Michael D.C. Drout

Professor of English

Chair, Department of English

Wheaton College, Norton, MA

Wheaton College
Norton, MA 02766-0930
(508) 286-3607
(508) 285-8263 FAX
 Office: Meneely 315
Office Hours: MWF 9:30-10:20 and by appointment

email: mdrout -at- wheatoncollege.edu

home page: http://michaeldrout.com


Employment

Wheaton College, Norton Massachusetts

Chair, Department of English, 2007-Present

William C. H. and Elsie D. Prentice Professor of English, 2008-Present.

Millicent C. McIntosh Fellow, 2006-2008

Associate Professor of English, 2003-2008.

Assistant Professor of English, 1997-2003.

 

Loyola University of Chicago

Lecturer, 1996

Director of the Writing Centers, 1996


Education

 

Loyola University Chicago

Ph. D., English, 1997

Specialization: Anglo-Saxon Literature and Culture

Secondary Areas: Middle English Language and Literature;

Linguistics, History of the English Language

Dissertation: Imitating Fathers: Tradition, Inheritance, and the Reproduction of Culture in Anglo-Saxon England

Allen J. Frantzen, Director

 

University of Missouri-Columbia

M.A., English, 1993

Thesis: The "Partridge" in the Old English "Physiologus"

John Miles Foley, Director

 

Stanford University

M.A., Communication (Journalism), 1991

 

Carnegie Mellon University

B.A., Professional Writing and Creative Writing, 1990


Books and Edited Volumes

J.R.R. Tolkien. Beowulf and the Critics, ed. Michael D.C. Drout. Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies 248 (Arizona Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies: Tempe, AZ, 2002). Winner of the Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inkling Studies, 2003.

Tolkien Studies 1 (2004). Founding editor, with Douglas A. Anderson and Verlyn Flieger. West Virginia University Press.

Tolkien Studies 2 (2005). with Douglas A. Anderson and Verlyn Flieger. West Virginia University Press.

How Tradition Works: A Meme-Based Poetics of the Anglo-Saxon Tenth Century. Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies 306 (Arizona Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies: Tempe, AZ, 2006).

Tolkien Studies 3 (2006). with Douglas A. Anderson and Verlyn Flieger. West Virginia University Press.

J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment, ed. Michael D. C. Drout.(New York: Routledge, 2006). A complete encyclopedia in one volume, 774 pages.

Tolkien Studies 4 (2007). with Douglas A. Anderson and Verlyn Flieger. West Virginia University Press.

Tolkien Studies 5 (2008). with Douglas A. Anderson and Verlyn Flieger. West Virginia University Press.

[under consideration] King Alfred's Grammar. Introductory textbook for Old English. Companion to King Alfred electronic learning assistant. Text used at University of Leiden, the Netherlands; University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Wheaton College. On-line version available here.

[under consideration] The Dark is Rising Companion. With Photographs by Andrew Howard.

 

Articles in refereed journals

"Hoisting the Arm of Defiance: Beowulfian Elements in Ken Kesey's Sometimes a Great Notion," Western American Literature 28. 2 (1993), 131-41.

"Piers' Good Will: Langland's Politics of Reform and Inheritance in the C-Text." Ed. Thomas Hall. Essays in Medieval Studies Vol. 13.. Chicago: Illinois Medieval Association, 1996.

"Reading the Signs of Light: Anglo-Saxonism, Education and Obedience in Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising," The Lion and the Unicorn 21 (1997), 230-50.

"The Fortunes of Men 4a: Reasons for Adopting a Very Old Emendation" Modern Philology 96.2 (1998), 184-87.

"How They Do Things With Words: Language, Power, Gender and the Priestly Wizards of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea Books." Children's Literature 21 (2001), 113-41; with Laura B. Comoletti.

"Anglo-Saxon Wills and the Tradition of Inheritance in the English Benedictine Reform." Journal of the Spanish Society for Medieval English Language and Literature (SELIM) 10 (2000), 1-53.

"Re-Dating the Old English Translation of the Enlarged Rule of Chrodegang: The Evidence of the Prose Style," Journal of English and Germanic Philology 103.3 (2004), 341-68.

