2024 English PhD Cohort
My name is Michaela Alderman (she/her), I am currently in my third year as a Lecturer of Comp and Humanities at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach Florida. I live in Delray Beach currently with my two cats, Gandalf and Fae. I am from upstate New York and double majored in TESOL and Biblical Studies at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago (grad. 2017) before completing my Masters in English Literature at Mercy College through their online grad program (grad. 2022) while teaching 9th grade English at a Title 1 school in Houston, Texas. After completing my masters I moved to Florida to begin teaching at PBA as a junior faculty member. My intellectual interests center around women’s literature of North America (US and Canada), specifically the missionary/Sunday school literature they wrote in the 18/19th century. I am interested in what we can learn from this religious literature about women’s roles in the mission field, and the agency they were afforded through this work. I am also wanting to investigate the attitudes and messaging surrounding indigenous people and gender roles.
Hannah is currently an Instructor of English at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, N.C., where she teaches critical literacy, composition, early British literature, and an English studies introductory course. Currently, her research interests include late-nineteenth century British literature, gender anxiety, and feminist and queer theories. Connect with her on .ÌýContact Hannahâ–º
My name is Aleisha Balestri, and I am currently a tenure-track English Professor at the College of DuPage, located in Glen Ellynn, IL (a west suburb of Chicago). I primarily teach first year writing courses, but also teach short fiction and poetry. Teaching within TY colleges has become not only my career, but my passion. I adore working with my students and witnessing their growth. Because of this, my primary research interests have shifted from literary criticism to focusing on pedagogical practices that interrogate and disrupt the traditional hierarchical dynamics of academic writing that cause student disconnect. This has inspired my interest in both Rhetoric, Writing, and Discourse Studies and the Technology and Media concentrations. I am especially interested in learning more about new media pedagogical techniques and their ability to enable student rhetorical empowerment.
Matthew serves as Executive Director of Learning Resources at St. Petersburg College (SPC) in Florida. He also teaches courses in English Composition, Language Arts Education, Humanities, and Computer and Information Studies at SPC and University of South Florida. Currently a PhD candidate with concentrations in rhetoric, writing, and discourse studies and a student-designed path in curriculum and instruction, Matthew's research focuses on the internal rhetoric and influence of writing center administrators within the greater academy, especially as associated with program assessment and resource funding. You can connect with Matthew on Ìý´Ç°ùÌý.ÌýContact Matthewâ–º
Yannel has worked as an instructor at Florida International University, Tidewater Community College, and Â鶹´«Ã½. Originally from Miami, Florida, she obtained her BA and MA from FIU in English literature, where she studied postcolonial traditions of rewriting within Francophone Caribbean literature. At Â鶹´«Ã½, her concentrations are in Literary & Cultural Studies and Rhetoric & Composition. Her research interests include multilingualism/language, politics of translation, intergenerational/historical trauma, archival studies, tensions between memory and historiography, and the politics of cultural identities and citizenship experienced by members/descendants of the Hispanophone Caribbean. Visit her website .ÌýContact Yannelâ–º
Lauren is a full time PhD student at Â鶹´«Ã½. She holds both a Bachelors and a Masters of Arts in English from Appalachian State University in North Carolina. Her areas of academic research include writing program administration and critical diversity and representation in writing curricula. For her PhD, Lauren's areas of concentration are Rhetoric/Composition and Literary/Cultural Studies. Visit her website .ÌýContact Laurenâ–º
Holly Coleman is an adjunct English instructor at the University of North Florida and an English Ph.D. student at Â鶹´«Ã½. Her research is focused on literature of the long nineteenth century, primarily British Romanticism and Gothic, and its contemporary implications, particularly in the areas of gender, sexuality, and political resistance.
