One of the requirements that comes with the territory of being a professor is the publication of articles or papers in various books or academic journals. We often forget that on top of teaching, professors are usually busy conducting research, tearing through sources, and editing and revising what they've already written. Members of the English faculty from the Longwood Department of English and Modern Languages have been particularly busy lately with their own pending publications. The following literature-lovers are currently working on various contributions to their field that will hopefully see publication within the next year or two.
Associate Professor of English, E. Derek Taylor, is currently working on several projects. He recently finished an essay on 18th century notions of heaven that has been accepted and is set to be published in a book of essays due to be released in about a year. Dr. Taylor has also been working on a long-term project he described as, "exciting stuff." He is working with Cambridge University Press on a multi-volume series collection of the works of English writer Samuel Richardson. Dr. Taylor has previously published articles on Richardson's works, and is working on editing Richardson's last work, The History of Sir Charles Grandison, for the multi-volume series. Dr. Taylor is also working on co-editing the literary academic journal The Scriblerian and the Kit-Cats with the assistance of student internship assistant Jessica Stafford.
Dr. Robert L. Lynch, associate professor of English, is currently working on a book on American author Willa Cather and Impressionism. He is co-authoring the book with his wife, Dr. Sonja Lynch, who is an associate professor of English at Wartburg College in Waverly, IA. Lynch said, "I've been working on it for close to a decade," and he hopes to finish it and get it printed within the next year or so.
Associate Professor of English Larissa "Kat" Tracy is currently on sabbatical, and is using her time away from teaching to put the finishing touches on her book, Torture and Brutality in Medieval Literature: Negotiations in National Identity. This is Dr. Tracy's second book overall and it is the culmination of many years of research. "I have spent more than six years working on this book in some form or another, but I didn't actually sit down and write the manuscript until 2008," said Dr. Tracy. The book focuses on the reality of the use of torture in medieval times. Dr. Tracy reported, "Ever since Pulp Fiction, the general public seems to equate ‘medieval' with ‘torture', and I'm trying to disprove that by looking closely at the literary sources." The book is due out in February 2012, and Dr. Tracy received a generous grant from the Cook-Cole College of Arts and Science Faculty Excellence Fund to help cut the publishing cost, ultimately making the book more affordable for the general public.
While impossible to include every professor from every department on campus, all of them are constantly working on interesting projects alongside of teaching. Most of them are also more than happy to share what they are working on when students ask them. Sometimes professors are even looking for students to contribute ideas or quotes for papers or articles, which can easily earn a student a citation as a student contributor in a published, academic text. So next time you have some free time in between classes and see a professor with an open office door, pop in and ask them how they are and what are they currently working on.
