About MeI am an Associate Professor of English at Centenary College of Louisiana. I teach courses in American Literature, with particular interest in Contemporary Fiction, Science Fiction, and Environmental Literature. As a member of our Communication program faculty, I teach courses in Digital Cultures and New Media. My research interests lie at the intersections of gender, technology, and the environment in American literature, film, and popular culture. My current co-authored project, Highways of the Mind, a work of digital scholarship, comes together at the nexus of these research interests. I have also spear-headed the creation and implementation of a sustainability living learning community on campus called the GreenHouse, which has been an exciting adventure!
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GreenHouse and Sustainability
I currently direct the GreenHouse, a Sustainability Living and Learning Community at Centenary College of Louisiana. I also serve as co-advisor for the Environment and Society Minor and have been the ACS Environmental Fellow since 2004. In my role as Environmental Fellow, I work closely with students, faculty, and staff to coordinate sustainability initiatives on campus. In 2010 I was appointed to a mayoral committee to devise strategies for energy efficiency and conservation in the city of Shreveport. For more on the GreenHouse and Sustainability, click here.
Research Highlights
My research cohort, Helen Burgess, and I just finished a demo version of Highways of the Mind, a work of multimedia scholarship that explores the history of the interstate highway system and its transformative impact on the physical and cultural landscapes of America. The project is full of critical analysis and orginal argument, vintage film clips, and retro-futuristic ephemera from yesteryear. Here's an example of the vintage film included in the project, Your Permit to Drive (1951):
For more on my research, click here.
Teaching Highlights
In May 2012, 15 students head out to Chimp Haven National Wildlife Sanctuary near Shreveport. This intensive course (May Module) invites students to explore the meaning of “culture” and “intercultural engagement” in the context of our relationship to non-human primates. Students explore key works in cultural primatology and animal studies, and will apply that understanding during extensive observation of chimpanzee social groups at the sanctuary.
For more about my courses and teaching, click here.