Graduate Students

• Gamble Hall 290C
•  samuel.amendolar@UND.edu

• Gamble Hall 265J
• davina.bell@UND.edu

• Gamble Hall 265D
• casey.fuller.1@UND.edu

• Gamble Hall 265H
• charles.d.henry@UND.edu

Areas of Interest

Premodern Literatures; Mythology; Secular studies; Sociolinguistics; Postmodernism (especially race and gender); Public Humanities; Composition Theory; Distant Reading; Poetry Writing; Educational Philosophy.

Biography

Charles is interested in the effects of dominant cultures on language and society. His academic work attempts to reexamine how religion, class, and power influence constructions of race, gender, and identity within literature. Beyond his theoretical bent, Charles is interested in the discourse study of English. In his teaching he is very interested in writing as a process, developing a positive rapport with his students, and ensuring that formative assessment builds his students’ skills.

Charles grew up in the Ohio Valley, and moved to Grand Forks from Pittsburgh. He loves hiking at Turtle River or biking the Greenway, going to plays and concerts, and hanging out with his partner and their chihuahua, Steve.

Courses Taught

• ENGL 110 College Composition I
• ENGL 130 Composition II: Writing for Public Audiences
• ENGL 226 Introduction to Creative Writing
• ENGL 308 The Art of Writing Nonfiction

Selected Publications and Presentations

• “Anchorites and Intersectionality (A Roundtable).” International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, MI, 2023.
• “The Land of Cockaigne: A Tale of Clerical Authority Questioning Clerical Identity,” Northern Plains Conference on Early British Literature, Bemidji, MN, 2023.
• “Indecent Anchorholds (A Roundtable),” International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, MI, 2022.
• “The Construction of Identity and Religious Masculinity in Saint Guthlac,” Northern Plains Conference on Early British Literature, Vermillion, SD, 2022.
• “The Construction of Leprosy as Identity in Robert Henryson's The Testament of Cresseid,” Northern Plains Conference on Early British Literature, Sioux Center, IA, 2021.

• Gamble Hall 290E
• amy.kielmeyer@UND.edu

• Gamble Hall 290A
• grant.mcmillan@UND.edu

Areas of Interest

Post-1945 American Prose; Environmental Literature; Climate Fiction; Anthropological Literature; Contemporary Poetry

Biography

Grant is interested in transdisciplinary ways of knowing. In particular, he focuses on contemporary climate fiction as a generative space that co-constructs scientific fact alongside natural sciences and technologies. Within this space, he explores the role of speculative fiction as a tool for imagining alternative formulations of non-hierarchical human societies in the context of an industrialized, globalized world that is currently embroiled in an interconnected system of climate disasters.

Grant is also a photographer and is passionate about walking around and looking at things. His favorite class to teach is Literature and the Environment, which he designs to complement the other courses required by UND's transdisciplinary Environmental Studies degree.

Courses Taught

• ENGL 110 College Composition I
• ENGL 130 Composition II: Writing for Public Audiences
• ENGL 227 Literature and the Environment (Topic: The Art and Science of Observation)
• ENGL 227 Literature and the Environment (Topic: Threshold Concepts in Climate Fiction)
• ENGL 230 Analyzing Worldview through Story (Topic: (Un)Making U.S. Masculinities)

Selected Publications and Presentations

• Campus Building: Merrifield Hall. Collaborative photo-text book, The Digital Press at the University of North Dakota, upcoming autumn 2023.
• Winner of the Grand Forks Public Arts Commission's Mayor's Choice Award for photo-text exhibit Autumn, In Grand Forks, displayed from December 2021 through February 2022.
• "Seeing the Chiasm: Place Theory and Ecophenomenology." Convergences: A Journal of the Southeastern Association of Cultural Studies, 2022.
• "The Wrong Side of the Wall." Photo-poem chapbook, University of North Dakota’s Greenway Press, December 2021.
• "'Become a Voice': The Tallgrass in 13 Sapphic Photo-poems." Multimedia poem, photo, and critical interpretation collection. Co-authored with Shilo Previti. Poeticanet: Winter 2021 Issue. 

• Gamble Hall 265G
• kyle.robert.moore@UND.edu

Areas of Interest

Medieval British Literature (13th-15th centuries); Medieval Christian Monastic and Devotional Literature (especially hagiographies); Anchoresses and Hermits; Gender Studies; Feminist Theory; Queer Theory; Spatial Theory

Biography

Kyle focuses on Middle English literature and Early Christianity with specific interests in women’s religious experiences, medieval depictions of reclusion (anchoresses and hermits), saints and hagiographical literature, sexuality and same-sex relations, and constructions of monastic spaces. His current research project analyzes monastic literature and spaces as examples of gendered utopias.

He has worked as a research associate on Dr. Crystal Alberts’s digital humanities project (funded by an NEH grant) and as a graduate assistant for the University Avenue Corridor Study and for University Park Neighborhoods (programs aimed at community-built initiatives and outreach).

Originally from San Diego, Kyle enjoys the ocean and swimming but has a soft spot for North Dakota’s cold winters and snow. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, baking, and playing with his sassy Miniature Schnauzer, Chloe.

Courses Taught

• ENGL 110 College Composition I
• ENGL 130 College Composition II: Writing for Public Audiences
• ENGL 230 Analyzing Worldview through Story (Topic: Labeling Personal Identities)
• WGS 225 The Study of Women

Selected Publications and Presentations

• “Antisemitism and Blood in Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love.” Journal of Medieval Religious Cultures, expected 2024.
• “Stick it to the Man: Constructions of Female Masculinity and Authority in the Old English Legend of Saint Margaret.” Northern Plains Conference on Early British Literature, Bemidji, MN, 2023.
• “Julian of Norwich and Studying Race.” New Visions of Julian of Norwich Conference, Oxford, England, 2022.
• “Labeling Identity and Queerness in the European Middle Ages.” International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, MI, 2022.

