M.A. English, West Virginia University , 1991.
Ph.D. English, West Virginia University , 1998. 

Teaching Interests:  
My teaching interests include both composition and twentieth-century American literature. I regularly teach Ethnic Literature and Gender in Literature, and I am also the coordinator for the gender studies minor. I am interested in gender and women’s studies and feminist theory.

Research Interests:  

My current research focuses on the depiction of adolescent girls in twentieth-century American novels written by women. I have also been doing research on plagiarism with both faculty and students. I am also interested in writing about contemporary American films.

Publications:

“Understanding the Myth of the American Dream Through the Personal Narrative.”

 in American Dreams: Comparative Dialogues in U.S. Studies. Ed. Ricardo

Miguez. Cambridge Scholars Press, 2007: 34-41.

 

“The Meaning of Selfhood in Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon” in The Fiction of Toni 
Morrison: Teaching and Writing on Race, Culture,  and Identity.  Ed. Jami   
Carlacio. Urbana: NCTE, 2007:  48-54.  

 

With Tami Eggleston, “Addressing Contemporary Issues Through Collaborative

Models.” Eastern Education Journal 35.1, (Spring 2006):35-41.

 

With Tami Eggleston, "Integrating Teaching, Research, and Service Learning for Holistic

Collaborative, and Meaningful Learning" in the Council for  Undergraduate Research (CUR) Quarterly June 2004.

 

With Tami Eggleston, "Eroding Boundaries in Faculty-Student Interaction: The Benefits and Challenges of

Academic Email" in the summer issue of Lore: An E-Journal for Teachers of Writing.

 

“Letting the Body Speak: Coloring Whiteness in Caucasia .” Modern Language Studies. (Special Issue on The Critical Study of Whiteness in Literature). Ed. Patty Keefe Durso. 32.1 (Spring, 2002): 59-70.

With Tami Eggleston. “Traps, Pitfalls, and Obstacles: Challenges to Confronting Racism in
Academia.” Race in the Classroom: Pedagogy and Politics. Edited by Bonnie Tu Smith and Maureen Reddy. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 2002. 200-09.

"Battleground of the Adolescent Body.” The Girl: Constructions of Girlhood in Contemporary Fiction by

Women. Ed. Ruth Saxton. New York: St. Martin 's, 1998. 42-56.

 

Representative Recent Presentations:   

"Raising Hell and Fighting Back: Coming of Age in the Twenty-First Century,” at the
  National Women’s Studies Conference, St. Charles, IL, June 28-July 1, 2—7.

 

“The Battleground of the Adolescent Body: New Sites of Resistance in Contemporary American Novels.” National Women’s Studies Conference, Oakland, CA : June 16-18, 2006.

“Confronting Racism and Classism Through the Personal Narrative” at College Conference on Composition and Communication in Chicago , March 22-25, 2006.

"The State Farm Insurance Foundation IL Campus Compact Faculty Fellows: Creative Collaborations, Multiple Models and Research Results" presented at the Fourth Annual K-H International Service Learning Research Conference in Greenville, South Carolina, October 10 - 12, 2004.

“Charting New Territories: Breaking Down the Disciplinary Divide to

Empower Students and Create Global Thinkers” at The Eleventh International Education and Research Network, Havana, , June 27-30, 2004. 

Integrating Teaching, Research, and Service Learning for Holistic, Collaborative, and Meaningful Learning" as part of the "Approaches to Civic Engagement in Higher Education" the International Conference on Higher Learning and Democracy at Rockford College, April 25, 2004.

Teaching Philosophy:  

All of my classes are discussion-based. I don’t want students to simply look to me for “answers” that will be on a test. Instead, I want students to take responsibility for their own learning, to be intellectually curious and to see that we can all learn from each other.

Contract, Renewal, Promotion and Tenure Committee

Study Abroad Selection Committee