A Bit About Me
I am an Associate Professor in the English Department of Howard University. I also teach the Introduction to LGBTQ+ Black Studies and the Cornerstone: African/African Diaspora from Antiquity to the present day, both housed in Interdisciplinary Studies.
My research focuses on histories of enslavement, empire, literary/print networks, digital humanities, games studies, and queer/gender studies. This allows me to publish and speak on a range of subjects: from representations of the Sultana Roxelana/Hürrem Sultan to the autobiography of Olaudah Equiano to indie game adaptations of Jane Austen.
Originally from Clovis, California, I hold doctorate and masters degrees from the University of California, San Diego, and a bachelors from Scripps College: The Women's College (The Claremont Colleges). My more recent training continues to draw on multiple fields, such as Digital Humanities workshops, courses at Rare Book School, and the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research
Recent Publications
a pedagogical chapter on women's participation in British abolition in Robin Runia's (Xavier University of Louisiana) The Future of Feminist Eighteenth-Century Scholarship: Beyond Recovery (Routledge 2017);
a Special Issue of ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640-1830 on Camp in the 18th Century 9.1 (2019) co-edited with Dr. Ula Klein (University of Wisconsin-Osh Kosh).
an article in the Summer 2021 issue of Persuasions, ““Avoiding” Racism: Race and Representation in Austen-Inspired Games” co-authored with Dr. Emily Friedman (Auburn University)
Some current Projects
new digital and book projects focused on networks, women, slavery, and empire, including an ever-expanding examination of Mary Prince’s role within transatlantic abolitionist networks;
a collaborative multi-platform project with Dr. Emily Friedman (Auburn University) on representations of race, gender, and sexuality in tabletop and video games set in the long eighteenth century.
A Few Past Projects
Representations of Islam and the Ottoman Empire in the British Isles:
My first book, Sway of the Ottoman Empire on English Identity in the Long Eighteenth Century, was published in 2012 as part of Brill’s Studies in Intellectual History series, and in 2015, I co-edited and contributed to the edited volume Ottoman Empire And European Theatre. Vol. III: Images Of The Harem In Literature And Theatre, part of the Don Juan Archiv in Vienna's Ottomania series.
Public History work on the African diaspora in colonial New England
I served as a member of multiple committees for the 23 August 2015 Middle Passage Port Marker Ceremony to recognizes Boston's role in chattel slavery in the Americas, including co-authoring and managing the event website (Formerly at BostonMiddlePassage.org, to be moved to a more sustainable home), and served as currently the national liaison to Rhode Island Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project. I am currently a member of the Advisory Board for the national organization, the Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project.
