Dr. Robert Andrew (Bob) Nowlan
Professor
English Department
College of Arts & Sciences

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Centennial Hall Room 4319

(715) 836-4369

ranowlan@uwec.edu

https://people.uwec.edu/ranowlan

 

 

Teaching—Courses Taught (University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 1997-The Present)

Teaching is and always has been my overwhelming priority focus of passion and commitment at UW-Eau Claire. I continually innovate in my teaching and have devised numerous original courses as well as numerous original focuses, emphases, and concentrations, along with highly distinct approaches to teaching these courses.

ENGL 110: Introduction to College Writing

ENGL 150: Introduction to Literature

ENGL 160/210: Introduction to Texts

ENGL 180: Introduction to Film

ENGL 180/181: Introduction to Film, Video, and Moving-Image Culture

ENGL 181: Introduction to Critical Studies in Film, Television, and Moving-Image Culture

ENGL 181: Making Sense of the Movies

ENGL 200: Introduction to English Studies

ENGL 210: Introduction to Critical Studies
ENGL 210: Introduction to Critical Studies: Theme of Introduction to Critical Studies in Disability and in Mental Health and Illness

ENGL 211: Writing About Literature

ENGL 259: Perspectives on British Literature After 1790: Espionage and Spy Thrillers, Hidden and Undercover Identities, Secrets and Lies

ENGL 259: Perspectives on British Literature After 1790: Scottish Crime Fiction

ENGL 272: Perspectives in Popular Culture: Sports, Politics, and Society
ENGL 281: Critical Perspectives on Film:
21st Century British TV Detective Series

ENGL 281: Critical Perspectives on Film, Television, and Moving-Image Culture: 21st Century British TV Detective Series

ENGL 284/285: Introduction to Theory and Criticism
ENGL 284: Introduction to Theory and Criticism: Interpreting Texts, Understanding Ourselves, and Changing the World

ENGL 359: Topics in British Literature After 1790: Dystopian Imaginings Since Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four

ENGL 359: Topics in British Literature After 1790: Scottish Crime Fiction

ENGL 372: Studies in Popular Culture: Music, Protest, and Resistance

ENGL 380/580: Studies in Film: The Art and Politics of Representation in Contemporary Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Film

ENGL 380/580: Studies in Film: Critical Theories of Film
ENGL 380/580: Studies in Film: Contemporary LesBiGay and Queer Film 

ENGL 381/581: Topics in Film, Video, and Moving-Image Culture: British Cinema 

ENGL 381/581: Topics in Film, Video, and Moving-Image Culture: Cinematic Representations of Ireland and the Irish

ENGL 381/581: Topics in Film, Video, and Moving-Image Culture: Film Noir 

ENGL 381/581: Topics in Film, Video, and Moving-Image Culture: German Cinemas

ENGL 381/581: Topics in Film, Video, and Moving-Image Culture: Scottish Cinema

ENGL 384: Studies in Theory and Criticism: Sex, Death, Desire, and the Other—Lacan, Lacanian Psychoanalysis, and Lacanian Critical Theory

ENGL 385: Critical Approaches to Literature
ENGL 394: Student Mentor/Academic Apprenticeship in English
ENGL 395/595: Directed Studies

ENGL 399: Independent Study – Juniors

ENGL 399/599: Irish Film Festival

ENGL 399/599: Progressive Film Festival
ENGL 459: Seminar in British Literature After 1790: Contemporary Black British Experience

ENGL 459/659: Seminar in British Literature After 1790: Disunited Kingdom—Intimations of Brexit
ENGL 480: English Capstone

ENGL 484/684: Seminar in Theory and Criticism: Critical Studies in Contemporary Popular Music Cultures
ENGL 484/684: Seminar in Theory and Criticism: Critical Studies in Crime, Justice, and the Law

ENGL 484/684: Seminar in Theory and Criticism: The Fantastic, The Uncanny, and The Surreal

ENGL 484/684: Seminar in Theory and Criticism: Ian Curtis and Joy Division in (Historical and Cultural) Context

ENGL 484/684: Seminar in Theory and Criticism: Ian Curtis: The Myth and the Music--Critical Theoretical Perspectives

ENGL 484/684: Seminar in Theory and Criticism: 'Let's Take a Ride Out, See What We Can Find': Popular Music, Issues of Fundamental and Ultimate Concern, Empathy, and Solidarity—Ian Curtis, Joy Division, and Critical Theory

ENGL 499: Independent Study – Seniors

ENGL 715: Critical Theory and English Studies

ENGL 715: Critical Theory and English Studies: The Fantastic, The Uncanny, and The Surreal

