Profiles of the Harlaxton Faculty, Spring Term, 2012

The British Studies Faculty

Edward Bujak, PhD (University of East Anglia)
Senior Lecturer in British Studies and History
ebujak@harlaxton.ac.uk

Dr Bujak is a graduate of the University of East Anglia (BA, MA, PhD) and joined Harlaxton College as a Lecturer in 2001. In addition to teaching on the British Studies programme, a programme he led from 2004-2009, he teaches courses on British, European and international history and the two world wars.  In 2006, he received the Outstanding Teacher Award of the University of Evansville. In 2007 he was promoted to the rank of Senior Lecturer. His book, England's Rural Realms: Landownership and the Agricultural Revolution was also published in 2007 by I. B. Tauris. In May 2008, Dr Bujak was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. In 2010 Dr Bujak was invited to become a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is currently writing a book on landownership in the Edwardian countryside.

David Green, PhD (University of Nottingham)
Senior Lecturer and Chair of British Studies
dgreen@harlaxton.ac.uk

Dr Green is a graduate of the universities of Exeter (BA) and Nottingham (MA, PhD). Before coming to Harlaxton in 2007 he lived and worked in England, Scotland and Ireland, lecturing at the universities of Sheffield, St Andrews and Trinity College, Dublin. In 2009 he became Chair of the British Studies program and in 2010 he was appointed Senior Lecturer and a permanent member of the faculty.

A late medieval historian working on Britain, Ireland and France, his research deals with themes central to the British Studies course such as kingship, colonialism and concepts of national identity. He has written three books and numerous articles. Further details of these may be found here: http://www.harlaxton.ac.uk/academics/research/GreenDavid.cfm

He is currently working on a volume for Yale University Press on The Hundred Years War.

Gordon Kingsley, ThD (New Orleans Theological Seminary)
Lecturer in British Studies
Principal
jgkingsley@harlaxton.ac.uk

In a long academic career, Dr Kingsley has been professor of literature and religion at Tulane University, Mississippi College, the University of Louisville, and William Jewell College, all in the United States. At the latter school he also served as academic dean and, for thirteen years, as president. In a study funded by the Exxon Foundation, he was adjudged among the top 5% of America's 'most effective university leaders'. He holds degrees from Mississippi College (BA), the University of Missouri (MA), and the New Orleans Theological Seminary (BD, ThD), where his research was conducted jointly at Tulane University. He holds honorary doctorates from Mercer University (LittD), Seinan Gakuin University, Japan (DHum), and the University of Evansville (LHD). Though he describes the college presidency as a 'shortcut to illiteracy', he has managed to produce three books and some 100 articles, monographs, and reviews, chiefly in popular religious subjects. .

Helen Snow, PhD (The Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham)
Lecturer in British Studies and English Literature
hsnow@harlaxton.ac.uk

After undergraduate work at the University of Southampton and her MA and PhD from The Shakespeare Institute of the University of Birmingham, Dr Snow first came to Harlaxton in the early 1990s.  She took an active role in the early years of the British Studies course, particularly in developing its interdisciplinary approach.  She led the teaching team for two years in addition to teaching Shakespeare and other literature courses.  In 2006, after five years teaching Shakespeare and other arts courses with The Open University, Dr Snow returned to Harlaxton to teach British Studies and, of course, Shakespeare.  Her publications and research interests focus on Shakespeare in performance, gender and Shakespeare, and the ways in which perceptions and presentations of Shakespeare and heritage contribute to ideas of national identity.  Dr Snow is the convenor of “The Harlaxton Players”, and she and her two musical daughters are keen members of The Harlaxton Collegiate Choir. 

Philip Taylor, PhD (University of Lancaster)
Lecturer in Music and British Studies,
Director of the Harlaxton Collegiate Choir
ptaylor@harlaxton.ac.uk

Philip Taylor is a musicologist with interests in English music of the Renaissance period, particularly the work of William Byrd. He has degrees in music from Lancaster University (BA, MMus, PhD) gaining his doctorate in 2008 with the thesis: ‘Music and Recusant Culture: the Paston Manuscript Collection and William Byrd's Songs’. Before arriving at Harlaxton he taught courses in music history and theory at Lancaster University, and he continues to teach as an Associate Lecturer for The Open University. Phil has particular interests in the role of music in interdisciplinary arts and humanities education, which he pursues as part of the British Studies team. As a keen singer and choral director he has led practical workshops on Byrd’s music and currently runs an early music ensemble at Harlaxton. Current research interests focus on early modern music manuscript culture and word setting in Byrd's secular partsongs.

