PUBLICATIONS 

Coming to Life: Revitalization of Culture and Identity in Michigan Ojibwe Communities. Book manuscript passed review stage at University of Nebraska Press.

“Frustrating Female Heroism: Mixed Messages in Xena, Nikita, and Buffy,” in The Journal of Popular Culture, October 2006, vol. 39, no. 5, pp. 729-755.

"Landscapes of Miracles and Matriarchy in Silko's Gardens in the Dunes" in collection of essays on Gardens in the Dunes, ed. Laura Coltelli, University of Pisa Press, forthcoming.

“Women and Water in Senegal” (creative non-fiction) & "A Cosmology of Women" accepted in anthology of creative writing by folklorists, ed. Frank de Caro, under consideration at Utah State University Press.

“Women and Popular Culture” entry in the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Women’s Folklore and Folklife, contract signed with Garland Press, forthcoming. 

“’That Way We Should Be Walking’: A Nishnaabe Woman's Visionary Oratory of Cultural Renewal” Algonquian Spirit, ed. Brian Swann, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, November, 2005, pp. 185-200. 

“‘HEY! GET UP! You got no relations here!’ Native American Humorous Narratives of Cultural Renewal in Michigan,” Midwestern Folklore, vol. 27, no. 1, Spring 2001, 18-36. 

 “Louise Erdrich,” in The Encyclopedia of Folklore and Literature, Mary Ellen Brown & Bruce A. Rosenberg, editors. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio, 1998, pp. 186-188. 

“N. Scott Momaday,” in The Encyclopedia of Folklore and Literature, Mary Ellen Brown & Bruce A. Rosenberg, editors. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio, 1998, pp. 419-420. 

Book Review of Lakota Woman by Mary Crow Dog and Richard Erdoes in Folklore Forum, 24: 1 (Spring) 1991, pp. 100-102

 CONFERENCE PAPERS 

"Trickster Lives in Erdrich," American Folklore Society annual meeting, Milwaukee, 2006.

"Landscapes of Miracle and Matriarchy in Leslie Silko's Garden's in the Dunes," American Folklore Society annual meeting, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2004

“Women Weaving the World, Louise Erdrich’s The Antelope Wife as Myth,” Native American Literature Symposium (annual meeting of the Society for the Study of American Indian Literature), Mystic Lake, MN, 2004 

“Miracle and Matriarchy in Leslie Silko’s Garden’s in the Dunes: Pondering the Rhetoric of Women’s Communities,” Southern Humanities Council Annual Meeting in Chattanooga, TN, 2004 

 “A Public Prehistory: Negotiating Culture and Tourism in the Dordogne Region of Southwestern France,” American Folklore Society Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM, 2003. 

“Limestone Legacies: From Prehistory to Tourism in Southwestern France,” Southern Humanities Council annual meeting in Athens, GA, 2003 

“Messages in the Media: The Frustrations of Women Superheroes,” American Folklore Society annual meeting, Rochester, NY, 2002 

"'That Way We Should Be Walking' From Alcoholism to Vision and Oratory in Native American Cultural Renewal," South Atlantic Modern Language Association annual meeting, Baltimore, 2002 & American Folklore Society annual meeting, Anchorage, Alaska, 2001 

"Women Weaving the World: Louise Erdrich’s The Antelope Wife as Myth" South Atlantic Modern Language Association annual meeting in Atlanta, GA, 2001  

“Native American Humorous Narratives of Cultural Renewal in Michigan,” American Folklore Society annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio, 2000 

“Folkloristic Literature of Native American Cultural Renewal: Louise Erdrich’s The Antelope Wife as Myth,” American Folklore Society annual meeting in Memphis, Tennessee, 1999 

“Emergence of Identity in Contemporary Nishnaabe narratives,” American Folklore Society annual meeting in Austin, Texas, 1997 

“Sweating Spiritualism: Non-Native American Practice of a Traditional Native American Ceremony,” American Folklore Society annual meeting in Jacksonville, Florida, 1992 

 “Two views of Nature through Wolf Narratives: Cheyenne and Indiana legends,” IU Folklore Institute’s Round Table series (“Native American Worldview at the Quincentennial”), 1992 

TEACHING EXPERIENCE (selected) 

Associate Professor of English and Interdisciplinary Studies, Georgia College & State University, Milledgeville, Georgia (tenured position)
2000 – present
~Taught: GRADUATE & SENIOR SEMINARS: Multicultural American Literature, Native American Women Writers, Folklore, Women and Popular Culture, The Nature of Story, Existentialism in Philosophy and Literature. UNDERGRADUATE INTRODUCTORY COURSES: America’s Diverse Cultural Heritage, In Quest of the Heroic, Children’s Literature, Freshman Composition, Introduction to Literature, Introduction to Folklore

Visiting Faculty Member, Fulbright lectureship in the English Dept. at University of Rijeka, Croatia
Spring 2005 (February - July)   
~ Taught: Research Methods & American Culture and Folklore; plus gave lectures on American Studies throughout coutnry

Faculty Member, Semester at Sea – Institute for Shipboard Education, through the University of Pittsburgh., MV Explorer (ship campus) January – April 2005 (Spring 2005 Voyage)
~Taught: Women and Literature, Literature of Immigration, & Myth, Symbol & Ritual

Visiting Assistant Professor of English, Lund University, Lund Sweden    May 2002 & July-August 2003
            ~Taught: Native American Literature, Written Proficiency, & Marginalized American lit. 