ENGL 747: Studies in American Fiction: Film Noir

ENGL 775: Literary Criticism
ENGL 779: Studies in Themes and Genres: 21st Century British TV Detective Series

ENGL 783: Studies in Theory and Culture: Queer Theory and Culture
ENGL 797: Independent Study
ENGL 799: Thesis

HNRS 304: Honors Colloquium: Ian Curtis and Joy Division: Critical Theoretical Perspectives

HNRS 304: Honors Colloquium: Introduction to World Cinema

HNRS 337: Honors Colloquium: Ian Curtis and Joy Division: Critical Theoretical Perspectives

IDIS 154/174: Social Justice in Film and Music

WRIT 116: Blugold Seminar in Critical Reading and Writing: Theme of ‘British Cultural Identities’

WRIT 116: Blugold Seminar in Critical Reading and Writing: Theme of ‘Contemporary British Cultures’

WRIT 116: Blugold Seminar in Critical Reading and Writing: Theme of ‘Love’

WRIT 116: Blugold Seminar in Critical Reading and Writing: Theme of ‘Sports, Politics, and Society’

 

Teaching—Courses Taught (Prior to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 1985-1997)

 

I came to UW-Eau Claire with 12 prior years of extensive experience teaching at the college and university level, from the introductory undergraduate to the advanced graduate level.  I taught a great many distinct courses previously (including many I developed myself) as a visiting assistant professor, an adjunct faculty member, and a graduate student instructor (where I maintained total control of all aspects of curriculum and instruction in all the courses I taught in that capacity).  I previously taught at The New School University (The New School for Social Research), Southern Connecticut State University, Arizona State University, Syracuse University, State University of New York College at Cortland, Tompkins Cortland Community College, and Onondaga Community College.

 

20th Century American Literature and Culture

Academic Writing 1

Academic Writing 2

Advanced Composition

Approaches to Literature

Argumentative Writing

Composition

Contemporary Critical Theory

Contemporary Feminist and Queer Theories

Critical Reading and Writing

Cultural Studies

Determinism in Literature

Developmental Composition

European Drama from 1914 through the Present

Fiction

History of Literary Criticism

Intermediate Composition

Interpretation of Fiction

Introduction to Composition and Literature

Introduction to Marxist Philosophy

Introductory Composition

Persuasive Writing on Public Issues

Reading and Writing About Advertising

Reading and Writing About Biological and Psychological Theories of Human Nature

Reading and Writing About College Education

Reading and Writing About Comics and Humor

Reading and Writing About Film

Reading and Writing About Work and Working

Structures of Knowledge

 

Teaching—Courses Taught, Free Universities

 

While living and working in Syracuse, NY (1996-2004) and Tempe, AZ (2004-2006) I founded, organized, and served as principal teacher and administrator for two free universities where I taught multiple courses for free to members of the greater community in each case.

 

20th Century Class Struggle and American Imperialism—a Film History

Exploring the Interconnections: Poverty, Hunger, and the Destruction of Nature—a Film History

Marxist Aesthetic and Cultural Theory

Marxist Philosophy

Marxist Political Economy

Marxist Social and Political Theory

The New Queer Cinema

Queer Cinema

The Struggle between Capital and Labor in 20th Century America—a Film History

Transnational Capitalism, the Global Factory, and the Struggle for Labor and Environmental Justice—a Film History

 

Major Ongoing Scholarly Projects

Insurgence

 

From 2005 through the present, I have been producing and hosting this weekly radio show on WHYS Community Radio, Eau Claire, featuring progressive music of protest, struggle, resistance, rebellion, revolt, and transformation; classic post-punk and new wave; and contemporary indie rock, pop, folk, folk rock, and electronica—especially from Scotland and England. I spend an average of 15 to 20 hours minimum each and every week working on this show, which includes extensive research and contact with musicians, labels, venues, publications, festivals, series, and record stores, as well as extensive listening, writing, and other forms of pre-broadcast preparation. As of 19 October 2023 I have produced and hosted 953 consecutive weekly shows, 19 years’ running. My work on this show is intrinsically interconnected with what, how, and why I teach as well as my principal scholarly interests and service commitments (especially conceived as civic engagement and in the mode of a public intellectual). Insurgence broadcasts, by way of web streaming, throughout the globe, and I have many regular listeners in far-flung locations, worldwide.  

