view pdf version - Alumni - Truman State University

Tell us a little bit about what you teach:
My specialty is in late 19th- and early 20th-century literature of
Britain and America, but I’ve taught a wide variety of literature
and writing courses here at Truman. I really enjoy working with
students in LSP literature classes, such as surveys and special
topics, and I also teach classes in American nature writers,
regional literature (Southern, Western, and Midwestern), women
writers, American romanticism, the World War I era, the fin de
siècle in Britain and America, literary theory and mystery fiction.
How would you describe your teaching
philosophy:
Understanding literature and writing clearly are foundational
parts of a liberal arts education. My starting point is my deep love
of reading and writing, and I try to show students that everyone,
not just English majors, can approach even highly complex texts
and make sense of them. I challenge students to take personal
responsibility for their learning, relate their life experiences to
interpretation and writing, participate fully in the community of
scholars, and gain the confidence to speak and write with a
uniquely personal voice.
What would people be surprised to learn
about you:
They might be shocked that I used to ride motorcycles (during
grad school, before I could afford a car) and that I have a 1970
MG Midget moldering in my garage. It’s my first car, and I can’t
bear to part with it.
my husband and sister-in-law get for me. Asking an English
teacher to make a short list of favorite books is impossible!
What do you do when you’re not working:
When I have time, I love to cook (not just to turn out meals) and
to entertain our family and friends. Travel is a major focus as well:
my husband and I have taught in the Missouri London program,
spent a week in Japan, and voyaged around the U.S. a good bit
too. Our annual spring break trip to Staunton, Va., for a jampacked
schedule of play-going at the American Shakespeare
Center is another highlight. My other pastimes include reading,
watching old movies, gardening, antiquing and making believe
that I can fix the plumbing in our 1925 house.
If you weren’t
teaching, what
would you be
doing:
I would probably
work for a nonprofit
agency as a
grantwriter, take the
training to become a
floral arranger, or reinvent
myself as an
events planner or
personal chef.
What is the nicest thing someone has
said to you:
You’re a loyal friend.
What books do you like to recommend:
Some of my favorites are underappreciated, and I’m
happy to promote them: Harold Frederic’s The
Damnation of Theron Ware, Harold Melville’s The
Confidence-Man, and Agnes Smedley’s Daughter of Earth.
I constantly tell people to read Emily Dickinson, H.D.
Thoreau, George Eliot, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Walt
Whitman and William Shakespeare, along with an eclectic
mix of other works: Edward
Abbey’s Desert Solitaire, Leslie
Marmon Silko’s Ceremony,
Jane Smiley’s Moo (one of the
funniest books I’ve ever read),
Oscar Wilde’s plays, classic
mystery fiction, and whatever
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