Rebecca is a tenured English professor at Mt. San Jacinto College, a mid-sized community college in Southern California. She teaches a range of courses from college composition to Honors English literature. With keen interests in epistemology (particularly pragmatism) and censorship, Rebecca is exploring the intersections between rhetoric and composition, technical writing, English literature from the medieval period through the long 18th century, and post-secondary English education, particularly in relation to curriculum design.ÌýContact Rebeccaâ–º
Bridget Dolan is a first year PhD student who received her MFA in poetry from Â鶹´«Ã½ this past year. She is studying creative writing as well as literary and cultural studies; her creative work focuses on the lyric novel, and her research interests include fan studies, pop culture, and exploring adaptations/retellings of narratives.
Amy is a part-time PhD student concentrating on rhetoric and media studies, while also working as a full time assistant professor of English at Northern Virginia Community College. Her foremost research interest includes the intersection of ESL language speakers in the college composition classroom and how to best help these students succeed at college writing tasks. Connect with her on .ÌýContact Amyâ–º
Kim K. Hales has been teaching English at the Roosevelt Campus of Utah State University since 2012, receiving a full-time appointment in 2015. Her courses emphasize community impact and interaction through writing. She is invested in all aspects of student development and progression, specializes in concurrent enrollment, and is proud of the level of community engagement students are exposed to in her courses. Kim is the most recent Editor-in-Chief of Utah State's Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence. She also serves on many committees including Utah State University's Strategic Enrollment Master Plan Committee and the Mentoring Committee. She is a member of the Faculty Senate and currently serves as the chair of the Faculty Evaluation Committee. Finally, as a member of the Department of English, she serves on the American Studies Committee. Kim is eager to engage in a Literature and Culture Studies emphasis at Â鶹´«Ã½ and hopes to find interesting ways to use literature to teach composition as well as use composition to help students engage in their studies of literature.
Colin D. Halloran is a U.S. Army veteran who documented his combat experiences in Afghanistan in his memoir-in-verse Shortly Thereafter, which won the 2012 Main Street Rag Poetry Books Award and was named a Massachusetts Must-Read Book. He has also published the poetry collections Icarian FluxÌý²¹²Ô»åÌýAmerican Etiquette, along with many essays and short stories. When not writing, Halloran leads workshops that seek to promote personal and international healing and reconciliation through writing and the arts. He holds an MFA in Poetry from Fairfield University and is pursuing a PhD at Â鶹´«Ã½, concentrating in Literary and Cultural Studies & Rhetoric, Writing, and Discourse Studies.
A Lorean Hartness is a PhD Candidate whose concentrations are Literature/Cultural Studies and Media Studies. Her research focuses the intersection between poetry and the postcolonial diaspora, using poetics to understand how contemporary transnational poets assert voice and agency as acts of resistance. Connect with her on Ìý²¹²Ô»åÌý.ÌýContact Loriâ–º
Eman S. Hassan is a full-time high school English teacher from Howell, New Jersey. She is earning her PhD in English literature with an emphasis on literary & cultural studies and women's and gender studies. Eman is very interested in the way mankind is drawn to the concept of a broken heart in literature and what essential roles heartache and trauma can play in defining a work of literature. Eman also hopes to study the voices of marginalized women in twentieth and contemporary American literature.
Jaclyn Henegar (she/her/hers) is a graduate assistant at Â鶹´«Ã½, where she works as the Assistant Director of English Assessment. Previously, she's worked in elementary education tutoring, customer service, animal care, and administrative coordinating. Jaclyn's concentrations are in literary/cultural studies and rhetoric/composition, and her primary areas of interest and research are in American Studies, with an emphasis in Native American/Indigenous Studies. Within this emphasis, she's interested in the exploration of weaponized whiteness, particularly in the context of white women, and monuments of "imaginary" or co-opted Native American figures and the culture work they do in enabling white Americans to "lay claim to the land" by making Native history their history. Jaclyn is also deeply passionate about writing center/freshman composition work and looks to couple her interests in a feasible way.
