Introductory statement (teaching/research/personal interests): I have a passion for cultural exchange through reading, conversation, research and travel, and I'm always fascinated with connections between stories and cultures. Colonization and insight are both possible outcomes when we go to stories for cultural information, so that thoughtful reading is called for (to avoid the former).  The rewards are great: stories make available so much we need to know about our human and global connectedness.  Some of my favorite recent cultural exchange experiences: reading and teaching Kenji Yoshino’s Covering, tutoring a Rwandan refugee at King County jail for two years, being a WILPF delegate at an international Jerusalem peace conference, partnering with Cuban women for improved US-Cuba relations, and (in 1992) working with Mother Teresa in Calcutta.

Interests: Multicultural Literature and Literacy, US Literature, Service Learning, Global Feminisms, Inclusive Pedagogies

Current and Recent Courses: Introduction to Literature 120 (Literary Appetites: Food Matters; Doubt Has Designs on You; Home | Homeless | Homeland; Reading Politics); College Writing Seminar 110 (Uncovering Civil Rights; Passion for Community; Borderlands; Global Citizenship and Redress Movements); Introduction to Women’s Studies

Dream or Future Courses: Mother Teresa and Fidel Castro: Justice Stories; Negotiating White Privilege; Cuban Women’s Literature