Audacity and Humility: ACU Master's Students in Language and Literature

Dr. Shelly Sanders presented an original piece of writing this past week at SWPACA entitled "If These Clothes Could Talk: A Memoir in Pieces."

Though ice kept her from her original travel plans, Dr. Sanders listened to the novel "Station Eleven" by Emily St. John Mandel while snacking on her favorite road trip snack: popcorn!

Dr. Sanders was inspired to write her poems about this topic because "the garments we put on every day define and shape our lives, and so does poetry."

She was extremely excited to attend SWPACA this year to visit a new city and attend a new conference. Thank you for representing our school this past week!

Dr. Cole Bennett made his way to Florida this past week to present at TYCA-SE (Two-Year College Association-Southeast).

Dr. Bennett's favorite travel snack is blueberry muffins, and he can be found listening to the entire album of Shangri-La by Mark Knopfler while traveling.

Dr. Bennett presented his paper "Investing in the Future of our Profession: Lessons Learned from Five Years of Post-Master's Fellowship." The program on which he reported is a unique program started between ACU and Chattanooga State Community College, which is what makes the research so exciting.

When asked about his favorite part of the conference, Dr. Bennett replied: "The fun participants! Those people are very friendly and love each other. Also, the food."

Thank you for representing our school well this past week!

Our next feature is MA student Meg Cline!

Her favorite road trip snack is Mike and Ike's and she can be found listening to anything by Ellie Williams while on the road!

She will be presenting her paper entitled "Fighting Dementors: Depression Manifested in the Wizarding World's Most Fearsome Monster." When asked about her interest in the topic she answered "I am a big Harry Potter fan and wanted to talk more about the continuing field of bibliotherapy!"

She is most looking forward to the experience of presenting and getting to hear her peers present as well!

Elizabeth Miller is another one of our MA/GA students that will be presenting at SWPACA this week!

Elizabeth's favorite road trip snack is Cheeze-Its and she can absolutely be found listening to As Long As You Love Me by the Backstreet Boys while traveling!

Elizabeth will be giving a presentation entitled "Project Safe Neighborhoods, The Better Block, and Placemaking: Returning Agency to Urban Residents through Applied Ecocriticism." When asked why she was interested in this topic she responded "I’ve always been really interested in justice. The subject of this study—a pop-up park in a high-crime block intended to reduce crime and give the community some power over their own neighborhood—is, I think, a form of justice. I’m fascinated by how partnering with the community to make changes to a physical space can have real, positive impacts on the safety and social behavior of the people there."

We are so glad to have you representing us at SWPACA! Best of luck!

Our next SWPACA feature is MA student and GA Michaella Roach!

Michaella's favorite road trip snack is trail mix (minus the raisins-she passes those to her car companions) and you can definitely find her listening to Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus while on the road!

Michaella will be presenting her paper entitled "Gothic Portrayals of Women Applied to Female Antagonists in the Harry Potter Novels." She has always been interested in gender studies and, after her opportunity to study Harry Potter in her undergraduate career, found herself captivated by Rowling's depiction of women who do not align themselves according to traditional gender roles.

Michaella is excited to see what others who also love Harry Potter have learned from these books.

Best of luck presenting this week!

"The next of our SWPACA highlights is first-year MA Student and GA Rebecca McIntosh!

Rebecca's go to road trip snack is Reese’s Fast Break and Red Bull and she is guaranteed to be playing “Life for Rent” by Dido on her way to Albuquerque this week!

Rebecca will be presenting her paper "Agential Realism and Native American Philosophy." She explains "I have always loved finding ways to apply scientific concepts to philosophy, and I found that Indigenous philosophy and literature had a lot in common with the concepts presented in quantum mechanics."

Rebecca is most looking forward to meeting scholars from all over that share her interests, and meeting new people with ideas that challenge or complement her own scope of understanding.

We wish you the best of luck this week!"

The next of our SWPACA highlights is first-year MA Student and GA Rebecca McIntosh! Rebecca's go to road trip snack is Reese’s Fast Break and Red Bull and she is guaranteed to be playing “Life for Rent” by Dido on her way to Albuquerque this week! Rebecca will be presenting her paper "Agential Realism and Native American Philosophy." She explains "I have always loved finding ways to apply scientific concepts to philosophy, and I found that Indigenous philosophy and literature had a lot in common with the concepts presented in quantum mechanics." Rebecca is most looking forward to meeting scholars from all over that share her interests, and meeting new people with ideas that challenge or complement her own scope of understanding. We wish you the best of luck this week!

"The first of our SWPACA scholars to be highlighted is Dr. Bill Carroll!

His favorite roadtrip snack: Twizzlers!
Song that'll definitely be playing on his trip to SWPACA: "Black Water" by the Doobie Brothers

Dr. Carroll will be presenting his paper "The Rhizomatic Nature of Narratives Emerging from Table-Top Role-Playing Games" while in Albuquerque.

"I think communal narratives are understudied, and a possible antidote to the elevation of the individual caused by our current model of authorship/authority." He is looking forward to listening to the new ideas of others and the after-session conversations that open a window to what is on the horizon!"

The first of our SWPACA scholars to be highlighted is Dr. Bill Carroll! His favorite roadtrip snack: Twizzlers! Song that'll definitely be playing on his trip to SWPACA: "Black Water" by the Doobie Brothers Dr. Carroll will be presenting his paper "The Rhizomatic Nature of Narratives Emerging from Table-Top Role-Playing Games" while in Albuquerque. "I think communal narratives are understudied, and a possible antidote to the elevation of the individual caused by our current model of authorship/authority." He is looking forward to listening to the new ideas of others and the after-session conversations that open a window to what is on the horizon!

We are proud to be sending students and faculty to the 2022 SWPACA Conference! With research in fields all throughout American Pop Culture, we are sure our presenters will do an amazing job!

Want to learn more about each presenter? Stay tuned for updates!

More about SWPACA
"The mission of the Southwest Popular/American Culture Association (SWPACA) is to promote an innovative and nontraditional academic movement in the humanities and social sciences celebrating America’s cultural heritages, and to increase awareness and improve public perceptions of America’s cultural traditions and diverse populations. We work towards this mission by providing a professional network for scholars, writers, and others interested in popular/American culture via our annual academic conference and through our open-source, peer-reviewed academic journal, Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy. Additionally, the SWPACA has a long-standing commitment to supporting the development of new and young academic professionals in the fields of popular and/or American cultural studies through conference travel grants, paper awards, and professional development opportunities."

Such an amazing opportunity!

Check out our new instagram at to follow for more updates about our students and faculty!!

We need to open conversations in Abilene about this. A college pantry sounds like something students from the three universities and the JUCOs would benefit from.

Tuition or Dinner? Nearly Half of College Students Surveyed in a New Report Are Going Hungry Many routinely skip meals and take ‘poverty naps’ because they cannot afford groceries. Campus food pantries are helping, but are they enough?

Congratulations, Dr. Perry Harrison!

Congratulations to Language and Literature BA/MA Alum Perry Harrison on his Tenure Track appointment to Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas beginning in Fall 2019. Perry will be teaching graduate and undergraduate medieval classes as well as directing the university's medieval minor. Perry received his PhD from Baylor.

Congrats, Dr. Harrison!!!

Congratulations to Language and Literature BA/MA Alum Perry Harrison on his Tenure Track appointment to Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas beginning in Fall 2019. Perry will be teaching graduate and undergraduate medieval classes as well as directing the university's medieval minor. Perry received his PhD from Baylor.