 

Excessive Flashpoints, Solitary Demands, Darkest Corners: Ian Curtis, Joy Division, Critical Theory, and Me

 

For the past twelve years I have invested steadily increasing concentration and commitment in working slowly and carefully, long-term, toward writing an eventual innovative book for general (not exclusively scholarly) publication on this topic, directly inspired and enabled by my experiences teaching five classes with a directly related focus. This project represents an area of ongoing deeply personal and immensely passionate interest for me, dating back more than 40 years. Work on this project directly fuels principal areas of emphasis as well as principal approaches in all of my teaching and service work. I have approached this book as a part personal memoir.  From June 2020 through September 2021 I completed writing three out of an ultimate total of six chapters.  From August 2020 through August 2022 I concentrated directly on this project and have nearly completed writing a draft of the whole (the first five chapters and seven out of ten of the sixth and final chapter) and am set to seek a publisher, after completing the final three sections of the final chapters (my efforts toward this end have been delayed due to serious illness).  [I have now completed eight of ten sections of the last, sixth, chapter, and expect to complete the entire draft, all sections, and for whole book, by May 2024.]
 

21st Century British TV Crime Drama—A Critical Guide

 

For the past eight years I have invested steadily increasing concentration and commitment in working slowly and carefully, long-term, toward writing an eventual innovative book for general (not exclusively scholarly) publication on this topic, directly inspired and enabled by my experiences teaching five classes with a directly related focus. This project represents an area of ongoing deeply personal and immensely passionate interest for me, the climactic focus of all my prior work in critical media studies/critical studies in film, television, and moving-image culture. Work on this project directly fuels principal areas of emphasis as well as principal approaches in all of my teaching and service work.  From August2022 through August 2021 I  completed writing all but final updates and slight modifications to chapter one in what will comprise a fifteen chapter "Book One: From Fearless through  The Fall.  'Book Two: From Life on Mars through Line of Duty" will follow, consisting of ten chapters.  I envision this as a multi-volume series.  I am set soon to seek a publisher for Book One, after recovering sufficient strength, stamina, and available time after a delay due to serious illness.  

 

Products of Recent Scholarly and Creative Activity (Select, Since 2010)

Because my professional career extends to 38 years, I am emphasizing here recent products of scholarly and creative activity, from the past thirteen years, which are much more directly representative of where I am and have been concentrating in recent times.

 

"Living Out: 40 Years."  Featured speaker, Unitarian Unitarian Congregation of Eau Claire service on 'Living Out', October 3, 2023.

“’I Never Realized the Lengths I’d Have to Go, All the Darkest Corners of a Sense I Didn’t Know’: Ian Curtis, Joy Division, and Critical Theory—an Empathetic Embarkation,” September 12, 2018, Organization of Research and Sponsored Programs Faculty Forum, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

"Teaching and Writing About 'Ian Curtis and Joy Division: Critical Theoretical Perspectives'." University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire English Department Colloquium Presentation, April 28, 2017.

"The Wisconsin Idea: Past, Present, and Future/A Call for Action." Presentation. Teach-In: The Budget Crisis and the Future of UW-Eau Claire. Sponsored by United Faculty and Academic Staff of UW-Eau Claire.  September 17, 2015, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

"Memorial Service: The Wisconsin Idea." Principal organizer and featured speaker. Service, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Eau Claire, August 23, 2015.

"Scottish Cinema in the 21st Century—Independence, Ideology, and Filmmaking Practices." Panel Co-Organizer, Co-Chair, and Respondent. University Film and Video Association annual conference, 2015 theme: "Media with Impact." American University, Washington, DC, August 7, 2015.

Directory of World Cinema: Scotland.  Intellect Publishing Company/University of Chicago Press, 2015.  Co-edited with Zach Finch.  A Contribution to Intellect's Directory of World Cinema Series. Including:

The 1938 Films of Scotland Committee Empire Exhibition Series of Documentary Films: a Review Essay. Directory of World Cinema: Scotland. Bristol: Intellect, June 2015, 328-333. Directory of World Cinema Series.

The Angels' Share: a Review Essay. Directory of World Cinema: Scotland. Bristol: Intellect, June 2015, 118-124. Directory of World Cinema Series.

Bill Douglas: Director's Profile. Directory of World Cinema: Scotland. Bristol: Intellect, June 2015, 46-54. Directory of World Cinema Series.

Editors' Introduction and Acknowledgments. With Zach Finch. Directory of World Cinema: Scotland. Bristol: Intellect, June 2015, 5-10. Directory of World Cinema Series.

Everybody's Child: a Review Essay. Directory of World Cinema: Scotland. Bristol: Intellect, June 2015, 335-340. Directory of World Cinema Series.

Filmography. Directory of World Cinema: Scotland. Bristol: Intellect, June 2015, 368-369. Directory of World Cinema Series.

Floodtide: a Review Essay. Directory of World Cinema: Scotland. Bristol: Intellect, June 2015, 147-151. Directory of World Cinema Series.