 

The Discipline-Specific British Faculty

Sally Brown, MA (University of Northumbria)
Director of the Harlaxton Collegiate Choir and Lecturer in Music (On Leave 2011-2012)
sbrown@harlaxton.ac.uk

With a BA (Hons) and an MA in Fine Art (sculpture) from the University of Northumbria at Newcastle upon Tyne, Professor Brown worked for twenty years as a professional sculptor, completing public commissions; a research project in West Africa as a Winston Churchill Fellow (1990); and a residency with the Northern Sinfonia Orchestra. During this time she moonlighted as a musician, singing and playing with a variety of blues, jazz and roots outfits in the North-East of England. In the nineties, Sally chose music over sculpture to tour the UK and Europe with her own swing band, playing both fiddle and double bass as well as singing. Then followed two years at the School of Music at Newcastle upon Tyne, where she was ‘Student of the Year’, studying voice, viola and piano, and touring with the College Choir.

Since moving to the East Midlands in 1995, Sally has founded seven flourishing non-traditional choirs, including the National Trust Out of Silence choir (researching and creating music which tells lost stories from the region’s heritage), and Choir Invisible, a 90-strong, acapella soul-gospel group which reached the finals of the UK’s most prestigious choral contest, the BBC Radio 3 Choir of the Year Competition, and most recently, after performing for Archbishop Desmond Tutu, was honoured to become The Desmond and Leah Tutu Peace Choir UK. This choir rehearses at Harlaxton Manor.

Professor Brown now combines choir work with writing, winning the Orange Prize for Short Fiction in 2000 and currently completing a first novel.

Cliff Pettifor, PhD (Nottingham Trent University)
Lecturer in Politics
cpettifor@harlaxton.ac.uk

After twenty enjoyable years, Dr Pettifor relinquished a successful business career to become a mature student at Nottingham Trent University where he graduated and gained his PhD in the Economics of Higher Education.  He joined Harlaxton College in a part-time capacity in January 1982 and has since taught a range of social science courses, combining those duties with teaching similar courses for the Open University and until 2008 continuing his management role as Director of the Performance Indicator Project researching employers' views of graduate employability.  He now focuses his teaching on the single course in Modern British Politics and, at an age when most have taken retirement, he is reflecting Harlaxton's value of lifetime learning by recently completing another degree through the Open University.

Ian Welsh, MBA (Nottingham Business School)
Lecturer in Marketing
Vice Principal for Business and Technology
iwelsh@harlaxton.ac.uk

With an MBA from the Nottingham Business School, Professor Welsh has taught a popular introductory course in Marketing for the last 11 years. His academic interests include the development and affects of consumerism in higher education and service marketing in general. In addition, he serves as the College's Vice Principal for Business and Technology, a varied and interesting role which keeps him busy!

Before Harlaxton College, Professor Welsh began his career in data processing management at a large London based group of Builders Merchants, at a time when computers were only just being introduced into the mainstream business arena. This was an exciting time to be 'in computing' and he has maintained a passion for technology ever since. He continued to develop his career and, via sojourns in operational and financial management, progressed to the financial directorship of a Midlands based retail group.

Hilary Wolkan, MA (Tufts University)
Teaching Fellow in Archaeology
hilary.wolkan@gmail.com

Teaching Fellow at Harlaxton, Hilary received her first MA in Classical Archaeology from Tufts University, where she focused on native identity in the Roman provinces.  While in Boston, Hilary taught classes on Egyptian Archaeology, Classical Mythology, and Classical Archaeology, respectively.  She has participated, as a director, supervisor, and general excavator, in various digs throughout the world, including New Mexico, Orvieto and Rome, Menorca, and Lincoln, United Kingdom.  She received her BA in Archaeology and Art History from the University of Evansville, and attended Harlaxton College in the Spring term of 2007, taking the module she is currently teaching.  Hilary is currently working on an MA in Field Archaeology at the University of York, focusing much of her research on improving project designs in Cultural Resource Management and on public outreach.

The American Visiting Faculty

David Boers, EdD (Ball State University)
Professor of Education
Marian University WI
dboers@marianuniversity.edu

David Boers received his EdD degree from Ball State University in 1983.  As a professor at Marian University in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, he teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in the foundations of American education.

