Current Students
below is a sample of the various work and interests of some-but by no means all-of Duquesne University's current Graduate English students
Ashley Kunsa
Undergraduate
B.A. in English Writing and History, University of Pittsburgh, 2004
Graduate
Previous study
M.L.I.S. University of Pittsburgh, 2006
M.F.A. in fiction Penn State University, 2009
Areas of Concentration
Contemporary American literature, women's literature, contemporary fiction
Recent publications
"'Maps of the World in Its Becoming': Post-Apocalyptic Naming in Cormac McCarthy's The Road." Journal of Modern Literature, 33.1 (2009): 57-74. Print.
"'Maps of the World in Its Becoming': Post-Apocalyptic Naming in Cormac McCarthy's The Road." Rpt. inCormac McCarthy's The Road (Bloom's Guides). Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 2011. 91-107. Print.
"Mystery and Possibility in Cormac McCarthy." Rev. of Reading the World: Cormac McCarthy's Tennessee Period by Dianne C. Luce and Understanding Cormac McCarthy by Steven Frye. Journal of Modern Literature. 35.2 (2012): 146-52. Print.
"History, Hair, and Reimagining Racial Categories in Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao."Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction. 54.2 (2013): 211-24. Print.
"A Woman's Glory." The Los Angeles Review 11.2. Oct. 2011. Print. (Fiction.)
Presentations
"History, Hair, and Reimagining Racial Categories in Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao." Center for Interpretive and Qualitative Research, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, Apr. 12, 2012.
"‘Betwixt and Between': Liminality, the Vietnam War, and Tim O'Brien's Going After Cacciato." International Conference on Narrative, Las Vegas, NV, Mar. 15-17, 2012. (Panel Organizer/Chair and Participant)
"Recuperating the Meta-narrative: Postmodern Grace and Commodity Culture in George Saunders's Pastoralia," Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture Since 1900, Louisville, KY, Feb. 23-25, 2012.
"The Physics of Grief" and "A Woman's Glory," Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture Since 1900, Louisville, KY, Feb. 23-25, 2012. (Fiction)
Coffee House Reading Series, Pittsburgh, PA, Feb. 7, 2012. (Fiction)
"The Writer in the Community: Taking Creative Writing from the Campus to the People" (panel presentation), Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference, Chicago, Feb. 2009.
Justin Kishbaugh
Undergraduate
English Literature, King's College, Wilkes-Barre, PA, 1999
Graduate
Previous study
M.F.A. in Writing and Poetics, Naropa University, Boulder, CO, 2003
Areas of Concentration
20th Century American Literature and Transatlantic Modernist Poetics
Dissertation Subject and Title
Imagism and Imagist Anthologies
"Imaging Imagism: The Imagist Anthologies and Modernist Poetry"
Recent publications and/or presentations
Articles
"Editorial Images: Des Imagistes and Ezra Pound's Rendering of Imagism." (forthcoming from University of New Orleans Press)
"The Imagist Exhibit: The Influence of the British Museum on Ezra Pound's Imagism." (under review)
Reviews
The Words and Music of Patti Smith, Popular Music and Society, Volume 33 Issue 1, 129
The Notorious B.I.G.: A Biography, Popular Music and Society, Volume 32 Issue 5, 668
Creative Publications
Kali's Tongue: A Poetic Engagement with the Rolling Stones' album Sticky Fingers, The Vinyl Press, 2011
"Roar-Shock"
Conferences
"Curatorial Images: The Influence of the British Museum on Ezra Pound's Imagism," XXIVth Ezra Pound International Conference: "Ezra Pound and London," London, England, July 5-9, 2011
Panel Chair, "Pound in London V: Pound in Exile," XXIVth Ezra Pound International Conference: "Ezra Pound and London," London, England, July 5-9, 2011
"Editorial Images: Des Imagistes and Ezra Pound's Rendering of Imagism," VI International Richard Aldington/II International Imagism Conference, Brunnenburg, Italy, June 20-22, 2010
"Abstract Images: Amy Lowell and the Imagism of Some Imagist Poets," Modernist Studies Association Conference, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, November 5-8, 2009
Erin Rentschler
Undergraduate
English and Education, Wheaton College, Norton, MA, 2001
Graduate
Previous study
M.A. in English, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, 2007
Areas of Concentration
20th Century American Literature and American Narratives of War: WWII-present
Dissertation Subject and Title
Race and Ethnicity in American Novels of the Vietnam War
Recent publications and/or presentations
"Teaching Narratives of War, Re-Examining the Document." 39th Annual Louisville Conference on Literature & Culture since 1900, University of Louisville, Kentucky, February 2011
"(How) Do You Remember? Narratives of the Vietnam War and September 11." West Virginia Association of College English Teachers Fall Conference, West Liberty University, West Virginia, October 2010.
