Category: american literature

Southern Bastards and the Simmering of the South

As my son looked for The Avengers in the graphic novels piled up on the shelves in the local library, I stumbled upon Jason Aaron and Jason Latour’s Southern Bastards (Image Comics). Initially, I picked the book up, flipped through it, then placed it back on the shelf as I ran to see what the toddler decided to get himself into. After looking around … Read More Southern Bastards and the Simmering of the South

"The City in American Literature: New Orleans, Chicago, and New York" Syllabus

Over that past year, I have posted various syllabi to provide teachers and students with ideas for possible courses and to open up discussions about various topics and themes in literature. Today, I would like to share with you a course I taught a couple of years ago entitled “The City in American Literature: New Orleans, Chicago, and New York.” As I thought about … Read More "The City in American Literature: New Orleans, Chicago, and New York" Syllabus

Imagining a Time and Place: The FSA and OWI Photos from 1935-1945

Last spring, I attended the MELUS conference in Athens, GA. At one of the panels, Maria Hebert-Leiter and Bryan Giezma presented some work on their upcoming book project. They introduced me to a site at Yale that contains 170,000 photographs taken by Farm Security Administration and Office of War Information workers between 1935 and  1945.What is like about this site is that it provides … Read More Imagining a Time and Place: The FSA and OWI Photos from 1935-1945

Playing Around the Note: Leadbelly and Me

Statue of Leadbelly in downtown Shreveport, LA “Man, this sucks,” I remember thinking as the sounds of a tin can voice and guitar made their ways to my ears. Sitting on that stool in Blockbuster Music, I did not fully understand why the artist I was currently listening to had such a huge impact on the band that helped to define my musical palette. … Read More Playing Around the Note: Leadbelly and Me

Teaching Research With Joyce Carol Oates’s "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"

When teaching courses that introduce students to research, I like to do various activites that require them to set foot within the library. A few year ago, I had the class read Joyce Carol Oates’s oft-anthologized short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Typically, students enjoy the story and get sucked into the mystery surrounding Arnold Friend and his ultimate seduction … Read More Teaching Research With Joyce Carol Oates’s "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"