"From Social Realism to Social Art Cinema and Beyond." Directory of World Cinema: Scotland. Bristol: Intellect, June 2015, 180-198. Directory of World Cinema Series.

"Mythic Visions: Critique and Counter-Critique." Directory of World Cinema: Scotland. Bristol: Intellect, June 2015, 90-115. Directory of World Cinema Series.

New Town Killers: a Review Essay. Directory of World Cinema: Scotland. Bristol: Intellect, June 2015, 225-229. Directory of World Cinema Series.

Orphans: a Review Essay. Directory of World Cinema: Scotland. Bristol: Intellect, June 2015, 230-235. Directory of World Cinema Series.

Recommended Reading. With Zach Finch. Directory of World Cinema: Scotland. Bristol: Intellect, June 2015, 346-353. Directory of World Cinema Series.

Scottish Cinema Online. Directory of World Cinema: Scotland. Bristol: Intellect, June 2015. Directory of World Cinema Series, 354-358.

Shell: a Review Essay. Directory of World Cinema: Scotland. Bristol: Intellect, June 2015, 242-247. Directory of World Cinema Series.

Test Your Knowledge Quiz. With Alex Long. Directory of World Cinema: Scotland, 360-362. Bristol: Intellect, June 2015. Directory of World Cinema Series.

"'Touching from a Distance, Further All the Time': Spiritual Reflections on the Life and Work of Ian Curtis and the Music of Joy Division." Principal organizer and featured speaker. Service, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Eau Claire, November 16, 2014.

"What is 'Suture'?." Breaking the Fourth Wall—Open File Project. Milton Keynes Gallery, May-June 2012.

"Queer Theory, Queer Cinema." Coming Out to the Mainstream: New Queer Cinema in the 21st Century.  Joanne Juett and David Jones, Editors. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2010, 2-19.

"Queer Cinema and Urbania." Coming Out to the Mainstream: New Queer Cinema in the 21st Century.  Joanne Juett and David Jones, Editors. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2010, 233-256. 

 

Earlier Professional Scholarly Publications and Presentations While Working at UW-Eau Claire (Select, 1997-2009)

 

Here I list some of the professional scholarly journals in which I published articles and some of the professional scholarly conferences where I presented papers during this period of time. In a number of cases I also served as panel chair or co-chair, respondent, and workshop or caucus chair or co-chair.

 

American Conference for Irish Studies

Joint Conference of the American Conference for Irish Studies, the British Association of Irish Studies, and the European Federation of Associations and Centres of Irish Studies

The Journal of Homosexuality

Radical Teacher

Society for Cinema and Media Studies

Transformation: Marxist Boundary Work in Theory, Economics, Politics, and Culture

 

Writing, Publishing, and Presenting as a Public Intellectual While Working at Eau Claire and UW-Eau Claire (Select, 1997-The Present)

 

From the beginning of my graduate studies onward, and in fact long before, as one extensively involved in diverse varieties of progressive organizing and activism since a young child, a major focus of my work has been as a ‘public intellectual’.  Here I list some of the organizations, publications, and other entities to which I have contributed by means of writing, publishing, and publicly presenting during my time in Eau Claire and at UW-Eau Claire, as a public intellectual. I have published well over 200 distinct essays in this capacity. In many of these venues and for many of these organizations I have published or presented multiple times and I have frequently also served as principal organizer, lead presenter, primary editor, or major publisher. Most recently I have continued this kind of work via a public blog, There Will be No Miracles Here.

 

Amnesty International

Bill of Rights Defense Committee

Catalyst

Chippewa Valley Wisconsin Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union

Eau Claire Staff and Faculty for Peace and Justice

Eau Queer Film Festival

Equality: UW-Eau Claire Staff and Faculty in Support of LGBT Issues

Great Lakes Progressive News and Dispatch

Human Rights Awareness Conference

National Coming Out Day, UW-Eau Claire

Northwest Educational Association Conference

Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Chippewa Valley Chapter

Peace, Love, and Diversity

PRIDE, UW-Eau Claire

Progressive Outpost

Progressive Students Association

Spectrum West

There Will Be No Miracles Here

United Faculty and Academic Staff of UW-Eau Claire

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Eau Claire

 

Earlier Professional Scholarly Publications and Presentations Prior to Working at UW-Eau Claire (Select, 1985-1997)

 

Before coming to work at UW-Eau Claire I already maintained a substantial record of extensive professional scholarly publication and presentation. In the case of many of these conferences I organized the panels and served as chair or co-chair as well as respondent and as workshop or caucus chair or co-chair.

