Faculty Experts Guide

Arts, Culture & Religion

Angela N. Castaneda

Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology

Department of Sociology and Anthropology

• Specialties:

  Sociology and anthropology, doula, intimate labor, childbirth, humanized birth, mothering, reproduction, Latin American culture

• Angela Castaneda specializes in the anthropology of reproduction, childbirth and mothering. In particular, she looks at the role of doulas, and specifically doulas who help pregnant and laboring couples. Castaneda did research with a community of doulas in Indiana, including mothers who have hired a…

Arthur Evans

Emeritus Professor of Modern Languages (French)

Department of Modern Languages

• Specialties:

  French, Science fiction, Sci-Fi, Futurism, Jules Verne, Maurice Renard, Albert Robida, Translation

• Arthur Evans conducts research on French author Jules Verne and early science fiction; he is considered the preeminent authority on Verne. Evans is managing editor of Science Fiction Studies, a leading science fiction journal housed at DePauw. He also is the series editor for Early Classics of Science…

Beth Benedix

Professor of World Literature, Religious Studies and Community Engagement

Department of Religious Studies and Jewish Studies

• Specialties:

  Religion, Existentialism, Kafka, Nietzsche, The Holocaust, Judaism, Jewish culture, Modern Jewish writers

• Beth Benedix is a Professor of World Literature, Religious Studies, and Community Engagement at DePauw University. She is the author of Ghost Writer (A Story About Telling a Holocaust Story) (Spuyten Duyvil, 2018), Reluctant Theologians: Franz Kafka, Paul Celan, Edmond Jabès (Fordham University Press…

C. Matthew Balensuela

Professor of music

Department of Institute of Music

• Specialties:

  History of music theory, Teaching history of music, Music history pedagogy, Music theory in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, Jazz in Indianapolis

• Matthew Balensuela, a music historian, focuses his research in two areas: (1) the history of music theory in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and (2) music history pedagogy – the best methods for teaching music history. He created an online journal, Journal of Music History Pedagogy, and served as its…

Daniel G. Gurnon

Associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

• Specialties:

  Chemistry, Biochemistry, Rare genetic diseases, DNA sequencing, Bioinformatics, Art and science, Science visualization, Molecular animation

• Daniel Gurnon, the 2015 Indiana Professor of the Year, is especially interested in rare genetic diseases. He and his students work with the Rare Genomics Institute to analyze DNA sequences of patients – nationally and internationally – who have undiagnosed genetic diseases. Gurnon and students use bioinformatics…

Dave Berque

Professor of Computer Science and Dean of Academic Life

Department of Computer Science

• Specialties:

  Computer science, Human-computer interaction, Instructional technology, Pen-based computing, Persuasive technology

• Dave Berque is the creator of DyKnow software that enables teachers to provide class notes electronically, thus freeing students from concentrating on furiously writing notes by hand and, instead, allowing them to participate in discussion with the teacher and classmates. Berque has two patents for the…

David Gellman

Professor of History

Department of History

• Specialties:

  History, American history, American Revolution, Colonial America, Founding Fathers, John Jay, Slavery, Abolition, Voting rights, New York, Bruce Springsteen

• David Gellman's areas of research include: Early America (Colonial America to 19th Century); slavery and abolition; American Revolution; New York history (city and state); John Jay, founding father of America, first chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, diplomat, co-author of the Federalist papers…

David P. Alvarez

Associate Professor of English

Department of English

• Specialties:

  18th century British literature, European Enlightenment, Third Earl of Shaftesbury, Religious tolerance, Aesthetics and democracy

• David Alvarez's research focuses on 18th century British literature and the European Enlightenment. He has a special interest in the Third Earl of Shaftesbury, and he presented a paper about the Third Earl at the estate of the 12th Earl of Shaftesbury in England in 2015. Alvarez also has a special interest…

Glen D. Kuecker

Professor of History

Department of History

• Specialties:

