Experience: College and University Instructor
2007 Portland Community College (Rock Creek English Dept.), Portland, Oregon 97229
2002-2006 University of Southern California (English Dept.), Los Angeles, California 90089
2004 University of Southern California (Neighborhood Academic Initiative), Los Angeles, California 90089
1999 University of Southern California (Thematic Option Program), Los Angeles, California 90089
1998-1999 Florida Gulf Coast University (English Dept.), Fort Myers, Florida 33965-6565
1998 East Los Angeles College (English Dept.), Education Center, South Gate, California 90280-2646
1997-1998 Pasadena City College (English Dept.), Pasadena, California 91106
• Teach literature and writing courses at public and private universities, as well as community colleges.
• Present complex ideas to students with a variety of backgrounds and needs.
• Design and refine courses according to students’ specific needs, as well as the detailed outcomes-based requirements of the course or program.
• Emphasize critical thinking and argumentation skills in the study of literature and composition.
• Facilitate group discussion and work in both standard-semester and accelerated courses.
Courses Taught
• British Literature and Culture Since 1800
• American Literature and Culture Since 1865
• Introduction to Literature
• Writing about Literature
• Honors Writing (Thematic Option)
• Advanced Writing
• Writing
• Developmental Writing
• Introduction to Expository Writing
• Poetry Appreciation Workshops (for local high schoolers)
• Future Professoriate
TEACHING PHILOSOPHY (Short Form)
I wish to engage all students in and out of the classroom and interest them in the joys and cultural significances of literature and writing. Classes are based on group discussion, which I facilitate with contagious enthusiasm. Assignments are often creative in nature, with the individual students devising their own ways to complete the requirements. My ultimate goals are to strengthen their communication, reading and argumentation skills and to instill a lifelong love of learning, particularly in regards to literature.
PUBLICATIONS, PRESENTATIONS AND AWARDS
2007 Publication: “Jesus and the American Slave Spirituals” (in preparation for refereed journal)
2005 Presentation: “The Future Professoriate: A Course Designed to Enhance the Pedagogical Preparation of Future Professors” by William H. McComas, Danielle Mihram, and Morgan S. Grether at the American Association of College Teachers of Education annual meeting, Washington DC
2001 Awarded: Certificate of Recognition for Service to Graduate Students, USC Graduate and Professional Student Senate
2000 Awarded: Certificate of Recognition for Service to Graduate Students, USC Graduate and Professional Student Senate
1999 Dissertation: Representative Christs: Depictions of Jesus in the American Renaissance, Claremont Graduate University
1998 Book review: “Flannery O’Connor: New Perspectives,” Women’s Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal
1996 Awarded: High Pass (highest honor) in Ph.D. qualifying exams at Claremont Graduate University
1995 Presentation: “Mapping Melville’s Sea of Voices,” at University of California, Riverside graduate student conference
1994 Awarded: Pass with Distinction (highest honor) from Cal-State LA for Master’s Thesis, Melville’s Billy Budd and the Dialogic
1994 Awarded: Certificate of Honor, English Department, Cal-State LA
1994 Awarded: Special Recognition in Graduate Studies, Cal-State LA
1992 Graduated on Dean’s List, Tulane University
RESEARCH INTERESTS
I have traditionally focused on English literature at the intersection of cultural studies, music, film, communications, history, etc. (particularly in nineteenth-century America). The past few years however have found me looking more and more at another area: the teaching of literature (i.e., how does someone learn to teach?). I hope to translate many of my findings into effective, interactive online modules for learning literature.
EDUCATION
1994 to 1999
Ph.D. in English, August 1999
Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California
Advisors: Wendy Martin (chair), Alfred Bendixen (co-chair), Robert Faggen
Dissertation: Representative Christs: Depictions of Jesus in the American Renaissance, Claremont Graduate University
1992 to 1994
M.A. in English, June 1994
California State University, Los Angeles, California
Advisor: Steven Jones
Master’s Thesis, Melville’s Billy Budd and the Dialogic
Pass with Distinction (highest honor)
1988 to 1992
B.A. in English (History minor), May 1992
Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana
Dean’s List