 

Activism Collides With Theory

Against the Current

American Academy of Religion New England Section

American Committee for Irish Studies

Arizona State University Composition Program Public Forum

Arizona State University English Department Lecture and Colloquia Series on Contemporary Theory and History of Literary Criticism

Arizona State University English Department and Humanities Program Guest Lecture Series

Arizona State University Graduate Scholars in English Association Lecture Series

Arizona State University Languages and Literatures Association and Humanities Program Guest Lecture Series

Arizona State University School of Art Guest Lecture Series

College English Association

Conference on Racism and Class

The Future of Socialism: The View from Cuba

Group for Research in the Institutionalization and Professionalization of Literary Studies

Graduate Conference in Irish Studies

Graduate Research in Marxist Studies

Histories, Bodies, Identities

Left Margins: Cultural Studies and Composition Pedagogy

Links: a Journal of Socialist Renewal

Marxism in the New World Order: Crises and Possibilities

Marxism Now: Traditions and Differences

Marxist Scholars Conference

The Material Queer: a LesBiGay Cultural Studies Reader

Midwest Modern Language Association of America

Radical Philosophy Association

Rhetoric Society of America

Society for Cinema Studies

Society for Utopian Studies

Syracuse University Graduate Student Organization Lecture Series in Literature, Theory, and Criticism

 

Writing, Publishing, and Presenting as a Public Intellectual Prior to Working at Eau Claire and UW-Eau Claire (Select, 1986-1997)

This kind of work served as a major focus of my efforts during this period of time. With Red Orange I was editor-in-chief, and with The Alternative Orange I was a member of the editorial collective.

 

The Alternative Orange

Bulletin in Defense of Marxism

Manas

Red Orange: a Marxist Journal of Theory, Politics, and the Everyday

Current, Ongoing, Recent, and Forthcoming Institutional and Community Service at Eau Claire and UW-Eau Claire

Throughout my time at UW-Eau Claire I have maintained a major, ongoing, active focus on institutional, professional, and especially community service, conceived and approached as civic engagement, encompassing a wide variety of organizations, projects, and roles. Often I have served in a leadership capacity and played a founding, instigating role.

 

Directed Studies, Independent Studies, Student-Faculty Collaborative Research Projects, McNair Foundation Fellow Advising, Master’s Thesis Advising, Undergraduate Topical Minor Advising, and Provosts Honors Symposium Presentation Advising:

Over 100 Individual Students on Widely Diverse Projects (1997-The Present)

English Department:

Curriculum Committee (2017-2020, 2007-2009); Curriculum Committee Chair (2018-2020); Department Personnel Committee (2003-The Present); Executive Subcommittee, Department Personnel Committee (2022-2023, 2018-2020, 2011-2013, and 2003-2005); Critical Studies in Literatures, Cultures, and Film Emphasis Area Committee (Formerly Literature Emphasis Area Committee, 1997-The Present); Search and Screen Committee, English Department Chair (2019); Chair, Search and Screen Committee, English Department Chair (2019)

Empowerment Through Solidarity—a Progressive Film Series:

Principal Organizer (2019-2022)

Higher Education Council, AFT-Wisconsin (2014-2021)

National Alliance on Mental Illness—UW Eau Claire (2019-2023):

            Organizer and Faculty Advisor

New Courses Designed and Proposed (in addition to the great many new focuses, emphases, and concentrations I continually develop for already existing courses and for new courses designed and proposed by colleagues): Critical Perspectives on Film, Television, and Moving-Image Culture; Critical Studies in Film and Culture; Critical Theory and English Studies; Introduction to Critical Studies in Film, Television, and Moving-Image Culture; Introduction to Film, Video, and Moving-Image Culture; Introduction to Theory and Criticism; Seminar in Film, Video, and Moving-Image Culture; and Topics in Film, Video, and Moving-Image Culture

Progressive Students and Alumni (Formerly Progressive Students Association, 2003-2023):

            Faculty Advisor

Teaching Assistants Mentoring, Training, and Supervision:

Over 100 Individual Students (1997-The Present)

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Eau Claire (2013-The Present, Including Service as Lead Presenter/Featured Speaker, Worship Associate, and Program Assistant, as well as on Worship Services, Membership, and Ministry committees)

United Faculty and Academic Staff of UW-Eau Claire, AFT Local 6481:

Vice-President (2015-2021, and College of Arts and Sciences Representative on Executive Council, 2014-2015)

WHYS Community Radio—Producer/DJ and Volunteer (2005-The Present); Founding Member and Member of the Initial Screening Committee (2003-2006); Founder of the Station Board of Directors and Initial Station Coordinator/Facilitator (Station President, 2006-2009)

 

Earlier Institutional and Community Service at Eau Claire and UW-Eau Claire

Academic Policies Committee (2009-2016)

