Faculty

Like any other academic program or department, quality teaching is indispensable to the educational mission of the GLS program and is consistent with UNCW's longstanding commitment to excellence in undergraduate and graduate education, a commitment that, for over the past eleven years has attracted national recognition, leading U.S. News and World Report to rank UNCW in 2010, for the twelfth consecutive year, as one of the top ten public master's universities in the South. In 2010, UNCW moved up to fifth.

As an interdisciplinary program, rather than an autonomous discipline-specific department, the GLS program draws upon teaching faculty from such academic departments as anthropology, biology, creative writing, English, environmental science, foreign languages, geography, health and applied human services, philosophy and religion, political science, psychology, and sociology as well as qualified temporary faculty outside the university community who have taught such courses as "Clothing and Society," "History of the Unconscious," "Poetics of Ecology," "Women in Film," and "Ocean and Coastal Law."

Consistent with UNCW's commitment to quality classroom instruction, the GLS program at UNCW seeks to encourage and facilitate a close collaborative relationship between instructor and students. Such a relationship is fostered by the seminar atmosphere of GLS classes, with a ceiling enrollment of fifteen students; faculty support of student research and travel initiatives; and the committee format for students' final projects. Outside the classroom, the GLS program further personalizes students' learning experience through social and cultural activities, involving both students and faculty, and academic advising, which involves regular one-on-one contact with the student's assigned faculty advisor.

All UNCW faculty, including participating GLS faculty, are encouraged to take advantage of special programs and workshops (many of which are based toward technology-based instruction) sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence. The GLS program also encourages regular contact among faculty teaching in the GLS program to ensure quality of instruction.

Participating UNCW Faculty
	Hannah D. Abrams Lecturer in English M.F.A., UNCW (creative writing) GLS Course: Composing a Self: Autobiography and Memoir from the Margins
	Frank Ainsley - Faculty Emeriti (now deceased and sorely missed) Professor of Geography Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (geography) GLS Courses: The Shaping of America: Cultural Landscapes and the American Sense of Place; Vernacular Architecture
	John Bennett Associate Professor of Health and Applied Human Sciences and UNCW Distinguished Teaching Professor Ed.D., Northern Illinois University (physical education) GLS Course: Our Cultural Heritage through Dance
	Herbert Berg Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion and Director, International Studies (Past Director of the Graduate Liberal Studies Program) Ph.D., University of Toronto, Ontario (philosophy and religion) GLS Courses: Religion and Sex; Atheism and Unbelief; The Problem of Evil ; Islam and America; The Qur'an in Translation
	Todd Berliner Associate Professor of Film Studies Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley GLS Course: Theatre and Cinema
	Raymond Burt Professor and Chair of Foreign Languages and Literatures Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles GLS Course: Cinematic Adaptations of Literature: Artistic and Cultural Transformations
	Lou Buttino Professor and Chair of Film Studies Ph.D., The Maxwell School, Syracuse University GLS Courses: The Documentary Experience: A Filmmaker’s Journey; Television and Democracy: The Pivotal Years ; Doing Documentary Work ; Introduction to Screenwriting
	Mika Elovaara Lecturer in Graduate Liberal Studies and Assistant Director, Graduate Liberal Studies program Ph.D., University of Oulu, Finland (English) GLS Courses:The Political Voice of Punk -- from Rebellion to Registered Voters;The Sociology of Athletic Heroes ; Contemporary Issues in Liberal Studies; Star Wars: A Complete Saga; Author Focus: Stephen King ; Writing with Style ; (Mis)Understanding Music: Hip-Hop, Punk, and Metal ; Topics in Literature: War ; Periods in Literature: American Romanticism ;
	Don Habibi Professor of Philosophy and Religion Ph.D., Cornell University GLS Courses: Political Freedom and Oppression: Cinematic Explorations; The Clash of Civilizations
	Kimberly Faxon Hemingway Lecturer in English Education: MFA, University of North Carolina Wilmington (creative writing) GLS Courses: Creative Non-Fiction: Memoir and Truthtelling ; The Art of Creative Nonfiction ; Writing About Place ;
	Mary Elizabeth Hines Associate Professor of Geography Ph.D., Louisiana State University (geography) GLS Courses: The Historical Geography of Food; The Historical Geography of American Race Relations ; Homelessness in America ;
	Donna King Associate Professor of Sociology Ph.D., City University of New York, Graduate Center (sociology) GLS Courses: Mass Media and Society; Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Popular Culture; Post-Modern Childhood
	Pat Lerch Professor of Anthropology Ph.D., The Ohio State University (anthropology) GLS Courses: Shamanism; Culture Wars and the Origin of Difference
	Diane Melroy Lecturer in Biology Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley (botany) GLS Courses: Genetics and Its Impact on Society; Exploring Science through Science Writing ; The Past and Future of the Human Body ;
	Sam Murrell Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion Ph.D., Drew University (philosophy and religion) GLS Course: The Black Intellectual Tradition
	Diana Pasulka Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion Ph.D., Syracuse University GLS Course: Religion, Women, Gender in Early Modern Europe: Texts and Contexts
	P. Nelson Reid (personal page not available) Professor of Social Work Ph.D., The Ohio State University (social work) GLS Course: Poverty, Social Policy, and the American Welfare State
	John Rice Associate Professor of Sociology Ph.D., University of Virginia (sociology) GLS Course: Art in Social Science Perspective
Photo Not Available	Patricia Turrisi Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion and Director, Graduate Liberal Studies Program Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University GLS Courses: The Good Life; The Human Condition;
	Mike Wentworth Professor of English, UNCW Distinguished Teaching Professor (Past Director of the Graduate Liberal Studies Program) Ph.D., Bowling Green State University (English) GLS Courses:Cultural Images of America in the 50s; Cultural Images of America in the 60s; The Contemporary American Workplace;"Nightmare Alleys": American Noir Fiction ; The Beat Generation and American Culture; Cultural Images of America During the Great Depression; "Romancing the Road": Classic American Road Narratives ; Academic Mayhem: College Life in Literature and Popular Media; Laughing Matters: American Contemporary Humor ; Main Street USA ;

