Education
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Ph.D. in English,The Pennsylvania State University, expected December 2010
Dissertation: Surviving the Narrative Self: Cognitive Disability in Contemporary Fiction
Committee: Susan Squier (Director), Michael Bérubé, Janet Lyon, Chloe Silverman
M.A. in English, The Pennsylvania State University, May 2005
B.A. in English and Biology, Austin College, January 2002
Research Interests
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20th and 21st century British and American literature, cultural studies of science and medicine, disability studies, science fiction, graphic novels
Publications
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- “No Life Lessons Here: Comics, Autism, and Empathetic Scholarship.” Disability Studies Quarterly 30.1 (2010).
- "Review of Art Spiegelman’s In the Shadow of No Towers." Journal of Medical Humanities 28.3 (2007): 181-183.
Presentations
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“It’s Not Brain Science (or is it?): The Influence of Contemporary Fiction on Neuroscience.” Upcoming presentation for the Society for Science, Literature, and the Arts 24th Annual Conference. Indianapolis, IN, October 28-31, 2010.
“Reading Memory: Brain Damage and Selfhood in Umberto Eco’s The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana.” Northeast Modern Language Association Convention. Boston, MA, February 26-March 1, 2009.
“Paper Memories, Elastic Minds: Re-cognizing the Self after Brain Trauma.” Society for Science, Literature, and the Arts 22nd Annual Conference. Charlotte, NC, November 13-16, 2008.
“Visual (Re)Narrations of Disability: Comics, Autism, and Empathetic Scholarship.” Society for the Study of Narrative Literature International Conference on Narrative. Austin, TX, May 1-4, 2008.
“Private ‘I’s and Public Minds: Disability, Detective Novels, and Narrative.” Society for the Study of Narrative Literature International Conference on Narrative. Washington D.C., March 15-18, 2007.
Teaching Experience
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Lecturer, Rice University, 2010-present.
Introduction to Academic Writing
Communication 103: 3 sections, 15 students each.
Instructor, The Pennsylvania State University, 2003-2009.
Science Fiction
English 191: 1 section, 100 students.
Technical Writing
English 202C: 1 section, 24 students.
Writing for the Social Sciences/Ethnographic Writing
English 202A: 3 sections, 24 students each.
Rhetoric and Composition
English 15: 4 sections, 24 students each.
Multicultural Engineering Program (MEP) Summer Academic Enrichment
Introduction to Rhetoric and Composition: 2 sections, 18 students each.
Undergraduate Writing Center Tutor
English 5: 1 semester, tutored 9 students weekly.
Professional Activities
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Teaching with Technology Certificate, Spring 2008
Coordinator, Science Studies Reading Group, 2007-2009
Panel Organizer, Penn State Women’s Studies Graduate Organization Annual Conference, 2006
Penn State Disability Studies Reading Group
Penn State Science Studies Reading Group
Penn State Feminist Science Studies Reading Group
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- Northeast Modern Language Association Graduate Caucus Essay Award
- William L. and Josephine Barry Weiss Graduate Fellowship, 2003-2004, 2009-2010
- Rock Ethics Institute Dissertation Fellowship, 2008-2009
- Science, Medicine, Technology in Culture research grant, 2007-2008
- WPSU-SMTC Public Service Media (PSM) Graduate Fellow 2006-2007
- Austin College Distinguished Achievement Award ($40,000), 1997-2001
- National Merit Foundation Corporate Scholarship ($32,000), 1997-2001
Professional Affiliations
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- Modern Language Association
- Northeast Modern Language Association
- Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts
- Society for the Study of Narrative Literature
References
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Please email me at sbirge@rice.edu for references or for more information.