“Tolkien’s Prose Style and its Literary and Rhetorical Effects,” Tolkien Studies 1 (2004), 139-63.

"Bibliography (in English) for 2001-2002," Tolkien Studies 1 (2004), 183-89; with Laura Kalafarski and Stefanie Olsen.

The Problem of Transformation: The Use of Medieval Sources in Fantasy Literature” Literature Compass 1 (2004) ME 101, 1-22.

“A Re-Assessment of the Efficacy of Anglo-Saxon Medicine” Anglo-Saxon England 34 (2005): 183-95; with Barbara Brennessel and Robyn Gravel.

"Bibliography (in English) for 2003," Tolkien Studies 2 (2005): 317-22; with Melissa Smith-MacDonald.

"A Spliced Old English Quote in "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics," Tolkien Studies 3 (2006): 149-52.

"Bibliography (in English) for 2004," Tolkien Studies 3 (2006): 267-75; with Marcel R. Bülles and Rebecca Epstein.

"A Note on the Style of Beowulf 1864a," Modern Philology 104.2 (2006): 224-28

"A Meme-Based Approach to Oral-Traditional Theory," Oral Tradition 21.2 (2006): 269-94.

"J.R.R. Tolkien's Medieval Scholarship and its Significance," Tolkien Studies 4 (2007): 113-76.

"Bibliography (in English) for 2005," Tolkien Studies 4 (2007): 357-67; with Rebecca Epstein and Kathryn Paar.

“’The Partridge’ is a Phoenix: Revising the Exeter Book Physiologus.” Neophilologus (2007).

“Blood and Deeds: The Inheritance Systems in Beowulf,” Studies in Philology 104.2 (2007): 199-226.

"Bibliography (in English) for 2005," Tolkien Studies 5 (2008): 299-308; with Jason Rea, Lauren Provost and Rebecca Epstein.

 

Book Chapters

“How the Monsters Became Important: the logical and rhetorical development of ‘The Monsters and the Critics’”in Carmela Rizzo, ed., Fabelwesen, mostri e portenti nell’immaginario occidentale. (Torino: Edizione dell’Orso, 2004) 1-23.

“A Mythology for Anglo-Saxon England” in Jane Chance, ed. J.R.R. Tolkien and the Invention of Myth. (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2004) 335-62.

“Towards a Better Tolkien Criticism” in Robert Eaglestone, ed. Re-Reading the Lord of the Rings. (London: Continuum, 2005) 15-28.

“The Rhetorical Evolution of ‘Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics” in Wayne Hammond and Christina Scull, eds. The Lord of the Rings 1954-2004: Scholarship in Honor of Richard E. Blackwelder (Milwaukee :Marquette UP, 2006). 183-215.

“Possible instructional uses of the Exeter Book “Wisdom Poems”: A Benedictine Reform context,” in Patrizia Lendinara, Loredana Lazzari, and Maila D’Aronco, eds. Form and Content in Anglo-Saxon England in Light of Contemporary Manuscript Evidence. (Louvain-la-Neuve: Fédération Internationales des Instituts d’Etudes Médiévales, 2007) 431-50.

"Everyone was an Orthodox, Educated Roman Catholic," in Stephen J. Harris and Bryon L. Grigsby, eds. Misconceptions About the Middle Ages (London: Routledge, 2007) 54-59.

"Reflections on Thirty Years of Reading The Silmarillion," in Allan Turner, ed. The Silmarillion Thirty Years On (Zurich: Walking Tree Press, 2007) 33-57.

[in press] "Introduction: Beowulf Basics," in Joshua A.C. Newman and Ben Lehman, eds. Beowulf. (Northampton: Glyphpress, 2008).

[in press] "The Dating of Beowulf," in Joshua A.C. Newman and Ben Lehman, eds. Beowulf. (Northampton: Glyphpress, 2008).

[forthcoming] "Survival of the Most Pleasing: A Meme-Based Approach to Aesthetic Selection," in John M. Hill, ed. The Aesthetic in Old English Literature. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2009).

Essays, Notes and Columns

"The Influence of J.R.R. Tolkien's Masculinist Medievalism," Medieval Feminist Newsletter 22 (1996), 26-27.