Associate Instructor of English as a Second Language (ESL), Center for English Language Training (CELT), Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 1996 – 2000 & summers 1990 – 1994  
~Taught: Native American Folklore, Native American Literature, Nature in America, American Life, Popular Culture, American Folklore, Short Stories, Communication, Speech, Academic Conversation, Urban Legends, and Utopian Science Fiction, as well as Reading, Writing, Speaking, & Listening

Adjunct Instructor of English, Bay Mills Community College, Brimley, MI (tribal college) 1995 – 1996 (4 semesters)
                ~Taught: Rhetoric and Composition, Research Paper, and Public Speaking. 

Adjunct Instructor Of English, Lake Superior State University, Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan 1995 – 1996 (3 semesters)  
~Taught: Freshman Composition and Research Paper Process. 

Associate Instructor of Folklore, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana  1992 – 1994  
                ~Taught: Introduction to Folklore (as graduate student with Professor John Johnson)

 Associate Instructor of Religious Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 1991 – 1992 (3 semesters)  
                ~Taught: Biblical Narratives in Western Culture, Social Ethics

 Adjunct Instructor of English, Radford University, Radford, Virginia  1989 – 1990  
                ~Taught: Reading, Writing and Research and Masterpieces of Amer. Literature 

FIELDWORK AND CROSS CULTURAL EXPERIENCE 

Fulbright Award to Croatia, Spring 2006 (February through July). Taught for the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Rijeka, courses in research methods and American studies. Also toured around country to all English Departments and some museums giving guest lectures.

Semester at Sea Faculty member, Spring 2005 Voyage (January through April). Taught English, Anthropology and Women’s Studies through the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute for Shipboard Education. Visited 10 countries (by ship), taught 3 classes (aboard ship), led 3 in-country excursions, and participated on many in-country events in Asia, Africa, and North and South America.

Participant in University System of Georgia Faculty Development Seminar in Eger, Hungary, May 2004. Learned about transition f     from former Soviet Satellite to new member of European Union. Met colleagues, attended lectures, visited sights, etc.

Foreign cross-cultural research in France, Summers 2001, 2002. Conducted tape-recorded interviews with a dozen people for original field research project on issues of identity and cultural renewal in Southwestern France (the Dordogne or Perigord region) surrounding the tourism industry on the prehistoric cave art there. ~2001: Studied art & architecture in Paris, Chartres, the Dordogne (the Perigord), and Dijon, connected to courses at GC&SU & investigated fieldwork & study abroad sites.

Teaching & cultural exchange in Lund, Sweden, May 2002 & Summer 2003. Taught Native American literature to Swedish students in the English dept & interacted with faculty. Lived in university guesthouse with scholars from various parts of the world.

Domestic cross-cultural research in the Eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan, 1994 - 1996. Researched traditional and contemporary Native American culture, with particular emphasis on narratives and issues of cultural resurgence and identity. Studied Ojibwe language. (For dissertation)

Domestic research in Southern Indiana, Monroe County, Indiana, 1993. Interviewed five women on traditional foodways & produced study as part of the "Maple Grove Road" historical preservation effort.

Domestic research in Bloomington and Monroe County, Indiana, 1992. Investigated (conducted interviews) non-Native American practice of the traditionally Native American "Sweat Lodge" ceremony.

Peace Corps Volunteer in Senegal, West Africa, 1986 - 1988. Studied French, Wolof, minimal Diola, cross-cultural awareness, teacher training, teaching EFL. Worked throughout the ethnically diverse region of Casamance with dozens of different schools (with French and Senegalese colleagues). Visited many villages, studied culture, customs, literature. Traveled throughout Senegal and neighboring countries of Mali, Mauritania, and The Gambia.

Travel to Europe and the Middle East, 1988. Following Peace Corps service, visited 10 countries in 4½ months to explore, observe, discover cultures.

Academic Year Abroad in Dijon, France, 1981 - 1982. Studied French in intensive program involving foreign students from all over the world. Lived with a French family. Also toured Switzerland, Italy, Austria & throughout France.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE AND SERVICE 

Curriculum and Instruction Committee, School of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Georgia College & State University, member 2002-2003, 2006-present

Departmental Search Committee, American Literature position, English Dept. Georgia College, 2006-2007

Liberal Studies Steering Committee, Georgia College & State University, member since 2006

Interdisciplinary Studies Steering Committee, Georgia College & State University, member since 2002

Women’s Studies Steering Committee, Georgia College & State University, member since 2002

International Education Committee, Georgia College & State University, member since 2001

University Senate, Georgia College & State University, senator 2003 – 2005

University Budget & Planning Committee (as University Senator), 2003 – 2005

Faculty Research Committee, Georgia College & State University, Milledgeville, GA, member 2001-2003

