BIO
I came to teaching after being an accountant, a technical writer, and a corporate trainer, so doing all of these jobs made me realize how important it is to be able to write well and be adept at critical analysis. My goal is always that students in my classes walk away with something that helps them in their lives outside the classroom. Whether they’re reading a novel written in 1946 or watching a documentary from 2018, I want them to make a connection to what matters today.
My research focuses on analyzing gender, national identity, and performance in a variety of contexts—from Harry Potter to reality TV. I teach courses for the English Education program and classes in American literature, including Major Author classes on contemporary playwrights.
PUBLICATIONS
Recipient of the Ray and Pat Browne Award for Best Edited Collection in Popular Culture by the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association. Supersizing the Family: Nation, Gender and Recession on Reality TV. Reality Gendervision, Ed Brenda Weber. Duke University Press, 2014.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv123x62m?turn_away=true
RECENT BOOK
“Before the Ever After” by Jacqueline Woodson
Literature is an incredible way to “live” some of someone else’s experience, The empathy you develop by doing so has the power to change the world.
-rebecca stephens
FUN FACT
When she was growing up, she wanted to be a spy.
FAVORITE QUOTE
“Without community, there is no liberation.” – Audre Lorde