ACLU-UWEC (Faculty Advisor, 2007-2009)

Action Wisconsin (State Board of Directors, 2002-2003)

Ad Hoc Committee of the University Faculty Tenure and Promotion Review Committee (2005)

Amnesty International-UWEC (Faculty Advisor, 2007-2009)

Bill of Rights Defense Committee (Founding Member and Member of the Steering Committee, 2003-2004)

Campus Media Advisory Committee (2005-2006)

Campus Gender Issues Advisory Committee (2005-2006)

Chippewa Valley Wisconsin Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union Board of Directors (2001-2009, Including as Vice-President)

Diversity Planning Committee (2003-2006)

Diversity Planning Committee Faculty and Instructional Academic Staff Development Subcommittee (2003-2006)

Eau Claire Progressive Film Festival (Executive Director, 2005-2012)

Eau Claire Staff and Faculty for Peace and Justice (2003-2012)

English Department:

Advisory Committee (2002-2002, 2009-2011); Committee on Committees (1998-2000); Long-Range Planning Committee (2003-2005, 2007-2011); Critical Studies in Literatures, Cultures, and Film Emphasis Area Subcommittee (Formerly Literature Emphasis Area Subcommittee, 2004-2005, 2011-2013, 2017-2019); Chair, Critical Studies in Literatures, Cultures, and Film Emphasis Area Subcommittee (2017-2019); Chair, Department Personnel Committee (2011-2013); Media Resources Committee (1998-2000, 2001-2003); Media Resources Committee Chair (1998-2000); Schedules Committee (2005-2006, 2009-2011); Search and Screen Committee for American Literature with Ethnic Specialization Tenure-Track Assistant Professors (1998-1999); Search and Screen Committee for Creative Non-Fiction Writing Tenure-Track Assistant Professor (2011-2012); Search and Screen Committee for Theory and Criticism/Critical Studies in Film, Video, and Moving-Image Culture Tenure-Track Assistant Professor (2001-2002); Chair, Search and Screen Committee for Theory and Criticism/Critical Studies in Film, Video, and Moving-Image Culture Tenure-Track Assistant Professor (2001-2002); Search and Screen Committee for Theory, Film, and Cultural Studies Tenure-Track Assistant Professor (2008-2009)

Equality (UWEC Faculty and Staff in Support of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues; Founder

and Chair, 1998-2001)

Faculty Personnel Committee (2009-2010)

The Flip Side (Faculty Advisor, 2003-2006)

Labor Film Series:

            Principal Organizer (2017-2019)

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of the Chippewa Valley, West Central

Wisconsin (Founding Member, Board of Directors, 2000-2002)

Great Lakes Progressive News and Dispatch (Co-Editor and Co-Publisher, 2011-2012)

International Film Committee (Including as Chair, 2002-2008, 2009-2011)

LGBTQ Certificate Planning Committee (2010-2011)

Progressive Film and Video Makers (Faculty Advisor, 2007-2008)

Progressive Media Network (Co-Executive Director, 2005-2009 and Film Executive, 2006-2008)

Progressive Outpost (Editorial Board, 2006-2008)

Social Justice Living-Learning Community Advisory Committee (2010-2012)

Spectrum (Formerly The LGBT-Straight Alliance and, before that, GLOBE, Faculty Advisor, 1999-2006)

TILT Student Filmmaking Society (Faculty Advisor, 2007-2008)

University Senate—English Department Representative (2009-2016)

UWEC Irish Film Festival (Director, 2002-2003)

WHYS-UWEC (Faculty Advisor, 2007-2008)

 

Notable Awards and Honors While at Eau Claire and UW-Eau Claire

I appreciate that I have received a number of significant awards and honors during my time at Eau Claire and UW-Eau Claire, including the university’s Excellence in Service Award and The Michael Lynch Service Award from the MLA.  My greatest awards and honors have always come, nonetheless, from the students with whom I have worked and who have demonstrated remarkable learning and growth over the course of our time working together.

