My classroom mixes the most traditional elements of Composition One and Two (the summary-response structure recommended by the composition textbook "They Say, I Say", the works of Paglia, Montaigne, Kafka and Keats) with popular culture (illustrations of the non-fiction come from Family Guy and the Simpsons, and in 201 we study popular interpretations of Shakespeare). In Brit Lit 1 (ENG371) I emphasize how popular culture is still in debt to Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, The Faerie Queene, Hamlet, Paradise Lost and the Dunciad. Trained as a performer, I aim to make the classroom entertaining -- because I believe that many of the subjects required for ENG101, 201 and 371 are genuinely exciting.

In my scholarly work I also combine high and low culture -- I have written a book on how the Yale poetry critic Harold Bloom can help us understand superhero comics and another book on a genre in 19th and 20th century canonical poetry that I believe continues in popular movies. I am also very interested in investigating the power of so called "superficial" things. At a conference about Superheroes and Fashion held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I hosted a discussion with the guys who created the Iron Man costume for the film, and the make-up effects artist in charge of Mystique and Nightcrawler from the X-Men films.

I am working with technology -- especially the Google applications such as gmail, groups, sites and calendars -- to improve communication between students and teachers and among faculty.