2006
After brief, exploratory stints in finance and in non-profit publishing, I entered a Ph.D. program in English in 2008. I now teach and study the cultural history of animals and the environment, with a special focus on the Victorian era.
I have always loved science and nature, and I arrived at Duke certain that I was going to be a biologist. I quickly discovered, however, that I was gaining more practical knowledge--about myself, about the world, and about how to communicate with others--in my English courses than I was in my science classes. My biology major became a biology minor, and I majored in English instead. I have never regretted it. Duke's English program taught me to critically investigate the world and my relationship to it. It made me a better thinker, a better writer, and a more self-aware human being. Best of all, ten years after getting my English degree, I still get to study the natural world and share that passion with others: as an Assistant Professor of English who focuses on animal studies and the environmental humanities, I have effectively combined my loves for nature and for language into a single, deeply satisfying career. That is, I think, the true power of the English major--it offers a skill set that enhances your ability to pursue all your other interests, however separate from literary study they may initially seem.
English Department