My name is Emily Henry. I currently live in Athens, GA and work full time as a public high school English teacher. As a PhD English student at Â鶹´«Ã½, I am particularly interested in the secondary English curriculum and the ways it can be revised and revamped to better encourage empathy and understanding through a multitude of ways including comparative literature both inside and outside of the typical literary canon, collaborative writing instruction, and primarily through discussion and debate. My goal is to study how English curriculums have developed over time and dealt with pushback from a “practical†standpoint in an effort to help generate a curriculum that reestablishes the value of and excitement for English studies in innovative ways that gives students the necessary tools to communicate effectively and solve real-world problems collaboratively
Hello, everyone! My name is Ashley M. Jones (she/her), and I’m currently located in my hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. I hold an MFA in Poetry from Florida International University and a BA in English from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). I serve as the Poet Laureate of Alabama (2022-2026), and I’m the first person of color and the youngest person to hold this position in Alabama’s history.
I spent the first 8 years after my MFA teaching creative writing at the Alabama School of Fine Arts (my high school alma mater), and I taught undergrads and grad students on the side during that time. I’m the author of four books of poetry and the editor of one anthology—you can learn more about my poet life at my websiteLinks to an external site. I currently work as Associate Director of the University Honors Program at UAB, but my goal is to become English faculty somewhere in the South, and to retire as the dean of an arts and humanities college or something like it! I took about ten years to regroup after my MFA, so I’m excited to finish my education at Â鶹´«Ã½ and expand my knowledge of literature, theory, and pedagogy so I can be the best educator, writer, and leader I can be! I have always dreamed of impacting students and improving their educational experience to make obtaining knowledge more accessible, more inclusive, and relevant to their everyday lives. My MFA in poetry allowed me to do that with my high school and graduate level creative writing students for 8 years. Although I still teach creative writing every other semester, I have added Literature and English to my teaching roster with my undergraduate students. My mission as a PhD student is to expand my knowledge of English studies (specifically literary and cultural studies) and to aid me in my work as an educator and junior administrator. I’m hopeful that this degree will allow me to move through the ranks as a faculty member, department chair, and finally, as a dean.
I am Jess Lake a PhD student here at Â鶹´«Ã½. I am primarily interested in studying video games. My intention is to study the survival horror genre and investigate how immersion is created in games like Dead Space, Alien Isolation, and Resident Evil.
Terry Lovern is an adjunct instructor at Radford University in Southwest Virginia where he teaches first-year composition and literature. He is earning his PhD with concentrations in Literary & Cultural Studies and Rhetoric, Writing, & Discourse Studies. Terry's interests include Queer Studies, Comic Book Studies, Horror Studies, visual rhetoric, and creative writing. His current focus is queer representation in comics.
My name is Breanna Lutterbie, and I am a full-time instructor of English at Germanna Community College, where I’ve been for fifteen years. I teach College Composition I/II and Film and Literature. My current research interests meet at the intersection of college composition and digital rhetoric, and I’d like to explore how the evolution of the digital space as a writing environment impacts approaches to composition instruction in higher education. I live in Fredericksburg, Virginia with my husband, three daughters, three dogs, and three recently rescued kittens.
Edward Mahoney has been teaching English as an adjunct for five years in Southern California. Currently, he teaches at Pepperdine University, Azusa Pacific University, and College of the Desert. He mostly teaches first year composition courses but loves every opportunity to teach literature. Previously, Edward worked in mental health with group home children, which has influenced his research interests. Focusing on Literature and Cultural Studies and Rhetoric and Composition, his research interest examines representations of cultural trauma in literature, especially by second (and subsequent) generation trauma survivors. So far, Edward has explored second generation Jewish literature, African American literature, and Asian American literature. He is curious to work with Irish literature and American Southern literature.
Sarah McGinley is a senior lecturer at Wright State University in Ohio. Her current work centers on how fans of Boys Love manga and anime use affective and acquisitive strategies to build community, form identity, and satisfy desire. Her research areas are fan fiction, male/male romance fiction, and Japanese pop culture in translation with a focus on gender and sexuality.ÌýContact Sarah â–º
Hello! I’m Justin Mejia. I’m a Norfolk native and attended Â鶹´«Ã½ for my BA in history before completing my MA in English at Arizona State University. I’ve been teaching English as a foreign language in Japan for the past ten years, with the last six years at the postsecondary level. In that time I’ve written or contributed to a few articles and presentations on English education, but my academic interests really lie in literature criticism—especially comparative literature. In this program I’m hoping to explore the ways that literature acts as an expression of the culture it is created in and for, both to understand our world better for myself and to use that understanding to help students engage with material and the world on a deeper level.