"Wrong About Almost Everything: Editing J. R. R. Tolkien," Medieval Academy News 143 (Feb. 2002), 12.

"King Alfred: A Teacher Controlled, Web Interfaced Old English Learning Assistant." Old English Newsletter 33.1 (Fall 1999), 29-34.

"An Anglo-Saxonist Gets His Fifteen Minutes (or, what happens when the media briefly pay attention)," Old English Newsletter 37.3 (2004): 34-37, also available on line at http://oenewsletter.org/OEN/index.php .

"Some Thoughts on Reading The Lord of the Rings Aloud," Silver Leaves 1 (2007): 36-37.

"Anglo-Saxon Studies: The State of the Field?" The Heroic Age 11 (Oct 2007).

[in press] "Philological Inquiries 1: Methods and Merovingians," The Heroic Age 12. With Scott Kleinman.

[forthcoming] "Philological Inquiries 2: Why should I care what that word meant 500 years ago? The Uses of Etymology." The Heroic Age 13. With Scott Kleinman.

 

Reviews

"Tom Shippey's J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century and a look back at Tolkien criticism since 1982." Envoi 9.2 (2000) 101-34; with Hilary Wynne. Web "pre-print" at http://members.aol.com/ENVOIjrnl

"Scholarly Studies of J.R.R. Tolkien and His Work (In English): 1984-2000." Envoi 9.2 (Fall 2000), 135-65; with Hilary Wynne and Melissa Higgins. Web "pre-print" at http://members.aol.com/ENVOIjrnl

“Robert Stanton: The Culture of Translation in Anglo-Saxon England.” The Medieval Review, Feb. 2003.

"Rolf H. Bremmer Jr, Kees Dekker, David F. Johnson, eds.: Rome and the North: the Early Reception of Gregory the Great in Germanic Europe." Mediaevistik 17 (2004): 300-308.

"Stuart D. Lee and Elizabeth Solopova, eds. The Keys of Middle-earth" Notes and Queries 251 [n.s. 53]. 4 (2006): 555-56.

"J.R.R. Tolkien:The Children of Húrin, ed Christopher Tolkien." Providence Journal, 29 April 2007.

[forthcoming] "Alaric Hall: Elves in Anglo-Saxon England: Matters of Belief, Health, Gender and Identity." The Medieval Review.

 

Other Media


DVD: National Geographic Video: Beyond the Movie: The Return of the King (also included in the supplementary material on The Return of the King DVD, New Line Cinema). 2003.

Bard of the Middle Ages: The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer. Recorded Books, Inc., 2005. 14 lectures on CD; course guide.

Rings, Swords and Monsters: Exploring Fantasy Literature. Recorded Books, Inc., 2006. 14 lectures on CD; course guide.

From Here to Infinity: An Exploration of Science Fiction. Recorded Books, Inc., 2006. 14 lectures on CD; course guide.

A Way with Words: Rhetoric, Writing and the Arts of Persuasion. Recorded Books, Inc., 2006. 14 lectures on CD; course guide.

The History of the English Language. Recorded Books, Inc., 2006. 14 lectures on CD; course guide.

A Way with Words II: Approaches to Literature. Recorded Books, Inc., 2006. 14 lectures on CD; course guide.

Beowulf: Masterpiece Library Old English Edition nar. Michael D.C. Drout. Recorded Books, Inc., 2007.

Beowulf Aloud (Boston: Honeyguide, 2007) 3-CD set including entire poem in Old English, Introductory Lecture.

A Way with Words III: Understanding Grammar for Powerful Communication (Prince Frederick: Recorded Books, LLC., 2008).

[in press] A Way with Words IV: The Art of Poetry. (Prince Frederick: Recorded Books, LLC., 2008).

[forthcoming] The Anglo-Saxon World. (Prince Frederick: Recorded Books, LLC., 2009).