Dr. Boers sustains a keen interest in the history of American education.  His books, WISC, WISC 2, WISC 3, and The History of American Education describe his work in these areas. In addition, Dr. Boers’ research areas of interest include philosophy and techniques for encouraging discouraged learners. His books, Making the Difference, Happy Classrooms and Lost and Found: The CARTIE Model for Reclaiming Students, describe his ideas and research regarding these topics. Dr. Boers has also published many articles and is a regular presenter at national and state levels. He has given hundreds of local school district workshops and presentations and has served as a school consultant. Current research themes include issues regarding oppressed populations and, in particular, the plight of fugitive slaves. At present, Dr. Boers is working on his next book which will feature the freedom run of Wisconsin's first identified fugitive slave.

For leisure, Dr. Boers enjoys motorcycling, running, and working on his farm.

Arthur Brown, PhD (University of California-Davis)
Professor of English
University of Evansville
ab48@evansville.edu

Arthur Brown is a professor of English at the University of Evansville, where he has taught literature and creative writing since 1995.  He has a Ph.D. in English from the University of California, Davis, and an MA in English from the University of New Mexico, following on his undergraduate work at the University of California-Berkeley.

His book of poems, The Mackerel at St. Ives, was published by Davie Robert Books, and he has published poems in Poetry, Michigan Quarterly Review, Southwest Review, AGNI, American Arts Quarterly, The Malahat Review, and other journals.  He has published essays on Poe, Henry James, and Faulkner in critical anthologies and literary journals, including Short Story Criticism, Nineteenth-Century Literature, Mississippi Quarterly, Studies in Short Fiction, Colby Quarterly, and American Literary Realism.  His poems have won the Morton Marr Poetry Prize and the American Literary Review Poetry Prize, and his one-act play “Augustina” won the Arts & Letters Drama Award.  

In 2008 he was awarded the University of Evansville Dean of Arts & Letters’ Teaching Award.

Dr. Brown and his wife Poem Swentzell have been to Harlaxton twice before, with their children, Dmitri and Sadie, in the spring semesters of 2001 and 2005.

Winnifred Bryant, PhD (Miami University OH)
Associate Professor of Biology
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
bryantwm@uwec.edu

As associate professor in biology at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Winnifred Bryant is an endocrinologist by training and a researcher in the role that environmental estrogens may play in the proliferation of breast and uterine cancer.

“Fred” was born in Savannah, Georgia, earned a BS in biology from Shorter College and an MS and PhD in Zoology from Miami University OH.  She has always loved science and also enjoys reading, all kinds of music, and travelling.

Heather Campbell, PhD (York University)
Associate Professor of English
York University, Toronto, CANADA
hcampbel@yorku.ca  

Heather Campbell is associate professor in English at York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where she also served for several years as associate dean in the Faculty of Arts.  She teaches courses in renaissance and medieval literature and in poetry, and is a recipient of The Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.

She has published on Shakespeare, Marvell and Elizabeth I, and her current fascination is with women writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, on both sides of the Atlantic. 

While in residence as a visiting fellow at Harlaxton, she is competing work on an edited  collection of early modern women’s writing suitable for the senior undergraduate/graduate classroom, beginning an edition of an unpublished diary, and completing an article on the textured language of the women prophets.  She hopes also to sing in a choir, get to know a part of England she hasn’t much visited, see lots of theatre, and make some new friends. 

 

Andrew McMichael, PhD (Vanderbilt University)
Associate Professor of History
Assistant Dean of Arts and Sciences
Western Kentucky University
Andrew.mcmichael@wku.edu

Andrew McMichael’s teaching and research interests focus on the colonial American Atlantic World, with special emphasis on British colonial North America and its connections with Latin America.  His first monograph, Atlantic Loyalties: Americans in Spanish West Florida, 1785-1810, has been published by the University of Georgia Press.

More recently, Dr. McMichael’s interests have included the history of food and drink, with particular attention to alcohol consumption.  His interest in the uses of computers in teaching history has led to his involvement with the Ecclesiastical Sources in Slave Societies project, which "advanc[es] the study of slavery and the African diaspora by identifying, inventorying, and creating a digital archive of rich, underutilized, and at-risk ecclesiastical sources for Africans and persons of African descent in Brazil, Cuba, and the Spanish circum-Caribbean." Additionally he wrote a short book on teaching students how to use the internet to do history, and he uses computer games to simulate real-life historical situations.

As assistant dean, Dr. McMichael is engaged in curriculum development and grant writing.

