Areas of Expertise
- Eighteenth Century British Literature, Shakespeare, Jane Austen, the Inklings, Renaissance Florence, Habsburg Vienna, the Harlem Renaissance, curriculum design (especially General Education), study abroad
Education
- A.B. in English literature, College of the Holy Cross (1972)
- M.A. in English literature, University of Notre Dame (1974)
- Ph.D. in English literature, University of Notre Dame (1978)
What's My Why?
I have always been guided by the integrative vision of liberal education described by Cardinal Newman in his classic work, The Idea of a University: "True enlargement of mind is the power of viewing many things at once as one whole, of referring them severally to their true place in the universal system, of understanding their respective values, and determining their mutual dependence." In courses, I enjoy focusing on a specific time and place – Renaissance Florence, the Oxford of the Inklings, the Harlem Renaissance – and tracing the ways in which the literature of the period interacts with other subjects such as history, religion, politics, and the arts.
Professional Experience
In the course of my career, I have served as a professor and administrator at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, Lesley University, Rivier University and Salve. At Rivier and Salve I was responsible, as dean, for establishing an honors program. I have always tried to supplement classroom teaching with experiential learning, including field trips (Providence, Boston, New York) and co-curricular activities such as reader’s theater or the annual Jane Austen Ball. Another theme across institutions has been an involvement in study abroad, including facilitating American students going to foreign countries and bringing international students to the United States. For 12years, I led Salve’s month-long program at Oxford in the United Kingdom, which included a full immersion in the life of the city and the university, as well as frequent field trips to London, Stonehenge and Bath. I recently published a book on the British playwright George Lillo.
Selected Publications
Book: Protestant Tragedy: George Lillo and Modern Drama, 2024
Book Chapter: "Suicide and Seneca in Two Eighteenth Century Tragedies,” in Drama and the Classical Heritage, ed. Davidson et al., AMS Press, New York 1993.
“A Delicate Balance: the Catholic College in America,” Change, Carnegie Foundation, March 2006
"Context for a Biography of George Lillo," Philological Quarterly, Vol.64, No.1, Winter 1985.
"Tears Abounding: The London Merchant as Puritan Tragedy," Studies in English Literature, Vol. 18, Winter 1978.