"Disturbing the Static with another American Song: Claudia Rankine's Don't Let Me Be Lonely and Images of Contemporary America" at Contemporary Women's Writing: New Texts, Approaches, and Technologies, San Diego State University, July7-9, 2010.
"The Visual and Representations of Individual and Collective Trauma in Jonathan Safran Foer'sExtremely Loud and Incredibly Close" at Trauma: Intersections among Narrative, Neuroscience, and Psychoanalysis, George Washington University. Washington, D.C., March 4-6, 2010
"'A Story is Forever Unfolding': Personal and Cultural Memory in Linda Hogan's People of the Whale" at the Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture since 1900. February 18-20, 2010.
Michelle Gaffey
Undergraduate
B.A. in English, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, 2002
B.S. in Secondary Education, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, 2002
Graduate
Previous study
M.A. in English, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, 2004
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Women's and Gender Studies, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, 2008
Areas of Concentration
20th Century American Literature and Documentary Poetry and Poetics
Dissertation Subject and Title
Subjects of Economy
Recent publications and/or presentations
Publications
Gaffey, Michelle B. "Rev. of When the Water Came: Evacuees of Hurricane Katrina, by Cynthia Hogue and Rebecca Ross." The Collagist: Online Literature from Dzanc Books 20 (March 2011): n. pag. Web.
Gaffey, Michelle B. "'a storm is blowing from Paradise': Historical Change and Salvation in Lola Ridge's 'The Ghetto.'" Florida English 7 (2009): 51-67. Print.
Conference Presentations
"Looking at Student Sketches and Campus Rooms to Encourage Critical Thinking." Northeast Modern Language Association's 42nd Annual International Convention: Image as Argument Roundtable. New Brunswick, NJ: 7-10 April 2011
"Faculty of the Future: Voices of the Next Generation," with K. Patricia Cross Award Recipients. Association of American Colleges & Universities 97th Annual International Conference: Global Positioning: Essential Learning, Student Success, and the Currency of US Degrees. San Francisco, CA: 26-29 January 2011
"The Social Documentary Book Tradition and When the Water Came: Evacuees of Hurricane Katrina." Part Two of a Panel Presentation Entitled, "Contemporary Documentary Poetics," with Larissa B. Cunningham and Erin M. Rentschler. Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture since 1900. Louisville, KY: 24-26 February 2011 (An earlier version of this paper was presented during Duquesne University's English Graduate Organization's Student Colloquia Series in February 2011.)
Maureen Gallagher
Undergraduate
B.A. in Liberal Arts, St. John's College, Santa Fe, NM, 1999
Graduate
Previous study
M.A. in English, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, 2004
Areas of Concentration
British and American Modernism, 20th and 21st Century Poetry, and Feminist and Gender Theory
Recent publications and/or presentations
"The Temptation to Look Away: The Textual Erasure of the Traumatized Fallen Woman in Austen's Sense and Sensibility." EC-ASECS Conference, November 4-6, 2010, Pittsburgh
"Integrating Literature and Writing in Freshman Composition: Revisiting the Tate-Lindemann Debates." CEA Conference, March 26-28, 2009, Pittsburgh
Matthew Heilman
Undergraduate
B.A. in English, University of Pittsburgh @Greensburg, Greensburg, PA, 2003
Graduate
Previous study
M.A. in English, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, 2007
Areas of Concentration
British Romaniticism, Gothic and Supernatural Literature, and Victorian Literature
Dissertation Subject and Title
Tentatively: the influence of British Romanticism on underground music, specifically, how nineteenth-century conceptualizations/stereotypes of 'womanhood' are reproduced in the lyrics of British and European Doom Metal bands.
Recent publications and/or presentations
Editor of the book Gateway of the Gods by Craig Hines (nonfiction) (Published in 2007 by Numina Media Arts)
Editor of the novel Six by Ryan Henry (self-published June 2011).