Wesley Milner, PhD (University of North Texas)
Professor of Political Science
Chair, Department of Law, Politics, and Society
University of Evansville
wm23@evansville.edu

Wesley Milner is Director of the International Studies Program, Chair of the Department of Law, Politics and Society, and professor in the Igleheart

Endowed Chair in Political Science at the University of Evansville. His primary teaching role centers on international relations courses such as Politics of the Global Economy, Human Rights, International Law, and U.S. Foreign Policy.

Born and raised in Texas, Milner obtained a B.A. in economics and German from the University of Texas and an M.A. from the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. He received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of North Texas. His career began in Washington, D.C. where he spent several years as a researcher for a government contractor, working closely with a number of security groups such as the National Security Agency and the Department of Defense.

Professor Milner’s international experience includes previously serving as a visiting professor at Harlaxton College and at Tokoha Gakuin University in Shizuoka, Japan as well as research travel in Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Eastern/Southern Africa. Recently, he was a visiting professor with the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea, circumnavigating the globe in just over 100 days.  

His research, focusing on globalization and human rights, has appeared in Human Rights Quarterly, the Journal of Private Enterprise, Sociological Quarterly, International Studies, and a number of edited volumes including Essential Readings in Human Rights from Lynne Reiner Publishers.

Wes is accompanied at Harlaxton by his wife, Susan, and two ever-energetic children, Madison (15) and Michael (11).

J. D. Parr, PhD (University of Kansas)
Professor of Music
Baker University
jd.parr@bakeru.edu

J.D. Parr is Professor of Music at Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas, where he teaches classes in woodwinds, theory, music education, and directs the jazz ensemble.  He holds degrees from Washburn University, Michigan State University, and the University of Kansas.

In 2007, Dr. Parr was given the “Distinguished Scholarship Award” by Baker University as well as the “Kopke Award for Distinguished Teaching”, the university’s highest honor to a member of the faculty.

He has been principal clarinetist in the Topeka Symphony Orchestra since 1990 and has taught and played principal clarinet at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, near Muskegon, Michigan, since 1984, where he performs in the Festival Band, Orchestra, Opera Orchestra, and various chamber music groups.  In 2009, Blue Lake inducted Dr. Parr into their permanent “Distinguished Faculty Gallery,” a Hall of Fame honoring certain faculty who have served there for over twenty years.

Dr. Parr taught at Harlaxton College in the fall of 2004, accompanied by daughters Annie and Ellie, and his wife Nancy.  This year Ellie and Nancy are in residence, with possible visits from Annie and new husband, Trey. 

Mahmoud Sadri, PhD (New School University)
Professor of Sociology
Texas Woman’s University
msadri@twu.edu

Mahmoud Sadri is a professor of sociology at Texas Woman’s University and the Federation of North Texas Area Universities.  He received his BA and MA degrees from the University of Tehran and his PhD from the New School University in New York City in 1988.  His major expertise  includes Comparative Sociology of Religion, Sociology of Culture, and Theoretical Sociology.  His area interests are: Middle Eastern and Iranian studies, and Islamic Reformation.

Dr. Sadri’s most recent books include: Migration, Globalization, and Ethnic Relations, Prentice Hall, 2003, with Mohsen Mobasher; and Reason, Freedom, and Democracy In Islam: The Essential Writings of  Abdolkarim Soroush, Oxford University Press, 2000, with Ahmad Sadri.

His most recent articles and book chapters include “Delegitimizing the Islamic Republic of Iran with a Fatwa” in The People Reloaded: the Green Movement and the Struggle for Iran’s Future, (ed. Hashemi and Postel), Melville House, New York, 2011;  “Iranian Caper: Notes on a Culture of Liminal Predation” in Proceedings of the Conference on “Iran Faces the 21st Century, Yale University Press, 2011; and “Mohammad Khatami: The Accidental President,” in: Oxford Handbook of Islam and Politics, Oxford University Press, 2011. 