UW System Dr. P.B. Poorman Awards for Outstanding Achievement on Behalf of LGBTQ+ People, UW-Eau Claire 2023 Award Recipient.
UWEC Twenty-Five Years' Service Recognition Award, May 2023
Cignet Trust Grants Providing Support for a Fully Externally Funded 100% Leave to Work on Writing Ian Curtis, Joy Division, and Critical Theory and 21st Century British TV Crime Drama: a Critical Guide, June 2020-August 2022

Services For Students with Disabilities Recognition Award for a Faculty Member Demonstrating Exceptional Commitment to Meeting the Diverse Needs of Students with Disabilities, 2019

Student Affairs Acknowledgment of Graduating Senior Recognition for Making a Difference During the Course of Students' Undergraduate Experience, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018

UWEC Twenty Years' Service Recognition Award, May 2017

Wisconsin Board of Regents, UWEC Provost and Vice-Chancellor's Office, and UWEC Office of University Research and Sponsored Programs, Full Academic Year Sabbatical, 2013-2014, to work on Directory of World Cinema: Scotland and Ian Curtis: the Myth and the Music–Critical Theoretical Perspectives

UWEC University Research, Scholarship, and Creative Study Grant, Spring 2013: Five Credits Time-Release from Teaching to Work on Directory of World Cinema: Scotland

UWEC Fifteen Years' Service Recognition Award, May 2012

UWEC University Research, Scholarship, and Creative Study Grant, Spring 2009: Five Credits Time-Release from Teaching to Work Principally on Scholarly Projects in Popular Music Studies

Student Support Services Certificate of Recognition for 'Making a Difference in Student Lives', Especially that of First-Generation College and Low-Income College Students, May 2007, and May 2008

UWEC Ten Years' Service Recognition Award, May 2007

Wisconsin Board of Regents, UWEC Provost and Vice-Chancellor's Office, and UWEC Office of University Research and Sponsored Programs, Full Academic Year Sabbatical, 2006-2007, to work on "Progressive Music of Resistance, Rebellion, and Revolt: a Critical Bibliography"

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Excellence in Service Award: For Activities Outside the Classroom that Promote Excellence in Education and Enhance the University's Public Image, 2003 Winner

Office of University Research and Sponsored Programs: Faculty Development Grant to Support Production of UWEC Irish Film Festival, Spring 2003

Network for Excellence in Teaching: Grants for Design and Implementation of New Courses: Critical Theories of Film, Summer-Fall 1998; Contemporary LesBiGay and Queer Film, Summer-Fall 1999; and Topics in Film, Video, and Moving-Image Culture, Fall 2002-Spring 2003

Michael Lynch Service Award: Modern Language Association of America Lesbian and Gay Caucus Award for Outstanding Achievement in Campus and Community Activism on the part of an Academic Worker in support of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Dignity, Equality, and Freedom, 2002 Winner

Office of University Research: University Research and Creative Activity Grant, Five Credits Time Release, Fall 2000, for work on "Queer Theory: a Marxist Critique"

Notable Earlier Institutional and Community Service Prior to Eau Claire and UW-Eau Claire

My commitment toward active and extensive engagement in institutional, professional and, especially, community service, conceived as civic engagement, long precedes my time at Eau Claire and UW-Eau Claire.  The following represent just a few notable examples.

The Alternative Orange, 1990-1994: editorial collective

Arizona Progressive Students Organization, 1994-1996: faculty advisor

Arizona Progressive Unity Conference, 1995: campus organizer

Arizona State University, 1994-1996: Served on Fifteen M.A. Thesis and Ph.D. Dissertation Committees in English, Humanities, and Communications; Supervised Independent Study Courses in Contemporary Theories of Resistance, Film Noir, and Contemporary Film Theory and Criticism

Free University of Syracuse, 1990-1992: founder, principal organizer and administrator, and principal teacher

Free University of Tempe, 2005-2006: founder, principal organizer and administrator, and principal teacher

The Lesbian and Gay Graduate Collective (Syracuse University), 1990-1994: founding member, steering committee, activities director

Marxist Collective at Syracuse University, Postmodern Marxist Collective, and Student Marxist Collective, 1986-1993: Organizations for education, study, research, and intervention; Founding member, Principal organizer and Principal public contact

Ubiquity (Arizona State University Staff and Faculty Supporting Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Issues), 1994-1996: Served as Vice-Chair and Chair

 

Travel (2001-2022)

My experiences traveling over the course of these past 20 years exercise greater shaping impact upon what, how, and why I teach, as well as on the scope and direction of my scholarly activity and the nature and aims of my institutional, professional, and especially community service, conceived as civic engagement, than virtually any other source.  I travel to seek intellectual stimulation and to do immersive research which will provide me with the ideas, and the source materials, for what I will address in teaching, scholarship, and service.

