Gustavus Adolphus College

Professor
English and Environmental Studies

As an American Studies professor and scholar, I teach all periods of American literature. I'm especially interested in the relationship between people and place—how a given environment shapes and is shaped by individuals, groups, society—and how this relationship plays out in literature, painting, photography and other aspects of American culture. I've published two books so far on this subject: Nature Writing: The Pastoral Impulse in America (1996), and Mountains of Memory: A Fire Lookout's Life in the River of No Return Wilderness (2001).

My current book project focuses on the prehistoric culture of the Southwest known as the Anasazi and how this "cliff dweller culture" has been represented by Euroamericans in art and literature. When not teaching and writing I am, depending on the season, hiking, biking, canoeing, cross-country skiing or snowshoeing in a nearby or far-off wilderness.

Interests

• American literature and culture
• Environmental and Western American literature
• Native American literature and culture