Chair of Three Search Committees and member of one additional search committee for the English Department, Georgia College & State University, 2001-2003 (chaired searches in early American literature, children’s literature, and African American literature)

Comprehensive Program Review Committee for the Department of Modern Foreign Languages, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, GC&SU, member Spring 2003

Faculty Advisor, Alpha Lambda Delta National Freshmen Honor Society, chapter at Georgia College & State University, Milledgeville, Georgia, advisor 2000-2003

Volunteer Circle Leader for Week of Welcome (freshman orientation), 2000 & 2002

Faculty Advisor for English Language Tables, Movie Nights & Reading Circle, Center for English Language Training, Indiana University, Bloomington Indiana, 1998 - 2000

Faculty Advisor and Editor, Student Literary Magazine, Bay Mills Community College, Brimley, Michigan, 1995 – 1996

Writing Across the Curriculum at Radford University; attended 2 retreats, 3 seminars, 1989-90

Faculty Advisor, English Clubs (junior high schools and high school), Ziguinchor, Senegal, West Africa, 1986 - 1988

Features Editor, IRIS, A Journal About Women, National Journal produced through the Women's Studies Program University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia (staff member first year, then elected to publications board), 1984 - 1986

Master of Arts Thesis Committees

Director: Victoria Gracia’a: thesis on gender, memory, and identity in Latin American fiction, successfully defended April 2004

Director: Danielle Wyckoff: thesis on magical realism in world literature, successfully defended April 2004

Member: Shel Evans: Poetry (half creative, half analytical), successfully defended Summer 2002

HONORS AND AWARDS

Fulbright Award to teach in Rijeka, Croatia, Spring 2006

Chancellor’s Award & Weir Grant to participate in University System of Georgia Faculty Development Seminar in Eger, Hungary, May 2004

Weir Grant for travel to teach in Lund, Sweden, Summer 2003

Faculty Research Grant to continue study of identity and tourism in Southwestern France, Summer 2002, Georgia College & State University

Weir Grant to carry out original field research in Southwestern France & to teach in Sweden, Spring 2002, Georgia College & State University

Weir Grant to study art & language and to investigate original fieldwork & study abroad possibilities in France, Summer 2001, Georgia College & State University

Phi Kappa Phi honor society (invited & inducted as faculty member), 2001, GC&SU

Associate Instructorships (with tuition scholarship), 1996-2000 & 1990-1994 in 3 departments (religious studies, folklore, the Center for English Language Training/Linguistics) during 8 academic years at Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

Indiana University COAS Travel Grant, 1997 for presentation at American Folklore Society annual meeting in Austin, Texas

Sue Samuelson Award, 1993 winner of national competition for best graduate student paper, Foodways Section of the American Folklore Society

Indiana University COAS Travel Grant, 1992 for presentation at American Folklore Society annual meeting in Jacksonville, Florida

PRESENTATIONS  

"The Fulbright Experience," panelist during International Week at Georgia College, Fall 2006.

"Native American Life & Cutlure," "Frustrating Female Heroism," "Around the World with Semester at Sea," & "Native American culture in ethnology and museums" lectures given to various audiences in Split, Osijek, Zadar, Rijeka, and Zagreb, Croatia (as Fulbright Scholar).

"Around the World with Semester at Sea," public lecture sponsored by AAUW at Georgia College & State University, Fall 2005.

“What it means to be a Peace Corps Volunteer,” “Basics of Journaling” & “Retrospective on Living in Africa” all presented to ship-wide community during Spring 2005 Semester at Sea Voyage

“Limestone Legacies: From Prehistory to Tourism in Southwestern France,” GC&SU Interdisciplinary Studies Faculty Forum Series, 2004. 

“The Frustrations of Female Superheroes: Mixed-Up Messages in Buffy, Nikita, and Xena,” as part of Interdisciplinary Studies Faculty Forum Series at Georgia College, Spring 2003. 

“Rune, Bicycles and Modern Art: Discover the Lund University Connection” university-wide presentation during International Week at Georgia College, Fall 2002. 

“Native American Life and Fieldwork,” invited public lecture at Lund University, Sweden, Summer 2002. 

“How to Keep the Job,” invited lecture on tenure process at Indiana University’s Spring conference, “Preparing Future Faculty,” Bloomington, Spring 2002. 

"Folk Art in Everyday Life," invited public lecture at the opening of the exhibit "A Heritage in Art: Milledgeville's Living Traditions" at Georgia's Antebellum Capitol Museum, Milledgeville, GA, December 2001.  

“Limestone Legacies: From Prehistory to the Present in Southwestern France,” university-wide presentation during International Week at Georgia College, Fall 2001. 

"Native American Women," invited lecture to American Association of University Women, Milledgeville, GA, September, 2001

 “Fieldwork in the Eastern Upper Peninsula,” invited guest lecturer for graduate fieldwork class, Folklore Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana (John Johnson, instructor), 1998

 “Teaching EFL in a Foreign Country,” invited as panel member at regional INTESOL conference at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, 1990

 CONFERENCES ATTENDED (selected)