My name is Xianzhong Meng, and my preferred name is Meng. I was born and raised in China. I earned my undergraduate degree in English Tourism Translation (Mandarin-English) from Xi’an Fanyi University in China and my master’s degree in English Studies (linguistics) from the University of Malaya in Malaysia. Currently, I am a full-time student at Â鶹´«Ã½. I am Chinese from the northern part of China, Shanxi province, and a native Mandarin speaker, so English is a foreign language for me. On the other hand, I am inspired to pursue a PhD due to the requirement for a background in English, aiming for a stable job as a lecturer at university. Because English is a foreign language for me, I don’t think my conventional skill is as proficient as my English reading and writing, so pursuing a PhD will serve as a valuable opportunity to enhance my English proficiency by knowing the specific reasons and researching them by myself. Next, my intellectual interests lie in corpus analysis of tourism English and the variety of English, both related to linguistics particularly Chinglish, which I am familiar with. I anticipate two years of coursework will help me to know the specific research areas, which is not definite until now.
Bnar Mustafa is a full-time Ph.D. student at Â鶹´«Ã½. Originally, she is from the Middle East 'Kurdistan'. Her concentrations are Literary and Cultural studies & Rhetoric, Writing, and Discourse Studies. Her research interests are "The challenges refugees face in learning English in the U.S. the consequences after they learn English on their well-being". She as a feminist researcher, specifically focusing on refugee Muslim women's issues on the Hampton Roads community. She has a Master in 'Humanities' and a 'Women's Certificate' at Â鶹´«Ã½. Currently, she is a tutor at the writing center at Â鶹´«Ã½.ÌýContact Bnar â–º
My mission statement is two-fold: first, I plan to contribute to academic discourse through in-depth research, writing, and collaboration, with a predominant focus on 19th century British literature and its transcendence beyond its time. Second, I’d like to hone my skills at teaching at the collegiate level, developing my current FYW courses to engage students with meaningful reading and writing projects that help develop them as whole humans.
Sana Sayed is a Senior Instructor in the Department of English at the American University of Sharjah (AUS), located in the United Arab Emirates. Prior to joining AUS, she taught composition courses as an adjunct instructor in Southern California. Her current areas of research interest include theories of assessment, accountability, equity, and pedagogy for multilingual learners in higher education institutes. Her areas of teaching interest are composition, rhetoric, and literature.
I’m Amy Wilson, and I’m from Sugar Hill, Georgia, which is about an hour north of Atlanta. I have MAs in English from Georgia State University and the University of Delaware (I started UD’s PhD program a few years ago but had to leave for health reasons, and then the pandemic intervened). I also have an MLIS from San Jose State University. At present I am an adjunct instructor teaching composition and literature at Brenau University and the University of North Georgia, and I’m also a writing tutor and adjunct instructor at Lanier Technical College. My scholarly interests include 19th and 20th century British literature, folklore, and material culture, as well as writing center studies. I’m also interested in archival work. My goals are to eventually advance where I teach now, while finding a way to incorporate some or all of those interests in my PhD work.
