General Fields of Professional Interest
nineteenth-century American literature
narrative forms of the short story
Pedagogical Style
I attempt to balance lectures, discussion (using Socratic methods), student presentations, and essay assignments to inspire students to become self-reliant defenders of their insights and opinions about a text. In freshmen courses, I stress the benefits of working through multiple drafts to hone an argument. In upper-division classes, I prefer a seminar format that permits students to generate some of the topics treated in classroom discussion. Or, to quote Indiana Jones, "I don't know. I'm just making this up as I go along."
Other Information
Member MLA, AAUP