  Conflict studies, Latin America, Latin American refugees and migrants, Latin American relations, Latin American resistance movements, Mexico, New Songdo City (South Korea), Urbanism, UN Habitat III, Complexity thinking, Urban studies, Smart cities, Economic history, Globalization, Climate change, Energy, Environmental studies, mining

• Glen Kuecker is currently working on a project called “The Making of Habitat III.” It is part of a larger project about how humanity will weather the perfect storm of 21st-century crises:  the intersections between climate change, energy transition, food insecurity, demographic shift (growth, aging,…

Gloria Townsend

Professor of Computer Science

Department of Computer Science

• Specialties:

  Computer science, Autonomous robotics, E-textiles, Evolutionary computation, First-generation students in STEM, Service learning, Women in computing, Underrepresented groups in computing

• Gloria Townsend's research and teaching interests lie in evolutionary computation -- with publications and grant work involving biological applications -- robotics, computing ethics and gender issues of computing. As a founding member of DePauw's computer science department, Townsend has been determined…

Gregory L. Schwipps

Associate professor of English

Department of English

• Specialties:

  English writing, Novel writing, Catfishing, Catfish conservation, Fishing for Dummies

• Gregory Schwipps is author of What This River Keeps, one of 13 books selected for the Next Indiana Bookshelf in 2015, which was created by The Indiana Center for the Book and Indiana Humanities to help celebrate Indiana's bicentennial in 2016. What This River Keeps tells a familiar Hoosier story – an…

Harry Brown

Associate Professor of English

Department of English

• Specialties:

  English, Early American literature, Native American literature, Puritans, Salem witchcraft, Digital humanities, Video games

• Harry Brown works in Digital Humanities, which is the use of digital tools to do research in the Humanities – such as using computers to analyze patterns in historical texts. Humanities tend to lag behind other disciplines in using computer technology. Brown is author of a book, Video Games in Education…

Hiroko M. Chiba

Professor of modern languages (Japanese)

Department of Modern Languages

• Specialties:

  Memory and handwriting in language learning, Anime (Japanese animation), Robot making, Japanese language

• Hiroko Chiba teaches Japanese language, particularly focusing on the close relationship between memory and language learning – as well as the cognitive process in language learning. She also studies how memory is treated in science fiction, especially in anime (Japanese animation). Chiba has a special…

Istvan Csicsery-Ronay

Professor of English

Department of English

• Specialties:

  Global science fiction, Human-animal studies (links between animal behavior and human culture), History of science fiction, Science fiction (how it inspires technological innovation), Science fiction (non-United States), Techno-culture studies (how technology affects cultures)

• Istvan Csicsery-Ronay is editor of Science Fiction Studies, the leading international journal about science fiction that is located at DePauw University. He is working on a book, a collection of essays, about the evolution of science fiction and the ways it has affected global culture, especially in…

Jason Fuller

Associate Professor of Religious Studies

Department of Religious Studies

• Specialties:

  Religion, Hinduism, India, Psychoanalysis, Hare Krishna Movement, Asian history, Cults

• Jason received his Ph.D. in Religious Studies from the University of Pennsylvania where he pursued his research in the departments of Religious Studies and South Asia Regional Studies. Prior to his arrival at DePauw University, Jason taught at Washington and Lee University and the University of Pennsylvania…

Jeffrey M. Gropp

Professor of Economics and Management

Department of Economics and Management

• Specialties:

  Finance, Behavioral finance, Investments, Asset pricing, Statistical analysis, Public Policy, Taxes, Classical liberal philosophy

• Jeffrey Gropp's research interests include finance, behavioral finance, econometrics, public policy and public finance. He has a growing interest in the philosophy of classical liberalism and is the author of Teaching Classical Liberalism in the Liberal Arts. He teaches a course on Liberty and the Role…

Jeffrey McCall

Professor of Communication

Department of Communication and Theatre

• Specialties:

