She has taught in such diverse places as Missouri, Indiana, Japan, and South Korea and has an insatiable curiosity about the cultural issues that find their inflection in mythic and literary expressions. Debra's research interests center mainly on American Indian writers, and most particularly on the notion of the journey as trope and theme. She teaches both the introductory and advanced course in American Indian literature, as well as American literature surveys and composition. I emphasize class discussion and hope that students come away with an appreciation for the richness of oral and written forms of Indian literary expressions, as well as for the holistic nature of tribal art. To that end, I ask students to work collaboratively to research, develop, and share presentations on historical events, political and cultural issues, dance, art, and related forms of artistic expression.
Students keep a reading journal and write two papers.
I have organized the reading and themes of this course in response to Black Elk's observations, inviting students to respond to a range of traditional and contemporary literary forms that treat passages of healing, the recovery of identity, and the celebration of cultural continuity. We examine the ways in which contemporary storytellers draw upon traditional themes and narrative conventions, linking the oral tradition and written literary forms, and illuminating the essential unity of the past and the present. During the course, students write two to three papers.