[ongoing] The Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records Aloud (daily readings from the ASPR). http://anglosaxonaloud.com

 

Entries in Reference Works


“Beowulf and the Critics,” “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics,” “Eldamar,” “Finrod,” “Gaze,’ “Holy Maidenhead: J. R. R. Tolkien’s Review of Furnival’s Edition,” “J. R. R. Tolkien’s Beowulf Scholarship,” “J.R.R. Tolkien’s Translations of Beowulf,” “Medieval Manuscripts,” “Old High German,” “penance,” “Tol Eressëa.” In, Michael D. C. Drout, ed. J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment. New York: Routledge, 2006.

[forthcoming] "Maxims, Aphorisms" in Sources of Anglo-Saxon Literary Culture, Volume K, L, M, N. Patrizia Lendinara et. al., eds.

 


Honors

Clemence Summer Research Fellowship, Wheaton College, 2008.

National Endowment for the Humanities Grant, 2008.

Arnold Summer Research Fellowship, Wheaton College, 2007.

Teagle Foundation Grant, Wheaton College, 2007.

Millicent C. McIntosh Fellowship, Woodrow Wilson Foundation, 2006-2008

William C. H. and Elsie D. Prentice Professorship for Outstanding Teaching, 2005-2010.

Faculty Appreciation Award, Wheaton College 2003.

Mythopoeic Scholarship Award for Inklings Studies 2003: Beowulf and the Critics.

Mars Student/Faculty Collaborative Fellowships, Summers 2000, 2001, 2002.

Gebbie Student/Faculty Collaborative Research Fellowship, Summer 1998.

Alpha Sigma Nu, National Jesuit Honor Society, inducted April 1997.

Arthur J. Schmitt Dissertation Fellowship, 1996-97.


Invited Lectures

"Quid Tolkienus cum Beowulfo?" Harvard University Medieval Doctoral Conference. November 30, 2000.

"What J.R.R. Tolkien Thought about Beowulf, and Why It's Important," University of Massachusetts, Amherst. February 15, 2001.

"Traditions, Transitions and Transmissions: Towards a Descriptive Cultural Poetics." Plenary Lecture, Yale/Brown/UConn Graduate Medieval Conference, April 15, 2001, Brown University.

"How They Do Things with Words, and How to Talk About It: Teaching the Powers of Language in Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea Books." Under the Spell of Books, June 2, 2001, Rhode Island College.

"J.R.R. Tolkien and Beowulf." April 19. 2002, Brookdale Community College, Lincroft, NJ.

“J. R. R. Tolkien’s Beowulf: Making Medieval Mythology Relevant.” Featured Speaker. April 6-8, 2003. Tolkien’s Modern Middle Ages, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA.

“How the Monsters Became Important: From “The Monsters and the Critics to Today.” Featured Speaker. “Fabelwesen, mostri e portenti nell’immaginario occidentale. Medioevo germanico e altro.” Università di Palermo.

“Hapax Legomena, Homoioteleuton, Ductus and other Relevant Topics from Medieval Literature.” Featured Speaker. “Genomics.” Wheaton College, June 5, 2003. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

“J. R. R. Tolkien: the Medieval and the Modern.” January 14, 2004, University of South Carolina.

“Tolkien and Beowulf: Medieval Materials for the Modern Audience.” Symposium: J.R.R. Tolkien : The Man and his Myth-Making, University of Vermont, March 5-6, 2004.

“The Rhetorical Evolution of ‘Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics” October 21-24, 2004. Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI.

“Tolkien and the Middle Ages” Outreach Seminar for Secondary School Teachers, Institute for Medieval Studies at the University of New Mexico, October 30, 2004.

"The Significance of Tolkien's Medieval Scholarship," C.S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien and the Inklings, Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, MI, Sept. 14, 2005.

"Possible Instructional Uses of the Exeter Book Wisdom Poems: The Benedictine Reform Context." Leornungcræft: Forme e Contenuti dell'Istruzione Nell'Inghilterra Anglosassone alla Luce Della Tradizione Manuoscritta Coeva. Universitá Udine, Italy, April 6-8, 2006.

"Rules, Adaptation and Stasis: 10th-Century Benedictine Monasticism as a Model System for Cultural Evolution." Santa Fe Institute, June 11-14, 2007.

[upcoming] "J.R.R. Tolkien, Beowulf and The Lord of the Rings." University of Massachusetts-Lowell, October 15, 2008.

