Assistant Professor of English and Legal Writing

• PhD University of Oregon, in English (Medieval Literature and Anglo-Saxon Literature and Culture)
• MA University of Oregon, in English Literature
• JD Lewis and Clark Law School
• BA Whitman College, English Literature (with distinction)

Personal Statement:

I abandoned a career as an attorney to teach Medieval literature, including Beowulf, Chaucer, and Arthurian literature, as well as other Old and Middle English literature. I also teach technical composition, focusing on legal and criminal justice topics. My interests include studying the oral/literate nexus and the uses of modern computer technology in the study of literature. My research focuses primarily on Anglo-Saxon literature, using computer-assisted text analysis tools to examine the similarities and differences between the various Anglo-Saxon poems, including Beowulf.

Research and teaching interests:

Medieval Literature
Anglo-Saxon Literature
Computer-assisted textual analysis

Courses:
Survey of British Literature I
Chaucer
Arthur through the Ages
Advanced Composition
Technical Composition
Major English Authors

Selected presentations:

“What Does PCA Have To Do With Beowulf? Textual Analysis Software and Anglo-Saxon Literature.” The International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan, May 2008.

 “A Boast of Beowulves: Finding the Right Fitt.” NSU Research Day, Natchitoches, Louisiana, March 10, 2008.

 “Lessons from the Storm Front: Teaching Katrina to Her Survivors.” College English Association Annual Conference 2007, New Orleans, Louisiana, April 2007.

“Honor and the Social Code: Agreements in ‘Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed.’” Fourth Annual Conference, Louisiana Consortium of Medieval and Renaissance Scholars, Natchitoches, Louisiana, October 2006.

“What Makes Beowulf Beowulf?: Essential Digressions in the Epic Form.” Thirty-ninth International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan, May 2004.

Invited and Funded Participant, National Science Foundation-Sponsored Workshop: “Nonlinear Methods in Psychology.” George Mason College, October 2003.

“Pleasing Form: Complex Aesthetics In Beowulf.” Society for Chaos Theory in Psychology and the Life Sciences, Boston, Massachusetts, June 2003.

“The Unweaving of Wiglaf’s World.”  38th Annual Meeting of the Medieval Association of the Pacific, Portland, Oregon, March 2003.

“Using Dylan in the Discourse.” Fall Composition Conference, Eugene, Oregon, September 2000.