Teaching
I teach in a variety of settings, from first-year to graduate seminars, from introductory courses to advanced research groups, and to various groups outside the university. I also try to write about teaching, when time permits.
Courses
Introduction to Shakespeare. One of my main courses is an introductory Shakespeare course. Until a decade ago, this course was required of English majors, but that's no longer the case. Initially, I resisted the change--I still don't love it--but one of its virtues is that a much higher proportion of students take the class because they want to. This class is so much fun.
Archives and the History of the Book. I am fortunate to work in close proximity to KU's Kenneth Spencer Research Library, which boasts an impressive collection of books and other archival materials. Starting in 2013 and into the present, I have taught several archive-focused courses at the Spencer, including many spectacularly pleasurable sections of History of the Book. The success of these sections had little to do with me and much more to do with the highly engaged students who enrolled.
Early Modern English Literature. I have taught plenty of other courses, including Milton, honors and graduate seminars on Shakespeare and early modern drama, and eclectic courses on early modern English writings.
Introduction to English Studies. In 2020, I piloted a new course in my department intended as the main course required of all English majors and minors. It's now one of my standard courses to teach every year. The goals of the course are 1) to give students a sense of the broad range of intellectual work in English, 2) to introduce students to critical terms and concepts, and 3) to give students practice in primary intellectual and academic methods in English. The course features Midsummer Night's Dream and the Sonnets, Harriet Jacobs's Incidents and Ishiguro's Remains of the Day. It's terrific fun!
The Future? In the next few years, I hope to continue offering the courses above, but I also want to add new offerings to the mix: Computational Text Analysis (or Humanities Data Science), What Was the Premodern?, Early Modern Rhetoric and Poetics, and Shakespeare Scholarship for the Twenty-first Century.
- From 2014-16, I submitted my ENGL 332 course to a series of revisions aimed at enhancing student learning. These revisions, made in cahoots with KU's Center for Teaching Excellence, resulted in a teaching portfolio, which you can find here.
- One of the most pleasurable and productive aspects of my Shakespeare course is the creative assignment students can complete. Based on this assignment and on the huge array of students' response to it, I recently published an essay in a collection titled Creating the Premodern in the Postmodern Classroom.
Archives and the History of the Book. I am fortunate to work in close proximity to KU's Kenneth Spencer Research Library, which boasts an impressive collection of books and other archival materials. Starting in 2013 and into the present, I have taught several archive-focused courses at the Spencer, including many spectacularly pleasurable sections of History of the Book. The success of these sections had little to do with me and much more to do with the highly engaged students who enrolled.
Early Modern English Literature. I have taught plenty of other courses, including Milton, honors and graduate seminars on Shakespeare and early modern drama, and eclectic courses on early modern English writings.
Introduction to English Studies. In 2020, I piloted a new course in my department intended as the main course required of all English majors and minors. It's now one of my standard courses to teach every year. The goals of the course are 1) to give students a sense of the broad range of intellectual work in English, 2) to introduce students to critical terms and concepts, and 3) to give students practice in primary intellectual and academic methods in English. The course features Midsummer Night's Dream and the Sonnets, Harriet Jacobs's Incidents and Ishiguro's Remains of the Day. It's terrific fun!
The Future? In the next few years, I hope to continue offering the courses above, but I also want to add new offerings to the mix: Computational Text Analysis (or Humanities Data Science), What Was the Premodern?, Early Modern Rhetoric and Poetics, and Shakespeare Scholarship for the Twenty-first Century.
Directed Student Research
One of the great honors of my job is to direct student research projects. I have been involved with dozens of undergraduate projects, honors theses, MA theses, and Ph.D. dissertations. The topics have ranged from my own areas of specialization to creative writing and beyond. I'm especially interested in directing student projects that extend humanities inquiry in new directions while maintaining the rigor of the discipline.
If you are working on a project (or planning to!) and think I could help in any way, please don't hesitate to contact me.
If you are working on a project (or planning to!) and think I could help in any way, please don't hesitate to contact me.
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