Matthew is a PhD student focusing on cultural studies. Their primary research area is popular culture in digital spaces, particularly internet and gaming communities. Matthew is also an educator with strengths in instructional technology, as well as a nationally certified counselor identified with narrative and existential theories. Visit their website .ÌýContact Matthew â–º
Rebecca is a PhD student with a primary concentration in literary and cultural studies. Her research interests include graphic narratives as auto/biography; realism and modernism in American literature; and new materialism. As the Director of University Academic Success Initiatives at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Rebecca oversees services that support student learning and persistence. Her professional experiences in writing centers and academic support services inform her research on the rhetoric and discourse of student success in higher education. Connect with her on .ÌýContact Rebecca â–º
My name is Michaela Alderman (she/her), I am currently in my third year as a Lecturer of Comp and Humanities at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach Florida. I live in Delray Beach currently with my two cats, Gandalf and Fae. I am from upstate New York and double majored in TESOL and Biblical Studies at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago (grad. 2017) before completing my Masters in English Literature at Mercy College through their online grad program (grad. 2022) while teaching 9th grade English at a Title 1 school in Houston, Texas. After completing my masters I moved to Florida to begin teaching at PBA as a junior faculty member. My intellectual interests center around women’s literature of North America (US and Canada), specifically the missionary/Sunday school literature they wrote in the 18/19th century. I am interested in what we can learn from this religious literature about women’s roles in the mission field, and the agency they were afforded through this work. I am also wanting to investigate the attitudes and messaging surrounding indigenous people and gender roles.
Hannah is currently an Instructor of English at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, N.C., where she teaches critical literacy, composition, early British literature, and an English studies introductory course. Currently, her research interests include late-nineteenth century British literature, gender anxiety, and feminist and queer theories. Connect with her on .ÌýContact Hannahâ–º
My name is Aleisha Balestri, and I am currently a tenure-track English Professor at the College of DuPage, located in Glen Ellynn, IL (a west suburb of Chicago). I primarily teach first year writing courses, but also teach short fiction and poetry. Teaching within TY colleges has become not only my career, but my passion. I adore working with my students and witnessing their growth. Because of this, my primary research interests have shifted from literary criticism to focusing on pedagogical practices that interrogate and disrupt the traditional hierarchical dynamics of academic writing that cause student disconnect. This has inspired my interest in both Rhetoric, Writing, and Discourse Studies and the Technology and Media concentrations. I am especially interested in learning more about new media pedagogical techniques and their ability to enable student rhetorical empowerment.
Matthew serves as Executive Director of Learning Resources at St. Petersburg College (SPC) in Florida. He also teaches courses in English Composition, Language Arts Education, Humanities, and Computer and Information Studies at SPC and University of South Florida. Currently a PhD candidate with concentrations in rhetoric, writing, and discourse studies and a student-designed path in curriculum and instruction, Matthew's research focuses on the internal rhetoric and influence of writing center administrators within the greater academy, especially as associated with program assessment and resource funding. You can connect with Matthew on Ìý´Ç°ùÌý.ÌýContact Matthewâ–º
Yannel has worked as an instructor at Florida International University, Tidewater Community College, and Â鶹´«Ã½. Originally from Miami, Florida, she obtained her BA and MA from FIU in English literature, where she studied postcolonial traditions of rewriting within Francophone Caribbean literature. At Â鶹´«Ã½, her concentrations are in Literary & Cultural Studies and Rhetoric & Composition. Her research interests include multilingualism/language, politics of translation, intergenerational/historical trauma, archival studies, tensions between memory and historiography, and the politics of cultural identities and citizenship experienced by members/descendants of the Hispanophone Caribbean. Visit her website .ÌýContact Yannelâ–º
Lauren is a full time PhD student at Â鶹´«Ã½. She holds both a Bachelors and a Masters of Arts in English from Appalachian State University in North Carolina. Her areas of academic research include writing program administration and critical diversity and representation in writing curricula. For her PhD, Lauren's areas of concentration are Rhetoric/Composition and Literary/Cultural Studies. Visit her website .ÌýContact Laurenâ–º
Holly Coleman is an adjunct English instructor at the University of North Florida and an English Ph.D. student at Â鶹´«Ã½. Her research is focused on literature of the long nineteenth century, primarily British Romanticism and Gothic, and its contemporary implications, particularly in the areas of gender, sexuality, and political resistance.