Temporary GLS Faculty
	Michelle Bliss M.F.A., UNCW (creative writing) GLS Course: Writing Biography: How to Research and Write about Another Person's Life; From the Fleeting to the Enduring: Exploring and Writing Literary Journalism ;
	James Brewster D. Min.; Drew University GLS Courses: Meditation: Theory and Practice ; Environmental Ethics Made Local ; World Religions - Post 9-11 ; Ancient Messiahs, Modern Cults: Studies in Religious Leadership; Values and Technology
	Elizabeth (Betty) Chancey M.F.A., San Diego State University Certificate, Center for Documentary Studies - Duke University M.A., Hollins University GLS Courses: Mayan Culture, Shamanism and Creativity; Guatemala: Multi-Ethnic Culture in the "Land of Eternal Spring"
	Bill DiNome (scroll down to Student Media on this link) M.F.A., UNCW (creative writing - fiction) GLS Course: Freakish Visions: Physical Difference in Western Literature and Art
	Larry Ferrell Education: Ed.D., Argosy University (community counseling) GLS Courses: American Religion and Sexuality in the 20th Century; The Nature of Addiction ; Building Blocks Necessary for Personal, Natural, and Cultural Resiliance ;
	Ashley E. Hudson Education: M.F.A, University of North Carolina Wilmington (creative writing) GLS Courses: Lying Our Way to the Truth: The Personal Narrative in Poetry; Grave Robbing for a Wedding Gown: An Exploration of the Contemporary Fairy Tale
	Mark Gaskill Education: Ph.D., University of New Mexico (clinical psychology) GLS Course: Innovative Thinking and the Nature of Invention
	Anthony James Ph.D., University of Mississippi (american history) GLS Courses: The South: A Historical and Cultural Interpretation; America in the Jazz Age; American Manhood
	Anne Russell Ph.D., University of Hawaii (american studies) M.S., Georgia State University (urban studies) M.F.A. University of North Carolina at Wilmington (creative writing) GLS Courses: This Property is Condemned: Eminent Domain vs. the American Dream; What Lies Within: Discovering and Expressing Your Creative Self; Movers, Shakers, and Troublemakers: The Constructive Role of Dissent in North Carolina; Constructing and Deconstructing the American Family Onstages; Secret Societies; Altruism in America
	H. David Shuster Ph.D., University of Rochester (higher education curriculum) GLS Courses: Creativity, Innovation, Intuition, and Imagination ; 1787: Constitutional Players; Becoming a Political Pundit; Confederate States of America: Government and Politics; The Great Ism's; Political and Economic Ideologies Shaping and Distorting Modern Societies ; The March of Folly: How and Why State Leaders Historically Act Against their Self-Interest ;
	Kindra Steenerson (Not active) Education: MFA GLS Course: Understanding and Interrupting a Rape Culture ;
	Robert Sutton Ph.D., Drew Graduate School (philosophy)) GLS Course: Ethics through Literature
	Jenny Yates Distinguished Visiting Scholar Ph.D., Syracuse University (interdisciplinary humanities) and Diploma, Institute for Analytical Psychology, Zurich, Switzerland GLS Courses: Symbols: An Interdisciplinary Perspective; History of the Unconscious; Jungian Psychology; Memories, Dreams, Reflections ; Psychology and Religion; Dreams and Active Imagination