Jade Higa
Undergraduate
B.A. in English, University of Hawaii, Manoa, HI, 2008
Graduate
Previous study
M.A. in English, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, 2010
Areas of Concentration
18th Century Gothic Drama, Women's and Gender Studies, Studies of the Maternal and Motherhood
Recent publications and/or presentations
"'Wallace Wight': Unearthing Scottish Nationalism through the Gothic Ballad in Ballie's Metrical Legends" EC/ASECS, Nov. 2010
"The Maternal Prostitute and the Victorian New Woman: Negotiating and Complicating Female Stereotypes in Shaw's Mrs. Warren's Profession" Echoes: Across Disciplines, Texts, and Times; March 2011
Jennifer Lauren
Undergraduate
B.A. in English, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 1995
Graduate
Previous study
M.A. in English, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, 2002
Areas of Concentration
20th Century English Literature and British Post-Colonial Literature and Theory
Dissertation Subject and Title
Challenging the Nation: English Women's Novels, 1915-1927
Recent publications and/or presentations
"Subjects of Empire: The Characters in John Bull's Other Island." International George Bernard Shaw Conference, Washington D. C.; Oct. 16, 2009
Rachel Luckenbill
Undergraduate
B.A. in English, Lebanon Valley College, Annville, PA, 2002
Graduate
Previous study
M.A. in English, Villanova University, 2005
Areas of Concentration
20th and 21st Century American Literature, Christianity and American Literature
Recent publications and/or presentations
"Breaking Silence and Building Community: The Role of Confession in Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior." Duquesne English Grad. Organization Conference: Pittsburgh, PA, March 18-19, 2011
"Songs of Restoration: An Exploration of Native American Land Ethics in Joy Harjo's 'When the World As We Knew It Ended' and Linda Hogan's Solar Storms." Conference on Literature and Culture Since 1900: Louisville, KY, Feb. 24-26, 2011
"'The Potency of Music': David Gamut's Hymn Singing in the Wilderness." Christianity and Literature Conference: Grove City, PA, March 11-13, 2010
Julia Meyers
Undergraduate
B.A. in English, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 1992
Graduate
Previous study
M.A. in English, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 1996
Areas of Concentration
Renaissance Non-Dramatic Literature and Literary Theory
Recent publications and/or presentations
"Crying Freeman," "Fullmetal Alchemist," and "Rose." Graphic Novels. Bart Beaty and Stephen Weiner, Eds. (Pasadena: Salem Press, Forthcoming 2012).
"Chua, Amy," "Desai Hidier, Tanuja," and "Mori, Kyoko." Great Lives from History: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Gary Y. Okihiro, Ed. (Pasadena: Salem Press, Forthcoming 2012).
"Computer-aided design and manufacturing" and "Magnetic storage." Salem Science: Applied Sciences. Donald R. Franceschetti, Ed. (Pasadena: Salem Press, Forthcoming 2012).
"Welsh Short Fiction" Critical Survey of Short Fiction: British, Irish, and Commonwealth Writers, 4thEdition. Charles E. May, Ed. (Pasadena: Salem Press, January 2012).
Marcie Panutsos
Undergraduate
B.A. in English with a minor in History, Wheeling Jesuit University, Wheeling, WV, 2007
Graduate
Previous study
M.A. in English, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, 2009
Areas of Concentration
Modernist Literature, Children's Literature, and Gender Studies
Recent publications and/or presentations
"The Serious Work of Comedy: A Case for Cold Comfort Farm" Modernist Studies Association 13, Buffalo, NY: 6-9 October 2011
"'Lost in the Labyrinth': Suppression of Self in Jean Rhys' 'Mannequin.'" 2011 National Popular Culture & American Culture Conference. San Antonio, TX: 20-23 April 2011.
"'One Must Know the Truth': Nostalgic (Re-)vision in The Return of the Soldier" English Graduate Conference Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA: 18-19 March 2011
"Digital Media and the Devaluation of Grammar" West Virginia College English Teachers Annual Conference, West Liberty, WV: 15-16 October 2010
"'To Thine Own Self Be True': Constructed Identity and Self-Repression in The Left Bank" West Virginia University English Graduate Research Symposium, Morgantown, WV: 4 April 2009
Emily Rutter
Undergraduate
B.A. in History, UNC-Chapel Hill, 2000
Graduate
Previous study
M.A. in American and British Literature, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 2008
Areas of Concentration
Multi-Ethnic American Poetry and Poetics
Recent publications and/or presentations
Conference Presentations
"'feeling the blues': The Blues-Inspired Poetry of the BLKARTSOUTH Collective." College English Association. Pittsburgh, PA, scheduled for March 2009.