[upcoming] "A Meme-based Approach to Medieval Authorship." Tradition and the Individual Talent: Modes of Authorship in the Middle Ages. Center for Medieval Studies. University of Bergen, Norway, November 17-19, 2008.

Public Presentations for General Audiences

"Understanding J.R.R. Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings." January 22, 2003, Boston Center for Adult Education.
“The Lord of the Rings and Medieval Literature.” January 24, 2003. Duxbury Public Library.

“The Lord of the Rings: Medieval and Modern.” Beard Hall Lecture Series, Wheaton College, October 9, 2003.
“J. R. R. Tolkien’s Beowulf and the Critics.” Featured Speaker. The Gathering of the Fellowship. December 18, 2003, Toronto.

“The Returns of Kings, from King Alfred to Aragorn,” January 28, 2004, Duxbury Public Library.

"J. R. R. Tolkien: His Sources and Achievements," Thomaston Public Library, Thomaston, CT, March 16, 2004.

"Understanding J.R.R. Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings," Mansfield Public Library, Mansfield, MA, September 22, 2004.

“The Lord of the Rings: What Didn’t Make the Director’s Cut.” Duxbury Free Library, Duxbury, MA, January 19, 2005.

“J. R. R. Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings.” Fiske Public Library, Wrentham, MA, January 11, 2005.

“The Returns of Kings, from King Alfred to Aragorn,” March 19, 2005, Ringbearer’s Day, New York Tolkien Society, Marymount Manhattan College, NY, NY.
“Tolkien’s Scholarship, Tolkien’s Art,” The Gathering of the Fellowship, July 1-5, 2006, Toronto, Canada.
“From Beowulf to Middle-earth: Why Tolkien’s Scholarship Matters” and “The Returns of Kings: From King Alfred to Aragorn,” East-Coast Lord of the Rings Fan Convention, July 28-30, Secaucus, NJ.

"Engineers as Heroes" Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, General Motor Chapter, Warren, MI, June 1, 2007.

"From Middle-earth to Hogwarts: The Achievements of Tolkien and Rowling," and "Beowulf." Keynote addresses. Into the West: Fantasy Festival 2008. University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, April 2, 2008.

"J.R.R. Tolkien, Beowulf and The Lord of the Rings," University of Massachusetts-Lowell, October 15, 2008.

[upcoming] "#######" A Long-Expected Party. Shaker Village, Pleasant Hills, KY, September 25-28, 2008.


Conference Presentations

"Pregnancy, Magic, and Medicine in Anglo-Saxon England," Illinois Medieval Association, Feb. 24-25, 1995, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL.

"Medicine, Magic and Law: The Body and the Pregnant Woman in Anglo-Saxon England," International Society of Anglo-Saxonists, Aug. 5-12, 1995, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.

"Men, Women and Inheritance in Anglo-Saxon Texts," Southeastern Medieval Association, October 5-7, 1995, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC.

"Piers' Good Will: Langland's Politics of Reform and Inheritance in the C-Text," Illinois Medieval Association, Feb. 23-24, 1996, University of Illinois- Chicago, Chicago, IL.

"Reading Tolkien Reading Beowulf: Is a "Masculinist" Interpretation Necessary?" Thirty-First International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 8-12, 1996, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI.

"The Monastic Father Beyond the Walls: Precepts and the Presumptions of Gender," Northeast Modern Language Association, April 3-4, 1997, Philadelphia, PA.

"The Will to Endure: Tradition, Inheritance and Masculine Reproduction in the Wake of the Benedictine Reform," Thirty-Second International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 1997, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI.

"J.R.R. Tolkien's Bequest of Anglo-Saxonism," International Society of Anglo-Saxonists, July 7-11, 1997, Universita' di Palermo, Palermo, Italy.

Session Chair "Chaucer 4," Nineteenth Medieval Forum, April 17-18 1998, Plymouth State College, Plymouth, NH.

Session Organizer and Presider "Gender in Anglo-Saxon Culture: Motherhood," Thirty-Third International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 7-10 1998, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI.