Rebecca is a tenured English professor at Mt. San Jacinto College, a mid-sized community college in Southern California. She teaches a range of courses from college composition to Honors English literature. With keen interests in epistemology (particularly pragmatism) and censorship, Rebecca is exploring the intersections between rhetoric and composition, technical writing, English literature from the medieval period through the long 18th century, and post-secondary English education, particularly in relation to curriculum design.ÌýContact Rebeccaâ–º
Bridget Dolan is a first year PhD student who received her MFA in poetry from Â鶹´«Ã½ this past year. She is studying creative writing as well as literary and cultural studies; her creative work focuses on the lyric novel, and her research interests include fan studies, pop culture, and exploring adaptations/retellings of narratives.
Amy is a part-time PhD student concentrating on rhetoric and media studies, while also working as a full time assistant professor of English at Northern Virginia Community College. Her foremost research interest includes the intersection of ESL language speakers in the college composition classroom and how to best help these students succeed at college writing tasks. Connect with her on .ÌýContact Amyâ–º
Kim K. Hales has been teaching English at the Roosevelt Campus of Utah State University since 2012, receiving a full-time appointment in 2015. Her courses emphasize community impact and interaction through writing. She is invested in all aspects of student development and progression, specializes in concurrent enrollment, and is proud of the level of community engagement students are exposed to in her courses. Kim is the most recent Editor-in-Chief of Utah State's Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence. She also serves on many committees including Utah State University's Strategic Enrollment Master Plan Committee and the Mentoring Committee. She is a member of the Faculty Senate and currently serves as the chair of the Faculty Evaluation Committee. Finally, as a member of the Department of English, she serves on the American Studies Committee. Kim is eager to engage in a Literature and Culture Studies emphasis at Â鶹´«Ã½ and hopes to find interesting ways to use literature to teach composition as well as use composition to help students engage in their studies of literature.
Colin D. Halloran is a U.S. Army veteran who documented his combat experiences in Afghanistan in his memoir-in-verse Shortly Thereafter, which won the 2012 Main Street Rag Poetry Books Award and was named a Massachusetts Must-Read Book. He has also published the poetry collections Icarian FluxÌý²¹²Ô»åÌýAmerican Etiquette, along with many essays and short stories. When not writing, Halloran leads workshops that seek to promote personal and international healing and reconciliation through writing and the arts. He holds an MFA in Poetry from Fairfield University and is pursuing a PhD at Â鶹´«Ã½, concentrating in Literary and Cultural Studies & Rhetoric, Writing, and Discourse Studies.
A Lorean Hartness is a PhD Candidate whose concentrations are Literature/Cultural Studies and Media Studies. Her research focuses the intersection between poetry and the postcolonial diaspora, using poetics to understand how contemporary transnational poets assert voice and agency as acts of resistance. Connect with her on Ìý²¹²Ô»åÌý.ÌýContact Loriâ–º
Eman S. Hassan is a full-time high school English teacher from Howell, New Jersey. She is earning her PhD in English literature with an emphasis on literary & cultural studies and women's and gender studies. Eman is very interested in the way mankind is drawn to the concept of a broken heart in literature and what essential roles heartache and trauma can play in defining a work of literature. Eman also hopes to study the voices of marginalized women in twentieth and contemporary American literature.
Jaclyn Henegar (she/her/hers) is a graduate assistant at Â鶹´«Ã½, where she works as the Assistant Director of English Assessment. Previously, she's worked in elementary education tutoring, customer service, animal care, and administrative coordinating. Jaclyn's concentrations are in literary/cultural studies and rhetoric/composition, and her primary areas of interest and research are in American Studies, with an emphasis in Native American/Indigenous Studies. Within this emphasis, she's interested in the exploration of weaponized whiteness, particularly in the context of white women, and monuments of "imaginary" or co-opted Native American figures and the culture work they do in enabling white Americans to "lay claim to the land" by making Native history their history. Jaclyn is also deeply passionate about writing center/freshman composition work and looks to couple her interests in a feasible way.
