t e a c h i n g

Areas of Specialization

20th Century American Literature

The primary thrust of my scholarship, although I've found that the multicultural awareness of the twentieth century and the steady dissolution of rigid boundaries between class, race, and nationality have increasingly made this and all categories difficult to maintain. This accounts for the broad diversity that many people have noted in my teaching and writing.

Creative Writing (Fiction, Screenwriting, and Poetry)

In addition to my scholarship, I have continued a love of creative writing born in my childhood. My favorite genres are the novel and the screenplay, but I have also written poetry, drama, and teleplays. Because of my ongoing publishing agenda, many of the universities where I have taught have invited me to teach creative writing courses in fiction, poetry, and screenwriting.

20th Century British Literature (Undergraduate Level)

My coverage of British literature spans approximately 200 years. I've taught 19th century British literature (from Blake to Yeats) and modern British literature, and I've published a book-length work on Virginia Woolf's The Waves.

19th Century American Literature (Undergraduate Level)

Part of my comprehensive coverage of American Literature. In particular, my focus in the 19th century has been on the evolution of a distinctly American literature alongside the development of a national consciousness. This developing consciousness is, understandably, inseparable from European influence and judgement.

19th Century British Literature (Undergraduate Level)

See 20th Century British Literature

Early American Literature (Undergraduate Level)

One of my primary teaching responsibilities at the University of Alabama was to cover the emergence of American Literature from its implications in the literature of exploration through the end of the civil war and America's entrance into the Gilded Age.

World Literature I (Undergraduate Level)

My philosophy on teaching early World Literature is to help students realize the immeasurable influence that the shift from oral tradition to writing has had on the development of human consciousness and world civilizations.

World Literature II (Undergraduate Level)

My focus for late world literature is on the last 200 years, beginning with Baudelaire and continuing through contemporary writers such as Achebe, Haruki Murakami, and Lorna Goodison. In addition to covering major authors, I have exercises designed to expose students to the literature of emerging countries with which they may not already be familiar.

Composition, Technical, Business, and Professional Writing

I've found that my diverse background (finance, music, and so on) has aided me immeasurably in the teaching of writing courses. The six years I spent as a financial consultant bring real-world experiences to my teaching of technical, business, and professional writing, and my ongoing scholarly publication allows me to impress upon students the invaluable advantages of a strong command of the written language.

Film

My interest and scholarship in film comes from two sources: my interest in the genre of the screenplay, and my interest in the twentieth century--the first century dominated by visual representation.