection,” my dissertation concerns the work of four American women authors – Butler, Marge Piercy, Alice Walker, and Meridel LeSueur – who have revised the image of woman as monstrous so that it is empowering.  My thesis builds upon work by Julia Kristeva, Judith Butler, bell hooks, and Patricia Hill Collins, as well as others.

I enjoy attending the professional conferences of the regional SW/TX American Culture Association/Popular Culture Association, the national American Culture Association/Popular Culture Association, the National Women's Studies Association and the Modern Language Association.

Literature/ Humanities Links:
General:
Literary Resources on the Net
The English Server at CMU
Humanities and Social Sciences On Line
 Modern Language Association
The English Server
Voice of the Shuttle
National Endowment for the Humanities
Arts and Letters Daily
A Literary Index: Internet Resources in Literature
Electronic Resources for Literature Teachers
Language, Literature and Criticism
American:
A good American Literature page from Donna Campbell at Gonzaga University
PAL: Table of Contents
Shelley Reid, AmLit Sites
Modern American
African-American:
African American Authors
African American Literature at USC (lots of resources)
African American Literature Links
John Edgar Wideman
James Baldwin (1924-1987) : Teacher Resource File
See also my African-American Literature syllabus
Toni Morrison:

Native-American:
Native American Authors on the World Wide Web
American Indian Writer Sherman Alexie. July 3, 2000. The Connection.
Women's:
Celebration of Women Writers
American Women in Literature
Composition:
Literary Arts Webring
National Writing Project
"When you slip
slowly and lovingly
through my fingers
I cannot hold you
and explain a thousand things..."
(From "Little Sister Born in this Land" by Elias Miguel Munoz)
 
 

Media:
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Salon Magazine
The Washingtonpost.com
The New York Times on the Web
APB News: Crime, Justice, Safety
Blue Mountain Arts' Electronic Greeting Cards
 
 
 
 

American Studies and Popular Culture:
American Studies Electronic Crossroads
American Studies Association Home Page
Issues in Depth: Culture Wars in Academe
H-Net, Humanities and Social Sciences OnLine
PopPolitics - Commentary on Popular and Political Cultures
Schoolhouse Rock - Grammar Rock
SW/TX American Culture Assoc./Popular Culture Assoc.
2000 SW/TX ACA/PCA motto:
"If it isn't popular, it isn't culture"
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Jobsearch:
Academic Jobsearch Resources
MLA Job List

Other Resources:
Purdue Online Writing Lab
Purdue University - West Lafayette, Indiana
ClipArtConnection.com - The Clip Art Connection
MSDN Online -- Clip Art
Streetphoto Home Page (G. Mark Smith)
(photos for viewing and purchase)
MSN Gaming Zone