he/him/his
Ruth Halls Professor, English
My own academic interests tend to be eclectic. My training is in American Studies, so I favor approaches which are highly interdisciplinary in nature. My specialized field of research is the history of publishing and literacy in the United States. More commonly, I work in the area which has come to be called history of the book studies, and I work primarily in the North American context. I am interested in how different forms of writing influence a vast array of cultural practices from religious preaching to proper etiquette at meals. I have written extensively on the production of religious texts in the American setting, including the Bible and the Book of Mormon. I have also edited a collection of essays on typography and textual interpretation and two anthologies on nineteenth century American popular literature. My most recent book project concerns how various American Religious Traditions have dealt with the possibility of life on other planets.
2018
2001
The College of Arts