Respondent and Co-organizer (with Patrick W. Conner of West Virginia University) "Anglo-Saxon Poetry in its Tenth-Century Context," Thirty-Fourth International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 8-12 1999, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI.

Co-author (with David Dudek, Wheaton College, '01) "King Alfred: A Teacher-Controlled, Web-Interfaced Old English Learning Assistant," International Society of Anglo-Saxonists, August 8-14, 1999, Notre Dame University, South Bend, IN.

"Blood and Deeds: Gender, Inheritance and Death in Beowulf." Modern Language Association annual meeting, December 26-29, 1999, Chicago, IL.

"Sexual Codes in Beowulf and J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings," Modern Language Association annual meeting, December 26-29, 1999, Chicago, IL.

"King Alfred Speaks: A teacher-controlled, web-Interfaced Old English learning assistant in the classroom of a small liberal arts college," Thirty-Fifth International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 4-7, 2000, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI.

Respondent and Session Organizer: "Anglo-Saxon Poetry in its Tenth-Century Context," Thirty-Fifth International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 4-8, 2000, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI.

"From Staþolfæst to Ece: Engines of Eternity in Tenth-Century Benedictine Monasticism" International Medieval Congress 2000, July 7-10, 2000, Leeds University, Leeds, England.

"King Alfred: New Software for Old English, "Ancient StudiesÑNew Technology: The World Wide Web and Scholarly Research, Communication and Publication in Ancient, Byzantine and Medieval Studies, December 8-10, 2000, Salve Regina University, Newport, RI.

"Læcedoms, the Library and the Laboratory: Reconstructing Anglo-Saxon Medicine," Thirty-Sixth International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 3-6, 2001, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI. (co-author with Betsey Dyer and John Walsh).

"The Exeter Book Wisdom Poems and the Benedictine Reform," International Society of Anglo-Saxonists, August 6-13, 2001, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.

(Organizer) "Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Latin Poetry in their Tenth-Century Contexts," Thirty-Seventh International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 2-5, 2002, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI.

(Organizer) "A Collaborative Reading of Beowulf," Thirty-Seventh International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 2-5, 2002, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI.

(Organizer) "Beowulf as Performance: A Panel Discussion," Thirty-Seventh International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 2-5, 2002, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI.

"Predicting or Controlling? Some Cultural Functions of The Fortunes of Men and Anglo-Saxon Prognostics," Thirty-Seventh International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 2-5, 2002, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI.

"Student / Faculty Research Collaborations at Wheaton College," Ninth National Conference, Council on Undergraduate Research, June 20-22, 2002, Connecticut College, New London, CT.


“J. R. R. Tolkien’s Unpublished Translations of Beowulf,” Thirty-Eighth International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 8-11, 2003, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI.


(Chair) "Session 18: Ælfric’s St. Cuthbert and St. Sebastian," International Society of Anglo-Saxonists, August 3-10, 2003, Arizona State University.

"Repetition, Pattern-Recognition, Metrics and the Evolution of Traditions: Some Old English Examples," Fortieth International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 2005, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI.

Panelist: "Weblogs and the Academy: Inernet Presence and Professional Discourse among Medievalists (A Roundtable)," 41st International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 2006, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI.

"Albert S. Cook and the Invention of Cynewulf: The Origins of English Studies in America," 41st International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 2006, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI.

"Is 'Vainglory' a Wisdom Poem? Relationships Among Exeter Book 'Booklet II' Poems," 42nd International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 2007, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI.

"The Invention of Cynewulf: Albert S. Cook, Philology, Romanticism and English Studies in America," International Society of Anglo-Saxonists, July 30-August 5, 2007, University of London.

(Presider) "Cognitive Approaches to Medieval Texts," 43rd International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 2008, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI.


Technology Projects

King Alfred. (Co-authored with David Dudek, Wheaton College class of 2001; Rachel Kapelle, Wheaton class of 2001; Prof. Lisa Michaud). Created web-based, teacher controlled translation learning assistant for Old English. Program is accessible at http://acunix.wheatonma.edu/mdrout (password and id are "demo"). King Alfred allows students to receive immediate customized individual feedback on their translation efforts. The program contains a complete hypertextual grammar. Sentences to be translated are teacher-controlled. King Alfred was funded by a Gebbie Faculty/Student research grant.