Participating UNCW Faculty

Hannah D. Abrams
Lecturer in English
M.F.A., UNCW (creative writing)
GLS Course: Composing a Self: Autobiography and Memoir from the Margins

Frank Ainsley - Faculty Emeriti (now deceased and sorely missed)
Professor of Geography
Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (geography)
GLS Courses: The Shaping of America: Cultural Landscapes and the American Sense of Place; Vernacular Architecture

John Bennett
Associate Professor of Health and Applied Human Sciences and UNCW Distinguished Teaching Professor
Ed.D., Northern Illinois University (physical education)
GLS Course: Our Cultural Heritage through Dance

Herbert Berg
Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion and Director, International Studies (Past Director of the Graduate Liberal Studies Program)
Ph.D., University of Toronto, Ontario (philosophy and religion)
GLS Courses: Religion and Sex; Atheism and Unbelief; The Problem of Evil ; Islam and America; The Qur'an in Translation

Todd Berliner
Associate Professor of Film Studies
Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
GLS Course: Theatre and Cinema

Raymond Burt
Professor and Chair of Foreign Languages and Literatures
Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
GLS Course: Cinematic Adaptations of Literature: Artistic and Cultural Transformations

Lou Buttino
Professor and Chair of Film Studies
Ph.D., The Maxwell School, Syracuse University
GLS Courses: The Documentary Experience: A Filmmaker’s Journey; Television and Democracy: The Pivotal Years ; Doing Documentary Work ; Introduction to Screenwriting

Mika Elovaara
Lecturer in Graduate Liberal Studies and Assistant Director, Graduate Liberal Studies program
Ph.D., University of Oulu, Finland (English)
GLS Courses:The Political Voice of Punk -- from Rebellion to Registered Voters;The Sociology of Athletic Heroes ; Contemporary Issues in Liberal Studies; Star Wars: A Complete Saga; Author Focus: Stephen King ; Writing with Style ; (Mis)Understanding Music: Hip-Hop, Punk, and Metal ; Topics in Literature: War ; Periods in Literature: American Romanticism ;

Don Habibi
Professor of Philosophy and Religion
Ph.D., Cornell University
GLS Courses: Political Freedom and Oppression: Cinematic Explorations; The Clash of Civilizations

Kimberly Faxon Hemingway

Lecturer in English
Education: MFA, University of North Carolina Wilmington (creative writing)
GLS Courses: Creative Non-Fiction: Memoir and Truthtelling ; The Art of Creative Nonfiction ; Writing About Place ;

Mary Elizabeth Hines
Associate Professor of Geography
Ph.D., Louisiana State University (geography)
GLS Courses: The Historical Geography of Food; The Historical Geography of American Race Relations ; Homelessness in America ;

Donna King
Associate Professor of Sociology
Ph.D., City University of New York, Graduate Center (sociology)
GLS Courses: Mass Media and Society; Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Popular Culture; Post-Modern Childhood

Pat Lerch
Professor of Anthropology
Ph.D., The Ohio State University (anthropology)
GLS Courses: Shamanism; Culture Wars and the Origin of Difference

Diane Melroy
Lecturer in Biology
Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley (botany)
GLS Courses: Genetics and Its Impact on Society; Exploring Science through Science Writing ; The Past and Future of the Human Body ;

Sam Murrell
Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion
Ph.D., Drew University (philosophy and religion)
GLS Course: The Black Intellectual Tradition

Diana Pasulka

Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion

Ph.D., Syracuse University

GLS Course: Religion, Women, Gender in Early Modern Europe: Texts and Contexts

P. Nelson Reid (personal page not available)
Professor of Social Work
Ph.D., The Ohio State University (social work)
GLS Course: Poverty, Social Policy, and the American Welfare State

