My research involves the intersection of literary and educational theory with the actual clinical practice of teaching and of teaching teachers. It centers on constructivist, student-centered, reader response approaches to educational reform. I have been planning a new course that is part of our newly created minor, Writing in the Public Sphere, centered around changing schools and have been doing extensive research on the practical, politcal aspects of educational change, based in part on my award-winning book, Minding American Education: Recovering the Tradition of Active Learning, as well as on weekly on-line Newsletter, Active Learning Forum. This will result in a book-length manuscript Enacting the Active Mind.
keywords
American Romanticism, 19th century American Romanticism, 19th century American Poetry, 20th century American Poetry, practical and theoretical pedagogy, history and philosophy of American education, history and philosophy of service learning
ENGL 1420 - Poetry
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2019
Introduces students to how to read a poem by examining the great variety of poems written and composed in English from the very beginning of the English language until recently.
ENGL 1600 - Masterpieces of American Literature
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2024
Introduces students to the American literary tradition through intensive study of centrally significant texts and genres.
ENGL 2102 - Literary Analysis
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2021 / Fall 2021 / Spring 2023 / Fall 2023
Provides a basic skills course designed to equip students to handle the English major. Emphasizes critical writing and the acquisition of basic techniques and vocabulary of literary criticism through close attention to poetry and prose.
ENGL 2115 - American Frontiers
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018
Considers the backdrop of the American West in literature, film, photography and computer gaming. Focuses on a range of narratives and images depicting this wide swathe of American geography while simultaneously cultivating close reading skills, digital media analysis and film analysis that will aid in deeper insights at the textual level.
ENGL 3235 - American Novel
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2021 / Fall 2021
Surveys the American novel. Covers the early development of the American novel, its rise in the 19th- and 20th-centuries, and its contemporary expressions. Students will be introduced to theories of the novel, the major movements and authors, as well as the characteristics that define the American novel as unique.
ENGL 3245 - American Poetry
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2020 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2023
Surveys American poetry from the 17th- to the 21st-century. Includes training in poetic theory, form, and genre, as well as in poetic analysis.
ENGL 3930 - Internship
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2021
Provides academically supervised opportunity for upper-division students to work in public or private organizations on projects related to students' career goals and to relate classroom theory to practice. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours. Department enforced prerequisite: 3.0 GPA and faculty supervision.
ENGL 4039 - Critical Thinking in English Studies
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018 / Spring 2019 / Fall 2019 / Fall 2020 / Spring 2022 / Fall 2023
Concerned with developments in the study of literature that have significantly influenced our conception of the theoretical bases for study and expanded our understanding of appropriate subject matter. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours.
ENGL 4206 - Writing for the Real World
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2022
Trains students in advanced techniques of writing with a view toward 'real world' application''that is, usefulness after graduation. Emphasis on writing for a variety of audiences and techniques for achieving conciseness, clarity, expressiveness, logic, and appropriateness of diction and evidence. Readings include classic and contemporary writings about writing and exemplary professional essays from a variety of fields. Previously offered as a special topics course.
ENGL 4468 - Modern Poetry
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2020
Selects works of British and American poets from 1900 to the present.
ENGL 4830 - Honors Thesis
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2024
Students accepted to English Departmental Honors are enrolled in this course.
ENGL 5529 - Studies in Special Topics 1
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2024
Studies special topics that focus on a theme, genre, or theoretical issue not limited to a specific period or national tradition. Topics vary each semester. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Same as IAWP 6100.