Design of a Genome-Inspired Visual Display system for Medieval Manuscripts. With Prof. Michael Gousie.

Using Polymerase Chain Reaction to amplify bovine and ovine DNA from medieval manuscripts. With Amanda Shorette and Prof. Barbara Brennessel.

Lexomics for Literature. Funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. With Profs. Mark LeBlanc and Michael Kahn.

Early Drama Web. (co-authored with Kyle Gilbert, Wheaton College class of 2000). Created an integrated web site where students can post their papers and read each other's work, discuss ongoing classwork, and post and view costume and set designs, script translations, and the interpretation of individual lines or scenes from the text. Funded by Wheaton's LTLC.

Seafarer Html Conversion. Converted a Hypercard database of medieval culture (written by Allen J. Frantzen and John Ruffing) to Html for web use. Created "Test Pilot" electronic self-tests for the program and added digital recordings of Old English. Created new format and icons. Project was funded by Wheaton's LTLC. Student assistance from Suzanne Lima ( Wheaton College, class of 1998) funded by a Wheaton Foundation Grant.


Teaching

Old English:
Wheaton College, Fall 2007, Fall 2005, Spring 2004, Fall 2002, Fall 2000, Spring 1999: Eng. 208: Anglo-Saxon
Wheaton College, Spring 2008, Spring 2006, Spring 2003, Spring 2002, Fall 2001: English 320: Beowulf

Wheaton College, Spring 2008, Fall 2006, The Exeter Book


Old Norse
Wheaton College, Spring 2004, Fall 2003, Spring 2003, Fall 2003: Old Norse

Middle English:
Wheaton College, Fall 2000, Fall 1998: Eng. 298: Early Drama
Wheaton College, Fall 2008, Spring 2007, Spring 2005, Spring 2004, Fall 2001, Fall 1999, Fall 1997: Eng. 306: Chaucer


Medieval Literature in Translation:
Wheaton College, Spring 2009, Spring 2007, Fall 2003, Spring 2002, Spring 2000, Spring 1998: Eng. 207: Medieval Literature
Loyola University Chicago, Spring 1996: Eng. 279: Introduction to Medieval Culture


Linguistics / History of the English Language:
Wheaton College, Spring 2002, Spring 1998: Linguistics


Fantasy Literature:
Wheaton College, Fall 2003, Fall 2002, Spring 1999, Fall 1998: Eng. 401: Fantasy Literature

Wheaton College, Fall 2006, Senior Seminar: Tradition and Traditions (Memetics and Arthurian Lit)

J. R. R. Tolkien:
Wheaton College, Fall 2008, Spring 2006: English 259: J. R. R. Tolkien

Composition:
Wheaton College, Fall 2007, Spring 2005, Fall 2003, Spring 2003, Fall 2001, Spring 1998, Fall 1998, Fall 1997: English 101
Loyola University Chicago, Spring 1995, Fall 1994, Spring 1994, Fall 1993 : English 105
University of Missouri-Columbia: Spring 1993, Fall 1992, Spring 1992, Fall 1991: English 20

Creative Writing:
Wheaton College, Spring 2000: Eng. 284: Prose Fiction
University of Missouri-Columbia: Fall 1992, Spring 1992: Eng. 50: Intro. to Creative Writing

Journalism:
Wheaton College, Spring 1999, Spring 1998: Eng. 285: Literary Journalism

Other Courses:
Logic and Language: Wheaton College, Fall 2008-Spring 2009

Science Fiction: Wheaton College, Fall 2005, Fall 2003, Spring 2003, Fall 2001, Spring 2000:
First Year Seminar: "The Future" : Wheaton College, Fall 1999.
First Year Seminar: “Problems of Fantasy”: Wheaton College, Fall 2002.

First Year Seminar: “Rings, Swords and Monsters: Tolkien, Wagner, Beowulf ”: Wheaton College, Fall 2005.
Society in Literature: Loyola University Chicago, Summer 1995.
Remedial Writing Workshop: Loyola University Chicago Law School, Fall 1996, 1995, 1994:


Administration and Service

Chair, Department of English, 2007-Present.