See also "Legal Opinion as Political Action " in: Media, Power, and Politics in the Digital Age: The 2009 Presidential Election Uprising in Iran, Rowman & Littlefield, 2010, with Ahmad Sadri; “Iranian Caper: Notes on a Culture of Liminal Predation” in: “Iran Faces the 21st Century, (Yale University Press, 2010); “Weber and the Straussian Charge of Relativism” in Max Weber Matters: Interweaving Past and Present (Ashgate, 2008), with Ahmad Sadri; “People’s Temple: From Social Movement to Total Institution” in: Social Movements: Contemporary Perspectives, (Cambridge Scholarly Publishing, 2008); “Islamic Socialism” and “Islamic Liberalism,” Entries in: Iran Today: An Encyclopedia of Life in the Islamic Republic. (Greenwood Press, 2008); “Three Faces Of Dissent: Discontent in Contemporary Iran” in: Iran Faces the New Century, Rutgers University Press, 2008; “Terrorism as Suicidal Homicide” in  Understanding Terrorism: Analysis of Sociological and Psychological Approaches (IOS Press, vol. 22, 2007); “Premonitions of Interfaith Dialogue,” in: Interreligious Insight, January, 2006; “Sacral Defense of Secularism” in Intellectual Trends in 20th Century Iran, 2003. Florida University; “Good News about Modernity” in The Living Legacy of Marx, Durkheim, & Weber, Volume II, March, 2000,  New York, Gordian Knot Books. 

In addition to his English publications, Mahmoud Sadri frequently speaks in public forums, writes for Iranian reform newspapers and journals, and is interviewed by international news organizations such as NPR, BBC, Radio France, Voice of America, and Radio Australia concerning developments in Iran, Islam, and the Middle East.

Paul Thomas, PhD (Monash University AUSTRALIA)
Professor of Physics and Astronomy
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
thomaspj@uwec.edu

Dr. Thomas was born in the West Midlands of England, and moved to Australia with his family at the age of 11. He completed his academic training in Australia, earning a B.Sc (Honours) from Wollongong University and a PhD in Mathematics from Monash University.

After graduation, he was a postdoctoral scientist both at NASA's Ames Research Center and Cornell University and a visiting lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley. He joined the Eau Claire faculty in 1989.

In 2010, Dr. Thomas was awarded the University of Wisconsin Regents Teaching Excellence Award, given annually to just two faculty members in the 11-campus University of Wisconsin system.

His interests lie in the computational modeling of planetary science, the study of the planets of the solar system (and now of hundreds of planets known to orbit other stars). In particular, he has studied the evidence of oceans of water inside the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn and the effects that the collisions of asteroids and comets have had on the history of life on Earth. He has been the lead editor on two benchmark books on the latter topic, Comets and the Origins and Evolution of Life, Springer, 1996 (first edition) and 2010 (second edition).

Tamara Wandel, PhD (Argosy University)
Associate Professor of Sociology
University of Evansville
tw33@evansville.edu

Dr. Wandel is associate professor of communication at the University of Evansville. With the same birthday as Dr. Seuss, she shares an affinity for whimsy, books, and writing. While her own work is a little less colorful and much less read, she has published in books and peer-reviewed journals on topics ranging from experiential education, pedagogical approaches to social media, and authenticity of personal and corporate voices.

Her days as a journalist and director of public relations in New York--and studies at the University of Indiana, Argosy University of Sarasota FL, and the State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany-served as a springboard to her current teachings in media writing, strategic public relations, and news copyediting.

She was a 2009 and 2010 Fellow of the Society of New Communications Research, is a MarCom Creative Award Winner for her work in media relations, and is APR-accredited through the Public Relations Society of America. She has lectured at Queensland University in Australia, Harvard University in the United States, and the University of Reading in England.

Her husband Eric accompanies her at Harlaxton, along with Brock (age 10), who engages “real” football (soccer) in England, and Layla (age 7), who brings her own brand of the American game of basketball to the UK. Both kids love reading, strumming the guitar, and playing chess. Most of all, they (along with their mom) are intrepid explorers of the secret passageways at Harlaxton Manor.

Edward Yager, PhD (University of California at Santa Barbara)
Professor of Political Science
Western Kentucky University
edward.yager@wku.edu

Ed Yager is a Visiting Fellow at Harlaxton College for 2011-12.  His Ph.D. in political science is from the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he specialized in American politics, political philosophy, and public administration.  Dr. Yager has taught a plethora of courses in American politics and political theory for almost twenty years at Western Kentucky University (WKU).  In 2000, he was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award for Potter College of Arts and Sciences from the Student Government Association of WKU.

Dr. Yager is the author of Ronald Reagan’s Journey (Rowman and Littlefield, 2006) and his articles have been published in The National Civic Review, Politics, The Ecomomic Development Review, and Campaigns and Elections.  In 2006, he was an Academic Visitor at the London School of Economics and Political Science undertaking collaborative research with Dr. Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey.  Their work will be published in Presidential Studies Quarterly. 

While at Harlaxton, Dr. Yager is again working at the London School of Economics and Political Science on a project that explores the philosophical foundations of modern liberal citizenship.