He specializes in 19th century American literature and film. His book Men Beyond Desire: Manhood, Sex, and Violation in American Literature (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005) examines the recurrent figure of the isolate, emotionally and sexually unavailable male in Classic American literature. His work on literature has appeared in journals such as American Quarterly, Genders and The Nathaniel Hawthorne Review. Greven has written articles on film and television for such journals as Cineaste, Cineaction, Reel Food, Action Chicks and Reading Sex and the City. Among his passions are Milton, Hawthorne, Poe, Hitchcock, Bette Davis, Classic Star Trek, and De Palma.