Provost's Advisory Committee, Summer 2007-Summer 2009.

Faculty Chairs Selection Committee, Spring 2008.

Chair, Educational Policty Committee, Fall 2005-Spring 2006.

Coordinator, Wheaton Research Partnerships, an initiative to increase, improve and support faculty and student research collaborations, Summer 2000-Spring 2001; Assistant Coordinator, Fall 2001-present.

Educational Policy Committee (Fall 1999-Spring 2002). Recording Secretary, Fall 2001-Spring 2002.

HERO program, Brockton, MA. Taught Beowulf to inner-city high school students, 2003.

Editorial Board for Medieval Literature: Literature-Compass (Blackwell's 2004-present).

Board of Advisors, Walking Tree Publishers (2007-Present).

 

Host, Wheaton Visiting Scholar: Gergely Nagy, University of Szeged, Hungary, Spring 2003

Host, Wheaton Visiting Scholar: Marcel R. Bülles, University Cologne, Germany, Spring 2006

Host, Haas Visiting Artist Program: Benjamin Bagby's Beowulf, March 8-10, 2006

Mentor and Representative to the Committee on Tenure, English Department. Shawn Christian, 2003-present.

Mentor, Outside of Department: Shawn McCafferty, Biology: 2003-present.

Mentor, Brown/Wheaton Graduate Fellow: Amy Vines, Spring 2005.

Mentor, Visiting Graduate Student Teacher: John Sexton, Fall 2006.

Mentor, Visiting Graduate Student Teacher: Mary-Elizabeth Lough, Fall 2007.

Fulbright Sponsor: Stefanie Olsen (awarded 2003 Fulbright to Iceland).

 

Reader for: Journal of English and Germanic Philology, Viator, Children's Literature, Literature Compass, Columbia University Press, Palgrave MacMillan.

 

Honors Thesis Director: “The Pattern of Ethir,” Creative Writing Thesis, Samuel Pearson, Spring 2003.

Honors Thesis Director: "The Struggle Between Law and Custom in the 'Cultural World' of Beowulf," Hilary Wynne, Spring 2002.

Honors Thesis co-Director (with Joel Relihan, Classics): "Classical Mythology in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings," John Walsh, 2001.

Honors Thesis co-Director (with Claire Buck, English): "Bloodsucking, Cross-Dressing, and is Why is Frodo Baggins so Effeminate, Anyway? : The Lord of the Rings' Gender System and its WWI Context," Katherine Malone, 2001.

Honors Thesis Second Reader English: "Forging the Sword: Critical Analysis of Fantasy Literature," Trevor Paul, 2008.

Honors Thesis Second Reader, English: "Indisposed," Rachelle Gendron, 2008.

Honors Thesis Second Reader, English: "Into the Other's Word: Postcolonial Paradigms in Fantasy Literature," Rachel Kapelle, 2001.

Honors Thesis Outside Reader, Mathematics: "The Knight's Tour in the Hyperbolic Plane," Rachel Bayless, 2008.

Honors Thesis Outside Reader, Philosophy: "The Ideal of the Moral Law Within: How Rational Beings Find Perfectionism in Imperfect Duties," 2006.

Honors Thesis Outside Reader, Art History: "Cultural Connections and Thematic Contrasts in Junius XI," Blake Worrall, 2005.

Honors Thesis Outside Reader, Biology: "Angiogenesis," Lynn Kamen, 2001.

Honors Thesis Outside Reader, Art History: "Cultural Connections and Thematic Contrasts in Junius XI," Blake Worrall, 2005.

Honors Thesis Outside Reader, Philosophy: "Towards a Science of the Mind," Jennifer Durette, 2000.

 

Faculty Advisor, The Wheaton Wire, student newspaper (September 1997 to Sept 2000).

Loyola University Chicago, Literacy Center Volunteer Tutor (September 1996 to May 1997)

Nominated: Regional Representative (New England) to Delegate Assembly, Modern Language Association, 2003.

Nominated: Advisory Board, International Society of Anglo-Saxonists, 2008.