"'Belch the pity/Straddle the city': Helene Johnson's Modernist Poetics." American Literature Association. San Fransisco, CA, May 2010.
"his voice, one among many (unheard)': Socially-Conscious Poetics in William Carlos Williams'sPaterson." The Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture since 1900. Louisville, KY, February 2011.
Publications
"Kaye Gibbons." Encyclopedia of Contemporary Writers and Their Work. Ed. Geoff Hamilton and Brian Jones. New York: Facts on File, 2010. 149-151. Print.
Mike Smith
Undergraduate
B.A. in English with a Certificate in Catholic Studies, Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT, 2006
Graduate
Previous study
M.A. in English, Boston College, 2010
Areas of Concentration
20th Century and Contemporary Literature and Religion
Recent publications and/or presentations
"Carrying the Holy Fire: Father and Son as Perpetual Pilgrims in McCarthy's The Road." Pilgrims in Place. Mideast Regional Conference on Christianity and Literature. Grove City, PA.
Roundtable Panel. Public Dimensions, Private Devotion: Navigating and Narrating Religion in Communal Spaces. Boston College English Department Colloquium. Chestnut Hill, MA.
"Communally Intentional: Defining and Fostering an Effective Community." Called to Community. Catholic Network of Volunteer Services: 32nd Annual National Conference. Durham, NC.
"Subversive Backpedaling: Seamus Heaney as Poet-Pilgrim." Human Experience as the Mask of God:The Hero's Journey as the Quest for the Sacred in Literature and the Arts. South Central Regional Conference on Christianity and Literature. New Orleans, LA.
Justin (Skip) Stevenson
Undergraduate
B.A. in English, Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, PA, 1998
Graduate
Previous study
M.A. in English, Duquesne University, 2002
Areas of Concentration
British Romanticism
Dissertation Subject
Tentative Subject: Anne Grant's Eighteen Hundred and Thirteen, A Poem in relation to Anna Laetitia Barbauld's "Eighteen Hundred and Eleven, A Poem" and both engaged in William Wordsworth's 1807 volume
Jeff Stoyanoff
Undergraduate
B.A. in English with a Certificate in Secondary Education, Saint Francis University, Loretto, PA, 2007
Graduate
Previous study
M.A. in English, Duquesne University, 2010
Areas of Concentration
Medieval Literature-especially aventure and representations of the self
Recent publications and/or presentations
"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: Problems within Mythological and Folkloric Criticism." 45th International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo, Michigan, May 2010.
"The Revealed Fancies." East Central Eighteenth-Century Society, Pittsburgh, PA, November 2010.
"Woman Is Not a Housewife Is Not a Plate for: The Economics of Gender in Stein's 'A Plate'." Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture since 1900. Louisville, KY, February 2011.
Melissa Wehler
Undergraduate
B.A. in English, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, 2005
B.A. in Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, 2005
Graduate
Previous study
M.A. in Literary and Cultural Studies, Carnegie Mellon University, 2007
Areas of Concentration
The Long Eighteenth Century, Drama, Theater Theory, Women's and Gender Studies
Dissertation Subject
(Il)Legitimate Celebrity in the British Long Eighteenth Century
Recent publications and/or presentations
Publications
"The Haunted Transatlantic Libertine: Edmund Kean's American Tour." The Transatlantic Gothic: New Directions in Dark Romanticism. Bridget Marshall and Monica Elbert, eds. (forthcoming 2011).
"Revising Ophelia: Representing Madwomen in Baillie's Orra and Witchcraft." Demons of the Body and Mind: Essays on Disability in Gothic Literature. Ed. Ruth Bienstock Anolik. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2010.
Presentations
"'ready to burst': Dorothy Jordan, Leigh Hunt, and Restraining Desire" East Central/American Society for Eighteenth Century Studies (EC/ASECS) State College, PA; November 3-6, 2011
"Performing Nationalism: Edmund Kean and Charles Robert Maturin's Bertram" American Society for Eighteenth Century Studies (ASECS) Vancouver, BC; March 17 - 20, 2011
"The Haunted Libertine: Edmund Kean's American Tour" East Central/American Society for Eighteenth Century Studies (EC/ASECS) Pittsburgh, PA; November 4-6, 2010