John Rice
Associate Professor of Sociology
Ph.D., University of Virginia (sociology)
GLS Course: Art in Social Science Perspective

Photo

Not

Available

Patricia Turrisi
Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion and Director, Graduate
Liberal Studies Program
Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University
GLS Courses: The Good Life; The Human Condition;

Mike Wentworth
Professor of English, UNCW Distinguished Teaching Professor (Past Director of the Graduate Liberal Studies Program)
Ph.D., Bowling Green State University (English)
GLS Courses:Cultural Images of America in the 50s; Cultural Images of America in the 60s; The Contemporary American Workplace;"Nightmare Alleys": American Noir Fiction ; The Beat Generation and American Culture; Cultural Images of America During the Great Depression; "Romancing the Road": Classic American Road Narratives ; Academic Mayhem: College Life in Literature and Popular Media; Laughing Matters: American Contemporary Humor ; Main Street USA ;

Temporary GLS Faculty

Michelle Bliss
M.F.A., UNCW (creative writing)
GLS Course: Writing Biography: How to Research and Write about Another Person's Life; From the Fleeting to the Enduring: Exploring and Writing Literary Journalism ;

James Brewster
D. Min.; Drew University
GLS Courses: Meditation: Theory and Practice ; Environmental Ethics Made Local ; World Religions - Post 9-11 ; Ancient Messiahs, Modern Cults: Studies in Religious Leadership; Values and Technology

Elizabeth (Betty) Chancey
M.F.A., San Diego State University

Certificate, Center for Documentary Studies - Duke University

M.A., Hollins University
GLS Courses: Mayan Culture, Shamanism and Creativity; Guatemala: Multi-Ethnic Culture in the "Land of Eternal Spring"

Bill DiNome (scroll down to Student Media on this link)
M.F.A., UNCW (creative writing - fiction)
GLS Course: Freakish Visions: Physical Difference in Western Literature and Art

Larry Ferrell
Education: Ed.D., Argosy University (community counseling)
GLS Courses: American Religion and Sexuality in the 20th Century; The Nature of Addiction ; Building Blocks Necessary for Personal, Natural, and Cultural Resiliance ;

Ashley E. Hudson
Education: M.F.A, University of North Carolina Wilmington (creative writing)
GLS Courses: Lying Our Way to the Truth: The Personal Narrative in Poetry; Grave Robbing for a Wedding Gown: An Exploration of the Contemporary Fairy Tale

Mark Gaskill
Education: Ph.D., University of New Mexico (clinical psychology)
GLS Course: Innovative Thinking and the Nature of Invention

Anthony James
Ph.D., University of Mississippi (american history)
GLS Courses: The South: A Historical and Cultural Interpretation; America in the Jazz Age; American Manhood

Anne Russell
Ph.D., University of Hawaii (american studies)
M.S., Georgia State University (urban studies)
M.F.A. University of North Carolina at Wilmington (creative writing)
GLS Courses: This Property is Condemned: Eminent Domain vs. the American Dream; What Lies Within: Discovering and Expressing Your Creative Self; Movers, Shakers, and Troublemakers: The Constructive Role of Dissent in North Carolina; Constructing and Deconstructing the American Family Onstages; Secret Societies; Altruism in America

H. David Shuster
Ph.D., University of Rochester (higher education curriculum)
GLS Courses: Creativity, Innovation, Intuition, and Imagination ; 1787: Constitutional Players; Becoming a Political Pundit; Confederate States of America: Government and Politics; The Great Ism's; Political and Economic Ideologies Shaping and Distorting Modern Societies ; The March of Folly: How and Why State Leaders Historically Act Against their Self-Interest ;

Kindra Steenerson (Not active)
Education: MFA
GLS Course: Understanding and Interrupting a Rape Culture ;

Robert Sutton
Ph.D., Drew Graduate School (philosophy))
GLS Course: Ethics through Literature

Jenny Yates
Distinguished Visiting Scholar
Ph.D., Syracuse University (interdisciplinary humanities) and
Diploma, Institute for Analytical Psychology, Zurich, Switzerland
GLS Courses: Symbols: An Interdisciplinary Perspective; History of the Unconscious; Jungian Psychology; Memories, Dreams, Reflections ; Psychology and Religion; Dreams and Active Imagination

Last Update: February 10, 2012

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