About Me
Born and raised in Texas, I moved to Oklahoma for college, where I have lived ever since. To me, there is great value in the powerful experience of encountering stories.
In my pedagogy I make such transformational experiences accessible for my students. In my scholarship I am drawn to texts that reflect such experiences and I apply a variety of critical lenses and interdisciplinary methods to uncover the historical, cultural, and artistic mechanisms that produce this effect. I am currently at work on a book project—Mystic America—that addresses the variety of ways twentieth-century novelists represent transformational mystical experiences in their work. To relate an ineffable experience in language, novelists often create striking formal innovations that challenge our understanding of genre. I call this trend, “literary mysticism,” episodes of which are often hidden in plain sight in twentieth-century fiction.
I am an advocate for the humanities and the liberal arts. Studying fields within these categories prepares us as individuals for a fulfilling, engaged, and successful experience of life. As a culture, we gain the necessary empathy to coexist and thrive from the humanities and the liberal arts.
My current residence is just off Route 66 in Tulsa, OK where I live with my wife, Sarah, and dog, Iko. Sarah and I enjoy hitting the road in search of adventure, and we can often be found discovering the wonders of nature, hiking, kayaking, or enjoying live music together.
Research Interests
American Literature & Culture
Mysticism & Modernity
Multiculturalism
Transcendentalism & Counterculture Studies
Deep Ecology, Ecocriticism, & the Anthropocene
Religious Studies
Popular Culture
Current Appointment
Oklahoma State University
Teaching Assistant Professor of English
College of Arts & Sciences Excellence in General Education Award (2020)
Nominee, Arts & Sciences Student Council Distinguished Teacher Award (2022)
Nominee, Excellence in Teaching for Non-Tenure Track Faculty Award. University-wide (2020)
English Club Faculty Advisor
Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society Faculty Co-Advisor
OSU trained LGBTQ Safe Zone ally
Education
The University of Tulsa
PhD in English (2017)
University Writing Program Excellence in Teaching Award (2016)
Chapman Distinguished PhD Student Award (2014, 2016)
Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society (2015)