• yashari.nunez@UND.edu 

• Gamble Hall 265K
• damilola.olobaniyi@UND.edu

Areas of Interest

African-American Literature; Gender Studies; Feminist Studies; Interdisciplinary Studies

Biography

Damilola is interested in comparative literature, African literature, and African-American literature, with a special focus on gender studies and interdisciplinary studies.

Damilola is passionate about singing and volunteering, and always cherishes time spent with her family.

Courses Taught

• ENGL 110 College Composition I

• Gamble Hall 265F
• mark.l.patterson@UND.edu

Areas of Interest

Medieval Literature (especially Northern Europe, 12th-15th centuries); Chivalric and Arthurian Romances; Gender Studies; Feminist Theory; Queer Theory; Monster Theory.

Biography

Mark specializes in Middle English and Anglo-Norman literatures, with interests including sexual practices (especially sodomy), representations of masculinity, queer literature, and the works of Marie de France. Within queer studies, Mark’s research explores queer masculinities, LGBTQIA+ history, drag performance, and queer sub-communities. He is passionate about public scholarship, and after taking Digital Humanities, Mark was a research associate for Dr. Crystal Alberts on her NEH grant project.  Most recently, he worked for Humanities North Dakota as a digital humanities intern to revitalize their Read ND program.

Outside of school, Mark loves to create fiber art, and you’ll rarely find him without a mug of tea. Whenever time allows, Mark heads up to Manitoba where he explores provincial parks and enjoys the French bakeries and francophone community in Winnipeg.

Courses Taught

• ENGL 110 College Composition I
• ENGL 130 Composition II: Writing for Public Audiences
• ENGL 228 Diversity in Global Literatures (Topic: Monster Literature)
• ENGL 230 Analyzing Worldview through Story (Topic: Masculinity and Culture)
• ENGL 230 Analyzing Worldview through Story (Topic: Movement and Freedom)
• WGS 200 Introduction to Gender Studies

Selected Publications and Presentations

• “(Re)Visioning Male Homosexuality in the Middle Ages,” with Robert Clark in Companion to Sexuality in the Medieval West. Eds. Michelle M. Sauer and Jenny C. Bledsoe. ARC Humanities, expected 2024.
• “‘And the dragoun meekly shall obeye’: Virgin Martyrdom and Spiritual Marriage as Models for Lay Chastity in John Lydgate’s Legend of St. George,” expected 2024.
• “‘Beautiful Monster’: Queer Lineage and Monstrous Hybridity in the Romans of Partenay,” International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, MI, 2023.
• “The Ruined Female Body: Vampirism, Lesbianism, and Social Transgression in Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla,” Red River Valley Women’s Studies Conference, Moorhead, MN, 2023.

• Gamble Hall 265E
• jenifer.polson@UND.edu

Areas of Interest

Comic Books and Graphic Novels (especially DC and Marvel); Post-1945 American Fiction; Cultural Rhetoric; Disability Studies; Gender Studies (especially Masculinity); Racial Studies.

Biography

Jenifer was born and raised in Massachusetts. She is currently working on her dissertation, which looks at the representations of judicial and medical systems in the eighty-year run of Batman comics. Specifically, she is interested in how the depiction of diegetic judicial and medical institutions, as well as the persons within those institutions (both patients and staff), influence audiences’ perceptions of the non-diegetic versions of those institutions. 

Jenifer is also the Assistant Coordinator of the UND Writing Center. Prior to taking on this role, she was a Graduate Writing Consultant for just over six years.

Outside of work and school, Jenifer is a lifelong New England sports fan and pop-culture enthusiast. She enjoys watching (and rewatching) the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, various Batman adaptations, Dr. Who, Sherlock Holmes adaptations, and the like. She also enjoys diamond painting, painting-by-numbers, and jigsaw puzzles.

Courses Taught

• ENGL 110 College Composition I
• ENGL 130 College Composition II: Writing for Public Audiences
• ENGL 229 Diversity in U.S. Literatures (Topic: History of Black Panther)

Selected Publications and Presentations

• “Ironheart: Bringing Female Education out of the Gutter.” Graduate Research Achievement Day, Grand Forks, ND, 2019. (College of Arts & Humanities Finalist)
• “Drawing Borders: The Borders of War and the Graphic Novel.” Midwest Modern Language Association Convention, St. Louis, MO, 2016.
• “Savage! Vanished! Appropriated!: Misrepresentations of Native Americans in Green Arrow.” Cultural Rhetorics Conference, East Lansing, MI, 2014.
• “Marked Bodies: Physicalist Manifestations of Superhero Strength, Character Evolution, and Emotional and Mental Dis/Abilities.” Crippling the Comic Con, Syracuse, NY, 2014.

• Gamble Hall 265I
• rodger.belyea@UND.edu

• Gamble Hall 290J
• jayden.buckau@UND.edu

• Gamble Hall 290F
• annastecia.ebisike@UND.edu

• Gamble Hall 290B
• ayanda.gasela@UND.edu

• kim.higgs@UND.edu

• Gamble Hall 290K
• violet.ingeborg@UND.edu

• Gamble Hall 290D
• muhammad.islam.2@UND.edu

• Gamble Hall 290N
• janessa.millar@UND.edu

• maiken.moeller@UND.edu

• Gamble Hall 290H
• anthony.l.olson@UND.edu

• Gamble Hall 290G
• sharmin.rahman@UND.edu

• nicholas.ramos@UND.edu

• Gamble Hall 290M
• megan.shipley@UND.edu