  Media, Television, News, First Amendment, Freedom of speech, Journalism ethics, Media literacy, Media regulation, FCC, TV violence, Political communication, Sports media

• Jeffrey McCall is an established media critic with national credentials. He has written numerous op-eds that have been published in newspapers around the country. He is quoted frequently as a media critic in newspaper stories, on television and radio. McCall's mission is to promote media literacy to…

Jeffrey S. Dunn

Assistant professor of philosophy

Department of Philosophy

• Specialties:

  Philosophy, Epistemology, Logic, Philosophy of science, Belief revision/beliefs, Ethics of science, Ethics in the Virtual World (video game ethics), Bayesian statistics

• Jeffrey Dunn studies primarily epistemology and the philosophy of science, particularly looking at the best methods for gathering accurate beliefs. He also has a special interest in Epistemic Consequentialism; i.e., what is the best thing to do that results in the best consequences. He investigates whether…

Jennifer L. Adams

Associate professor of communication and theatre

Department of Communication and theatre

• Specialties:

  Environmental communication (including issues and movements), Public discourse, Free speech issues, Helen Gouger, Women's suffrage, Sedition, Love letters (how to write)

• Jennifer Adams has a fellowship to conduct archival research on free speech issues. In particular she is researching World War I-era women radicals who were imprisoned under the Sedition Act. Adams also studies and writes about Helen Gouger, an Indiana suffrage rights worker. Gouger's efforts were well…

Jeremy P. Anderson

Assistant Professor of Philosophy

Department of Philosophy

• Specialties:

  Philosophy, Political philosophy, Philosophy of law, Punishment, Legal punishment, War, Just war, Government legitimacy, Ethics, Terrorism

• Jeremy Anderson focuses on political philosophy, especially the basis of political authority. In other words, why have a government? He also looks at which form of government is most justifiable, as well as how a government exercises its authority. For example, how does a government justify its use of…

John T. Schlotterbeck

Professor of history

Department of History

• Specialties:

  U.S. South, 19th century U.S. history, Civil War and Reconstruction, history museums, popular music before 1965

• John Schlotterbeck is a social historian interested in the everyday lives of ordinary people in the United States. This is reflected in his scholarship and courses in which he examines how common people shaped the past even as their lives were constrained by larger economic, political, and social forces…

Jonathan Nichols-Pethick

Associate Professor of Communication and Theatre, Director of the Eugene S. Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media, Director of the Media Fellows Program

Department of Communication and Theatre

• Specialties:

  Media, Media studies and criticism, Media industry, Television, Genre theory, Police dramas

• Jonathan Nichols-Pethick's work focuses on media studies, especially television studies; critical and cultural approaches to the media; media industries and audiences – focusing on how programming strategies and industrial structures influence how audiences understand TV; business of TV; TV genres; and…

Kevin Howley

Professor of Media Studies

Department of Communication and Theatre

• Specialties:

  Sociology of media and popular culture; political communication; media activism, social movement media; journalism studies; technology and culture.

• Kevin Howley is the author of “Drones: Media Discourse and the Public Imagination” (Peter Lang, 2018) and “Community Media: People, Places, and Communication Technologies” (Cambridge University Press, 2005). He was editor of “Understanding Community Media” (Sage, 2010) and “Media Interventions” (Peter…

Lori A. Miles

Associate professor of art and art history

Department of Art and Art History

• Specialties:

  Art history, Sculpture, Public art, Technology related to and used in art, Copyright issues (fair use and related legal issues), Community service related to art

• Lori Miles focuses on art making, mostly dealing with cultural memes – especially looking at the gap between sculpture and contemporary controversies. She works at the intersection of traditional sculpture and use of online images for which copyright has expired. Online images inspire her sculpture and…

M. Susan Anthony

Professor of Communication and Theatre

Department of Communication and Theatre

• Specialties:

  American drama and theatre, Early American actresses, Women's theatrical history, Gender and theatre, Theatre history and criticism, Gothic drama, acting and directing

