Educational Background:
- Ph.D. Illinois State University (2012)
- M.A. Georgia State University (2008)
- B.A. University of Georgia (2004)
Selected Courses Taught:
- Foundations in Children’s Literature
- Adolescent Literature
- Early American Literature
- Late American Literature
- Southern Literature
- The Storytelling of Disney, Honors Seminar
- Literature for Young Readers
- Literature for Middle Grades
- Composition I
- Composition II
Selected Publications:
- “No One Likes to Feel Like an Adolescent: Genre Resistance in Harper Lee’s Novels.”
Mississippi Quarterly 70/71.1 (2019). - “Treading Water: Considering Adolescent Characters in Moratorium.”
Children’s Literature in Education 49.2 (2018): 87-100. - “’The earth which had bred his bones’: Narrative Representations of Southern Identity.”
Southern Studies 22.1 (2015): 72-99. Print. - “The Rub between Fact and Fiction: Ideology in Lois Lenski’s Regional Maps.” Children’s Literature in Education 42.1 (2011): 44-55. Print.
- “A Story of the Exceptional: Fate and Free Will in the Harry Potter”
Children’s Literature 38.1 (2010): 181-206. Print.
Selected Academic Appointments:
- Associate Professor, English Department
Shorter University, Rome, Georgia. April 2021-present. - Assistant Professor, English Department
Shorter University, Rome, Georgia. August 2013-April 2021. - Postdoctoral position, English Department
Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois. January 2013-May 2013. - Instructor, English Department
Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois. August 2008-December 2012. - Instructor, English Department
Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia. August 2007-May 2008. - Internship with South Atlantic Modern Language Association
Selected Conference Presentations:
- “A Cultural Opportunity for Children: Margaret Wise Brown’s Picture Books.” Presenter. Children’s Literature Association Annual Conference. Indianapolis, Indiana, June 1-15, 2019. Session 12A.
- “The Timeless Book: The Past, Present, and Future of Margaret Wise Brown.” Presenter. Children’s Literature Association Annual Conference. Tampa, Florida, June 22-24, 2017. Session 7D.
- “No One Likes to Feel Like an Adolescent: Genre Resistance in Harper Lee’s Novels.” Presenter and Moderator. Children’s Literature Association Annual Conference. Columbus, Ohio, June 9-11, 2016. Session 16A.
- “The All-White World of Contemporary Southern Adolescent Fiction.” Presenter. Children’s Literature Association Annual Conference. Columbia, South Carolina, June 18-21, 2014. Session 6G.
- “Regional Identities Advertised through Adolescent Literature.” Presenter. Cultural Studies Association Annual Conference. Chicago, Illinois, May 22-26, 2013.
- “Moratorium and Morality: The Adolescent Character’s Search for Identity.” Presenter. Ethics and Children’s Literature Symposium. Greencastle, Indiana, September 13-16, 2012. Session 8.
- “Horatio Alger’s Slumdog Millionaire: American Capitalism and Nationalism Abroad.” Presenter. Children’s Literature Association 39thAnnual Conference. Boston, Massachusetts, June 14-16, 2012. Session 12.4.
- “Reading the South: Teaching Adolescents to Identify with Regional Land.” Presenter. 127th Modern Language Association Annual Convention. Seattle, Washington, January 5-8, 2012. Session 681.