Professor, Department Chair
University Hall 5063
(205) 934-4250
Research and Teaching Interests: English Renaissance poetry and prose, Milton, Reformation studies, literature and law
Office Hours: By appointment
Education:
- B.A., Davidson College
- M.A., University of Pennsylvania
- Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, English Renaissance Literature
Originally a Birmingham native, I returned home to join the UAB English Department in 2000, and I currently have the honor to be the Department Chair. Whenever I get a chance to take off my administrative hat, I’m happy to step either into the classroom or into whatever research project I have going at the time. As a teacher, my special strengths are in courses such as Shakespeare, Renaissance Poetry, Milton, and anything where I get to work with students on their writing skills. As a scholar, I have published a number of books and articles on a broad spectrum of early modern literature, but my true specialty is the works of John Milton. In recent years, I have published two books exploring the way that law, justice, and questions of jurisdiction shape Milton’s writing. And when I’m not being a teacher, scholar, or administrator, I enjoy spending time outdoors with my family and our dogs.
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Recent Courses
- Milton
- Renaissance Poetry and Prose
- Shakespeare
- Reading, Writing, and Research for the English Major
- English Capstone Seminar
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Select Publications
Books
- Courts, Jurisdiction, and Law in John Milton and His Contemporaries (University of Chicago Press, 2020).
- The Legal Epic: Paradise Lost and the Early Modern Law (University of Chicago Press, 2017).
- Patrons and Patron Saints in Early Modern English Literature (Routledge Press, 2012).
Articles and Other Works
- “Roman Law and Equity in John Milton’s Divorce Tracts,” Critical Analysis of Law 5:2 (2019): 27-43 .
- “The Lay Reader’s Guide to Milton v. Cope: Trust, Debt, and Loss in Chancery.” Milton Quarterly 52 (2018): 113-127. .
- “Defending Milton’s Pro Se Defensio: A Legal Reading.” Milton Quarterly 51 (2017): 75-96.
- “Milton and Legal Reform,” Renaissance Quarterly 69 (2016):529-65.
- “Satan’s Pardon: The Forms of Judicial Mercy in Paradise Lost,” Milton Studies 55 (2014):177-206.
- “Lucrece’s Time,” Shakespeare Quarterly 64 (2013): 165-87.
- “Marking Time: Astrology, Almanacs, and English Protestantism,” Renaissance Quarterly 60 (2008):1257-90.
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Academic Distinctions and Professional Societies
- Editorial Board, Milton Quarterly
- Odessa Woolfolk Community Service Award, 2016
- National Association of Academic Advisors, Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award, 2014
- UAB Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award, 2014
- UAB President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2010
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Student Groups
Faculty Advisor, Sigma Tau Delta.