• Susan Anthony focuses her research on women's place in society throughout American history, and particularly women's role in theatre. She is compiling information about early British/American actresses, seeking a glimpse into society and theatrical life of the time. In her first book, Gothic Plays in…

Matthew Hertenstein

Professor of Psychology

Department of Psychology

• Specialties:

  Psychology, Developmental psychology, Emotional development (child), Nonverbal communication, Parenting, Smiles/smiling, Tells (nonverbal communication), Touch (Emotional communication)

• Matthew Hertenstein focuses his research on emotional communication (including touch) and emotional development. He has a special interest in nonverbal communication, or tells, that reveal what you can tell about people. Heis author of a book, The Tell:The Little Clues That Reveal Big Truths About Who…

Meryl Altman

Professor of English and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

Department of English

• Specialties:

  Political economy of women, Women's political inequality, Women and money, Women in the ancient world, Feminism, Simone de Beauvoir, Women and philosophy, Higher education issues related to gender and inequality, Interdisciplinary education

• Meryl Altman is working to complete a book on Simone de Beauvoir, the French writer and philosopher who laid the foundation for the modern feminist movement. She has previously written journal articles about Beauvoir. Altman teaches a course titled "The Political Economy of Women," which covers the nitty-gritty…

Michael E. Roberts

Associate Professor of Psychology

Department of Psychology

• Specialties:

  Psychology, Neuroscience, Neural networks, Visual learning, Anxiety, Memory, Emotion regulation

• Michael Roberts has several areas of research interest, including: (1) He uses computer models/algorithmic solutions to investigate how we learn visual features, such as trees or other people, in the world. Humans are born with some of that ability, and some can be learned. Roberts is developing a neural…

Rebecca Bordt

Professor of Sociology and Anthropology

Department of Sociology and Anthropology

• Specialties:

  Criminology, Intimate violence, Mid-career college teachers (how age affects teaching), Prison narratives, SoTL (Scholarship of Teaching and Learning), Women's prisons

• Rebecca Bordt teaches and conducts work in the area of criminology. She teaches a DePauw course titled "Intimate Violence." Her last research project was about prison narratives, nonfiction books written by prison inmates. During a 2014-15 sabbatical, Bordt conducted interviews of and collected data…

Rebecca Schindler

Professor of Classical Studies

Department of Classical Studies

• Specialties:

  Archaeology, Classical period, Ancient Mediterranean, Ethics of archaeology, Religion in the Greek Colonies, Geographic information systems

• Rebecca Schindler focuses on the ethical promotion of Classical archaeology and ancient Mediterranean religion, and teaching spatial literacy through archaeology. She is interested in how we handle and preserve materials, and the ethical issues surrounding archaeological objects and sites. As president…

Sherry Mou

Associate Professor of Modern Languages (Chinese) and Asian Studies

Department of Modern Languages and Asian Studies

• Specialties:

  Asian studies, China, Chinese history, Chinese culture, Chinese language, Chinese women, Chinese film, Taiwan

• Sherry J. Mou is Associate Professor of Chinese Literature and Language in Modern Languages Department and Asian Studies Program. Since joining the DePauw faculty in 2002, Professor Mou has offered courses in both modern and classical Chinese literature, language, and culture, including Chinese Theater…

Yung-chen Chiang

Professor of history

Department of History

• Specialties:

  Chinese culture, Social sciences in China, Modern China and gender, Hu Shi, Knowledge transfer across cultures

• Yung-chen Chiang, a native of Taiwan, focuses his research on Modern China and gender, and work on a multi-volume biography of Hu Shi, former Chinese ambassador to the United States from 1938-42. The first two volumes on Hu Shi have been published in Taiwan and China. Chiang plans to complete the third…

Astronomy and Physics

Alexander Komives

Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy

Department of Physics and Astronomy

• Specialties:

  Physics and astronomy, Practical physics, Neutrons, Radioactivity, Lunar and solar eclipse

• Alexander Komives specializes in studies of weak interaction in the process of neutron decay. Weak interaction is one of four fundamental forces in nature: gravity, electromagnetic, strong and weak.