My name is Emily Henry. I currently live in Athens, GA and work full time as a public high school English teacher. As a PhD English student at Â鶹´«Ã½, I am particularly interested in the secondary English curriculum and the ways it can be revised and revamped to better encourage empathy and understanding through a multitude of ways including comparative literature both inside and outside of the typical literary canon, collaborative writing instruction, and primarily through discussion and debate. My goal is to study how English curriculums have developed over time and dealt with pushback from a “practical†standpoint in an effort to help generate a curriculum that reestablishes the value of and excitement for English studies in innovative ways that gives students the necessary tools to communicate effectively and solve real-world problems collaboratively
Hello, everyone! My name is Ashley M. Jones (she/her), and I’m currently located in my hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. I hold an MFA in Poetry from Florida International University and a BA in English from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). I serve as the Poet Laureate of Alabama (2022-2026), and I’m the first person of color and the youngest person to hold this position in Alabama’s history.
I spent the first 8 years after my MFA teaching creative writing at the Alabama School of Fine Arts (my high school alma mater), and I taught undergrads and grad students on the side during that time. I’m the author of four books of poetry and the editor of one anthology—you can learn more about my poet life at my websiteLinks to an external site. I currently work as Associate Director of the University Honors Program at UAB, but my goal is to become English faculty somewhere in the South, and to retire as the dean of an arts and humanities college or something like it! I took about ten years to regroup after my MFA, so I’m excited to finish my education at Â鶹´«Ã½ and expand my knowledge of literature, theory, and pedagogy so I can be the best educator, writer, and leader I can be! I have always dreamed of impacting students and improving their educational experience to make obtaining knowledge more accessible, more inclusive, and relevant to their everyday lives. My MFA in poetry allowed me to do that with my high school and graduate level creative writing students for 8 years. Although I still teach creative writing every other semester, I have added Literature and English to my teaching roster with my undergraduate students. My mission as a PhD student is to expand my knowledge of English studies (specifically literary and cultural studies) and to aid me in my work as an educator and junior administrator. I’m hopeful that this degree will allow me to move through the ranks as a faculty member, department chair, and finally, as a dean.
I am Jess Lake a PhD student here at Â鶹´«Ã½. I am primarily interested in studying video games. My intention is to study the survival horror genre and investigate how immersion is created in games like Dead Space, Alien Isolation, and Resident Evil.
Terry Lovern is an adjunct instructor at Radford University in Southwest Virginia where he teaches first-year composition and literature. He is earning his PhD with concentrations in Literary & Cultural Studies and Rhetoric, Writing, & Discourse Studies. Terry's interests include Queer Studies, Comic Book Studies, Horror Studies, visual rhetoric, and creative writing. His current focus is queer representation in comics.
My name is Breanna Lutterbie, and I am a full-time instructor of English at Germanna Community College, where I’ve been for fifteen years. I teach College Composition I/II and Film and Literature. My current research interests meet at the intersection of college composition and digital rhetoric, and I’d like to explore how the evolution of the digital space as a writing environment impacts approaches to composition instruction in higher education. I live in Fredericksburg, Virginia with my husband, three daughters, three dogs, and three recently rescued kittens.
Edward Mahoney has been teaching English as an adjunct for five years in Southern California. Currently, he teaches at Pepperdine University, Azusa Pacific University, and College of the Desert. He mostly teaches first year composition courses but loves every opportunity to teach literature. Previously, Edward worked in mental health with group home children, which has influenced his research interests. Focusing on Literature and Cultural Studies and Rhetoric and Composition, his research interest examines representations of cultural trauma in literature, especially by second (and subsequent) generation trauma survivors. So far, Edward has explored second generation Jewish literature, African American literature, and Asian American literature. He is curious to work with Irish literature and American Southern literature.
Sarah McGinley is a senior lecturer at Wright State University in Ohio. Her current work centers on how fans of Boys Love manga and anime use affective and acquisitive strategies to build community, form identity, and satisfy desire. Her research areas are fan fiction, male/male romance fiction, and Japanese pop culture in translation with a focus on gender and sexuality.ÌýContact Sarah â–º
Hello! I’m Justin Mejia. I’m a Norfolk native and attended Â鶹´«Ã½ for my BA in history before completing my MA in English at Arizona State University. I’ve been teaching English as a foreign language in Japan for the past ten years, with the last six years at the postsecondary level. In that time I’ve written or contributed to a few articles and presentations on English education, but my academic interests really lie in literature criticism—especially comparative literature. In this program I’m hoping to explore the ways that literature acts as an expression of the culture it is created in and for, both to understand our world better for myself and to use that understanding to help students engage with material and the world on a deeper level.
