English, Rhetoric, and Writing
Faculty Research Interests
Christina Bucher, Associate Professor
Ph.D., English, The University of Tennessee
Interests: Early American literature, nineteenth-century American literature, African–American literature, Feminist Literary Theory and Criticism, gender and sexuality in literature, film studies
Michael E. Cooley, Professor
Ph.D., Rhetoric and Composition, University of Louisville
Interests: rhetoric and writing, first year rhetoric courses, advanced rhetoric and writing, creative writing (poetry and non-fiction); Shakespearean drama, Jacobean city drama, Milton, the metaphysical poets
Christopher G. Diller, Associate Professor
Ph.D., English, American Studies, University of Utah-Salt Lake City
Interests: Theory and history of rhetoric, elocution, aesthetics, composition, American Literature, American Studies and visual culture.
Ellen Johnson, Associate Professor
Ph.D., Linguistics, University of Georgia
Interests: Sociolinguistics, anthropological linguistics, history of American English, dialects of American English, demographic and cultural change.
Sandra Meek, Associate Professor
Ph.D., English, Creative Writing, University of Denver
Interests: creative writing, poetry, Twentieth century literature, postmodern and post-colonial literatures, African literature.
Katherine Powell, Lecturer and Freshman Center Director
M.A., English, Middlebury College
Mark N. Taylor, Associate Professor
Ph.D., English, Medieval Literature, University of Texas
Interests: Medieval English, French, and Occitan literature, older English languages, textual criticism, Chaucer, Sixteenth century poetry, Arthurian literature, History of the book, chess in literature and history.
Zeynep Tenger, Professor
Ph.D., Comparative Literature, New York University
Interests: history of literary criticism, seventeenth- and eighteenth-century literature, development of a novel as a genre.
Paul E. Trolander, Professor
Ph.D., English, New York University
Martha Van Cise, Lecturer and Director, Academic Support Center
M.Ed., Education, Reading, Mercer University
James H. Watkins, Associate Professor
Ph.D., English, University of Florida
Interests: Literature of the American South and West, autobiography studies and race and gender in literature.
Lara Baker Whelan, Associate Professor
Ph.D., English, University of Delaware
Interests: Victorian literature and culture, composition and technology, narrative theory and technology, women writers.