General Fields of Professional Interest
Dramatic literature
Southern literature
Appalachian studies
Religion and literature
American regional and ethnic cultures and literatures
Folklore and oral history
Dramaturgy and new play development
Pedagogical Style
I usually teach through guided class discussion, often prompted by a brief in-class writing assignment about our text for that day. I also lecture intermittently, sometimes in conjunction with screenings of selected scenes from videotapes of plays we are studying. I use peer editing in my writing courses and try to keep the material relevant and interesting to students. Always come to class prepared, engaged, and ready to actively participate. Expect to make many trips to the library and to develop a close, meaningful relationship with your dictionary (pun intended).
Other Information
I direct one play each year as part of the Cap and Bells season at SJU, and I am the advisor to the SJU chapter of Alpha Psi Omega, the national honorary theatre fraternity.
I have extensive practical experience in the theater, and also some in television and film. I majored in both Theatre Arts and English at the undergraduate level and completed a doctoral minor in Theatre at LSU. I studied drama in London for a summer as a graduate student and for six months worked as a dramaturgy and literary management intern at Actors Theatre of Louisville, home of the renowned Humana Festival of New American Plays. In the course of my doctoral studies I also served as co-director of inmate theatre companies in Louisiana and Kentucky state prisons that wrote and performed original works.
Member of Modern Language Association, Popular Culture Association, Society for the Study of Southern Literature, Conference on Christianity and Literature, Association for Theatre in Higher Education.