My name is Xianzhong Meng, and my preferred name is Meng. I was born and raised in China. I earned my undergraduate degree in English Tourism Translation (Mandarin-English) from Xi’an Fanyi University in China and my master’s degree in English Studies (linguistics) from the University of Malaya in Malaysia. Currently, I am a full-time student at Â鶹´«Ã½. I am Chinese from the northern part of China, Shanxi province, and a native Mandarin speaker, so English is a foreign language for me. On the other hand, I am inspired to pursue a PhD due to the requirement for a background in English, aiming for a stable job as a lecturer at university. Because English is a foreign language for me, I don’t think my conventional skill is as proficient as my English reading and writing, so pursuing a PhD will serve as a valuable opportunity to enhance my English proficiency by knowing the specific reasons and researching them by myself. Next, my intellectual interests lie in corpus analysis of tourism English and the variety of English, both related to linguistics particularly Chinglish, which I am familiar with. I anticipate two years of coursework will help me to know the specific research areas, which is not definite until now.
Bnar Mustafa is a full-time Ph.D. student at Â鶹´«Ã½. Originally, she is from the Middle East 'Kurdistan'. Her concentrations are Literary and Cultural studies & Rhetoric, Writing, and Discourse Studies. Her research interests are "The challenges refugees face in learning English in the U.S. the consequences after they learn English on their well-being". She as a feminist researcher, specifically focusing on refugee Muslim women's issues on the Hampton Roads community. She has a Master in 'Humanities' and a 'Women's Certificate' at Â鶹´«Ã½. Currently, she is a tutor at the writing center at Â鶹´«Ã½.ÌýContact Bnar â–º
My mission statement is two-fold: first, I plan to contribute to academic discourse through in-depth research, writing, and collaboration, with a predominant focus on 19th century British literature and its transcendence beyond its time. Second, I’d like to hone my skills at teaching at the collegiate level, developing my current FYW courses to engage students with meaningful reading and writing projects that help develop them as whole humans.
Sana Sayed is a Senior Instructor in the Department of English at the American University of Sharjah (AUS), located in the United Arab Emirates. Prior to joining AUS, she taught composition courses as an adjunct instructor in Southern California. Her current areas of research interest include theories of assessment, accountability, equity, and pedagogy for multilingual learners in higher education institutes. Her areas of teaching interest are composition, rhetoric, and literature.
I’m Amy Wilson, and I’m from Sugar Hill, Georgia, which is about an hour north of Atlanta. I have MAs in English from Georgia State University and the University of Delaware (I started UD’s PhD program a few years ago but had to leave for health reasons, and then the pandemic intervened). I also have an MLIS from San Jose State University. At present I am an adjunct instructor teaching composition and literature at Brenau University and the University of North Georgia, and I’m also a writing tutor and adjunct instructor at Lanier Technical College. My scholarly interests include 19th and 20th century British literature, folklore, and material culture, as well as writing center studies. I’m also interested in archival work. My goals are to eventually advance where I teach now, while finding a way to incorporate some or all of those interests in my PhD work.
Matthew is a PhD student focusing on cultural studies. Their primary research area is popular culture in digital spaces, particularly internet and gaming communities. Matthew is also an educator with strengths in instructional technology, as well as a nationally certified counselor identified with narrative and existential theories. Visit their website .ÌýContact Matthew â–º
Rebecca is a PhD student with a primary concentration in literary and cultural studies. Her research interests include graphic narratives as auto/biography; realism and modernism in American literature; and new materialism. As the Director of University Academic Success Initiatives at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Rebecca oversees services that support student learning and persistence. Her professional experiences in writing centers and academic support services inform her research on the rhetoric and discourse of student success in higher education. Connect with her on .ÌýContact Rebecca â–º