(updated April 18, 2023)
In addition to a BA in History & Anthropology, I have an MS from through the Physics Department (Interdisciplinary: Audio Technology & Visual Media/Communications) at American University 2000. I’m an indefinitely pandemic-paused MA student in Public Anthropology (Biological Anthropology & Archaeology).
I can sometimes be found out in the wild on conference & convention panels relating to Horror & Gothic Fiction & Media, American Nuclear Culture, Children’s Horror, Haunted Houses in Fiction & Film, Ghost Tourism, and, of course, Archaeology & Anthropology in Horror Media.
Recent Publications:
“A Panic on the 4th of July: Municipal Malfeasance, Mutation, and Monstrosity in Barry
Levinson’s The Bay” in The Anthropocene and the Undead: Cultural Anxieties in the Contemporary Popular Imagination, edited by Simon Bacon (Lexington Books, 2022).
“A Lady of Undeniable Gifts but Dubious Reputation”: Reading Theodora in The Haunting of Hill House in Shirley Jackson: A Companion, edited by Kristopher Woofter (Peter Lang, 2021).
“Got Salt? Human Remains and Haunting in Supernatural” in Death in Supernatural, edited by Amanda Taylor & Susan Nylander. (McFarland, 2019).
“Aliens Did Not Build the Pyramids” and
“Alien Autopsy” in Aliens in Popular Culture, edited by Michael Levy & Farah Mendelsohnn. (Greenwood, 2019).
Recent Presentations:
2022
Be Kind, Rewind! Magic, myth, and materiality in the Netflix series Archive 81 (2022). Panelist. (MAPACA, online conference).
“That Voodoo You Do: Zombies in the Scooby-Doo Franchise, 1969-2021.” Paper. (PCA, online conference)
“A Panic on the 4th of July: Municipal Malfeasance, Mutation, and Monstrosity in Barry
Levinson’s The Bay (2012).” Paper. (StokerCon)
2021
“And a Mummy, Too! Fantasy, Horror, and Exploration Tropes in the Scooby-Doo Franchise, 1969-2021.” Paper. (MAPACA, online conference).
2019
“A Post-Colonial Reading of Scooby Apocalypse and Meddling Kids.” Paper. (International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts/IAFA).
“Hill House to Hell House: Haunted Houses in American Fiction.” Panelist. (PCA/ACA).
“Reading Colonialism and Power in The Mummy (2017).” Paper. (PCA/ACA).
“Biotechnology, Human Evolution, and Sustainability in Fiction.” Panel Chair. (Escape Velocity Convention, Museum of Science Fiction).
“Reading Race, Gender, and Colonialism in Scooby Apocalypse (2016-2019).” Paper. (MAPACA)
2018
“Frankenstein and the Nuclear Gothic.” Invited Talk. (Shenandoah University, Virginia)
“The Nuclear Gothic of Frankenstein Versus Baragon.” Paper. (ICFA)
I’ve Seen Things, Now Let’s Talk About Them: A Roundtable Discussion on Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049. Panel organizer/Moderator. (ICFA)
50 Years on the Planet of the Apes (Pop Track). Moderator. (Museum of Science Fiction/Escape Velocity)
Alien Anatomy (Science Track). Panelist. (Museum of Science Fiction/Escape Velocity)
“Watch your Back for the Men in Black: an anthropological consideration of paranormal tourism at three iconic horror film locations.” Paper. (MAPACA)
Disability & Accessibility in the Classroom. Panelist. (MAPACA)
Death in Supernatural. Panelist. (SWAPACA)
2017
The Word Made Flesh: Metafiction in the TV Show Supernatural. Panelist. (ICFA)
Brotherly Love Will Keep Us Together: A Roundtable on Gender, Sexuality, Monstrosity, Metafiction, and More in TV’s Supernatural. Panelist. (MAPACA)
“Spanish Moss and Alligator Dung: The Power of the Swamp in American Horror Story: Coven.” Paper. (Southern American Studies Association Conference)
2016
“A Disability Studies Approach to Reading the Materiality of the Body in American Horror Story: Coven.” Paper. (MAPACA)
2015
“Felines and Phantasms: Transformation in Stephen King’s novel, Pet Sematary” (MAPACA)
2014
“A World Where Apes Evolved from Men? A Planet of the Apes roundtable discussion.” Panelist/Chair. (MAPACA)
“There Will be Blood: A Conversation about 21st Century Horror.” Panelist. (PCA/ACA)
“Show Me the Mummy: Egyptian Mummies in American Feature Films.” Paper. (PCA/ACA)
2013
“Unearthing Horrors: Representations of Archaeology in American Feature Films.” Paper. (MAPACA)
“The Agency of Human Remains on Supernatural.” Paper. (PCA/ACA)