Areas of Interest |
Southern Gothic, Victorian Gothic, Caribbean Studies, Gender Studies, Queer Theory, Disability Studies, Louisiana Literature, Creole Studies, Afro-Diasporic Literature, Afro-Formalism
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On May 8th, 2025, I graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with my PhD.
Thanks to my hooding professor, Dr. Michael Aderibigbe! |
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Dissertation Defense
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On Feb. 7th, 2025, I successfully defended my doctoral dissertation!
Thanks to my wonderful committee: Dr. Michael Aderibigbe (Chair), Dr. Alexandra Valint, Dr. Emily Stanback, Dr. Christopher Spaide, and Dr. Luis Iglesias Dissertation: Revnan / Rakontèr |
Research
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The Historic New Orleans Collection, Summer 2023
Derven Scholar, worked with THNOC education staff to plan, create, and facilitate educational programs or develop resources that can be used in K-12 classrooms. This involved oral history interviews with Louisiana Creoles: I amassed 16 interviews and 1450 minutes of interviews. The Gravestone Project, Pursuing a digital humanities exhibit, I considered memorialization culture among Louisiana Creoles. This included field visits to cemeteries around S. Louisiana, observation, photographing, and cataloging grave headings, symbolism, and items left on graves. This also included an IRB-approved qualitative survey about Louisiana Creole and Cajun memorialization culture (Dr. Christopher Spaide overseeing IRB survey). |
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Conference Presentations
“The Dead are Always with Us; To ‘Dance the Person Home’: Louisiana Creole Memorialization
and Funerary Practices,” Undead Souths Panel, American Literary Association Conference,
Boston, MA, May 2025.
"Circum-Caribbean Creolized Storytelling: Louisiana and Caribbean Writers of the Long Nineteenth Century." Nineteenth Century Studies Association (46th annual), New Orleans, LA, Mar. 2025.
"Where does Louisiana Fit? Finding Space for Louisiana and Louisiana Literature in the Caribbean/Circum-Caribbean." Gulf South History and Humanities Conference. Pensacola, Florida. Oct. 2024.
"Writing Southern." Society for the Study of Southern Literature. Gulf Port, MS. June. 2024.
"Re-Reading Queer Dracula: Gender Variance in Bram Stoker’s Novel.” Interdisciplinary Nineteenth-Century Studies 2024, Cincinnati, OH.
"The Many Faces of ‘Creole’: Navigating Diverse Experiences Across the Louisiana Creole Diaspora." Louisiana Creole Research Association Conference, New Orleans, LA, November, 2023.
“Creole Monsters: Circum-Atlantic Cultural Reproductions as Creatures to be Feared.” PCA South, New Orleans, LA, September, 2023.
“‘You and others shall yet be mine’: Gender Fluidity, Queer Desire, and Polyamory in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.” PCA/ACA, San Antonio, TX, April, 2023.
“‘My only fault was being sick’: Resistance, Disability, and Race in Mary Prince’s History.” NASSR, Huntsville, TX, March, 2023.
“‘I wouldn’t give myself’: Understanding The Awakening’s Contentious Conclusion through Narrative Voice.” International Conference on Narrative, Dallas, TX, March, 2023.
and Funerary Practices,” Undead Souths Panel, American Literary Association Conference,
Boston, MA, May 2025.
"Circum-Caribbean Creolized Storytelling: Louisiana and Caribbean Writers of the Long Nineteenth Century." Nineteenth Century Studies Association (46th annual), New Orleans, LA, Mar. 2025.
"Where does Louisiana Fit? Finding Space for Louisiana and Louisiana Literature in the Caribbean/Circum-Caribbean." Gulf South History and Humanities Conference. Pensacola, Florida. Oct. 2024.
"Writing Southern." Society for the Study of Southern Literature. Gulf Port, MS. June. 2024.
"Re-Reading Queer Dracula: Gender Variance in Bram Stoker’s Novel.” Interdisciplinary Nineteenth-Century Studies 2024, Cincinnati, OH.
"The Many Faces of ‘Creole’: Navigating Diverse Experiences Across the Louisiana Creole Diaspora." Louisiana Creole Research Association Conference, New Orleans, LA, November, 2023.
“Creole Monsters: Circum-Atlantic Cultural Reproductions as Creatures to be Feared.” PCA South, New Orleans, LA, September, 2023.
“‘You and others shall yet be mine’: Gender Fluidity, Queer Desire, and Polyamory in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.” PCA/ACA, San Antonio, TX, April, 2023.
“‘My only fault was being sick’: Resistance, Disability, and Race in Mary Prince’s History.” NASSR, Huntsville, TX, March, 2023.
“‘I wouldn’t give myself’: Understanding The Awakening’s Contentious Conclusion through Narrative Voice.” International Conference on Narrative, Dallas, TX, March, 2023.
Awards & Honors
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Innovation Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Research, University of Southern Mississippi, 2024.
James Sims Literature Scholarship Endowment for Best English Graduate Student Paper, University of Southern Mississippi, 2024. James Sims Literature Scholarship Endowment for Best English Graduate Student Paper, University of Southern Mississippi, 2023. The Ben Mounger Rawls Award Endowment for Outstanding Creative Writing Student, University of Southern Mississippi, 2023. Partners for the Arts Emerging Artist Award, University of Southern Mississippi, 2023. College of Arts and Sciences Graduate Student Travel Award, University of Southern Mississippi, 2023. Howard Wilson and Helen V. Bahr Scholarship Endowment, University of Southern Mississippi, 2023. EGO Graduate Student Travel Award, University of Southern Mississippi, 2023. Graduate Student Travel Bursary, North American Society for the Study of Romanticism, 2023. |
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