March 2023: London, England

June-July 2022: London, England and Edinburgh, Scotland

July 2019: Manchester, Greater Manchester, and Liverpool, England, Including the 2019 Manchester International Festival

March-April 2019: London, England

June-July 2018: Dublin, Ireland, and London, Bletchley, Plymouth, Southampton, Portsmouth, and Brighton, England

March 2018: Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland

June-July 2017: Manchester and Greater Manchester, England, Including the 2017 Manchester International Festival

March 2017: Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland

June-July 2016: Edinburgh, Scotland, and Nottingham, Leicester, Cambridge, Oxford, and London, England

March 2016: Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland

July 2015: Manchester and Greater Manchester, England, Including the 2015 Manchester International Festival

March 2015: Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland

June-July 2014: Dublin, Ireland; Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland; and Leeds, Sheffield, and Manchester, England

March 2014: Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scotland

July 2013: Manchester and Greater Manchester, England, Including the 2013 Manchester International Festival

March 2013: Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scotland

June-July 2012: Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Orkney, Shetland, and Glasgow, Scotland, and Dublin, Ireland

March 2012: Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland

June-July 2011: Manchester/Greater Manchester, England, Including the 2011 Manchester International Festival

June-July 2010: Edinburgh, St. Andrews, Stirling, Perth, Dundee, Inverness, Northwest Highlands, Islay, and Glasgow, Scotland, and Dublin, Ireland

March 2010: Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland

June-July 2009: Glasgow, Scotland, and Manchester/Greater Manchester and Blackpool, England, Including the 2009 Manchester International Festival

March 2009: Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland

June-July 2008: Frankfurt, Cologne, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, Stuttgart, and Berlin, Germany, as well as Vienna, Austria

March 2008: Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland

June-July 2007: Paris, France; Berlin, Germany; and London, England

March 2007: Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland

June-August 2006: Birmingham, York, Newcastle Upon Tyne/Gateshead, Dover, Brighton, and London, England, and The Isle of Man

March 2006: Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland

June-August 2005: Cork, Killarney, and Limerick, Ireland, and Brighton, Birmingham, Bristol, and London, England

March 2005: Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland

June-July 2004: Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness, Western Highlands, and Glasgow, Scotland, as well as Liverpool and London, England

June-July 2003: London and Manchester, England; Cardiff and Swansea, Wales; and Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland

June-July 2002: Dublin, Galway, and Cork, Ireland

June-July 2001: Dublin, Galway, Connemara, and Sligo, Ireland

 

Professional Preparation and Educational History

Ph.D., Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, English, 1986-1993, Including:

PhD Dissertation: Cultural Studies, Queer Theory, Marxism

Qualifying Examinations in 20th Century American Literature and Culture, 20th Century British Literature and Culture with a Focus on Drama, and Marxist Theory of Ideology, Subjectivity, Culture, and the State

Foreign Language Reading Competency in French

M.A., Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, English,1983-1985, Including:

Concentrations in Irish Studies, Marxist Theory, and Poetry

Additional Studies in Art History and Art Education, Electronic Music Composition, and Irish Language

B.A., Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, English, 1979-1983, Including:

Phi Beta Kappa and Graduated with University Honors

Senior Honors Thesis: Alienation and Incarceration in James Joyce’s Dubliners and Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio

Major in English and Minors in Economics, History, and Philosophy

While at Wesleyan a major focus of my activity was WESU-FM, where I contributed as:

Music Director, Assistant Station Manager, Program Coordinator, News and Sports Reporter and Anchor, and DJ for Multiple Music Shows Ranging from Punk and Hardcore to Experimental and Avant-Garde; I also was co-winner of a special award for outstanding service to WESU at graduation

Special (Non-Degree) Student, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT, 1985-1986, Including:

Studies in French, German, and Computer Science

Diploma, Lyman Hall High School, Wallingford, CT, 1975-1979, Including:

Graduated 2nd in the class of close to 700 students

National Honor Society

Awards for Outstanding Student in English and Social Studies

Advanced Placement and Honors Tracks in All Classes

Taught Own Senior Year Advanced Placement English Class for One Semester

           

Appointments and Employment History—Higher Education

Professor, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 2012-The Present

Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 2003-2012

Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 1997-2003

Lecturer/Adjunct Faculty, New School University, 1997

Lecturer/Adjunct Faculty, Southern Connecticut State University, 1996-1997

Visiting Assistant Professor, Arizona State University, 1994-1996

Lecturer/Adjunct Faculty, Tompkins Cortland Community College, 1993-1994

Lecturer/Adjunct Faculty, Onondaga Community College, 1990-1992

Lecturer/Adjunct Faculty, State University of New York College at Cortland, 1990-1991

Graduate Student Instructor, Syracuse University, 1986-1990

Syracuse University Scholarships, 1986-1990

Lecturer/Adjunct Faculty, Southern Connecticut State University, 1985-1986

(Also worked in Library Acquisitions and Cataloguing Departments as well as in Writing Tutoring Center)

Syracuse University Fellowships, 1983-1985

Wesleyan University Fellowships, 1979-1983

(Also worked in Library Circulation Department and Career Resources Center)