Howard Brooks

Professor of Physics and Astronomy

Department of Physics and Astronomy

• Specialties:

  Physics and astronomy, Space exploration, Comets, Lunar and solar eclipses, Weather balloons

• Howard Brooks uses weather balloons for high-altitude, stratosphere research, such as radiation, sunlight intensity and ozone. He is working to install two new optical telescopes, one on the roof of the Julian Science & Mathematics Center and the other in DePauw Nature Park. Brooks also is working to…

Mary Kertzman

Professor of Physics and Astronomy

Department of Physics and Astronomy

• Specialties:

  Physics and astronomy, Astrophysics, Gamma rays, Telescopes

• Mary Kertzman's primary interest is very high energy (VHE) gamma ray astrophysics. She works with VERITAS, the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System, located in Arizona. She has worked on the design of VERITAS and done data analysis. Her current big project is computer simulations of…

Scott Wilkerson

Professor of Geosciences

Department of Geosciences

• Specialties:

  Geosciences, Earthquakes, Geophysics, Maps, Google Earth, Minerals, Oil Exploration

• Scott Wilkerson is coauthor – with Beth Wilkerson – of the Geotours Workbook. He will be on sabbatical in fall 2015 to develop a second edition of the book, which is used in a course that he teaches, "Map Interpretation." He also is working on a book in which he uses Google Earth to teach map interpretation…

Business

Gary D. Lemon

Professor of economics and management

Department of Economics and Management

• Specialties:

  Personal investments, Wall Street, Mutual funds, Income taxes, Social Security

• Gary Lemon is writing a book with the working title of "Beat Wall Street: Two Rules Wall Street Doesn't Want to Follow." The book is scheduled for publication in 2016. Lemon also serves as chair of the Investments Committee at Lincoln Variable Insurance Product Trust, a Fortune 250 company that is a…

Glen D. Kuecker

Professor of History

Department of History

• Specialties:

  Conflict studies, Latin America, Latin American refugees and migrants, Latin American relations, Latin American resistance movements, Mexico, New Songdo City (South Korea), Urbanism, UN Habitat III, Complexity thinking, Urban studies, Smart cities, Economic history, Globalization, Climate change, Energy, Environmental studies, mining

• Glen Kuecker is currently working on a project called “The Making of Habitat III.” It is part of a larger project about how humanity will weather the perfect storm of 21st-century crises:  the intersections between climate change, energy transition, food insecurity, demographic shift (growth, aging,…

Humberto Barreto

Allen Distinguished University Professor and Professor of Economics and Management

Department of Economics and Management

• Specialties:

  Economics, Consumer affairs, Taxes, Credit cards, Personal finance, Stock market, Student loans, Retirement planning, Social Security, Cuba, Sports, Sports economics

• Humberto Barreto is committed to improving the teaching of economics with the use of Microsoft Excel. He has written books on microeconomics and econometrics involving use of the software and is now writing a book about its use in macroeconomics. Baretto has adopted a form of learning called "flipping…

Jeffrey M. Gropp

Professor of Economics and Management

Department of Economics and Management

• Specialties:

  Finance, Behavioral finance, Investments, Asset pricing, Statistical analysis, Public Policy, Taxes, Classical liberal philosophy

• Jeffrey Gropp's research interests include finance, behavioral finance, econometrics, public policy and public finance. He has a growing interest in the philosophy of classical liberalism and is the author of Teaching Classical Liberalism in the Liberal Arts. He teaches a course on Liberty and the Role…

Michele Villinski

Associate Professor of Economics and Management, James W. Emison Director of the Robert C. McDermond Center for Management and Entrepreneurship, and Director of the Management Fellows Program

Department of Economics and Management

• Specialties:

  Economics, Management, Business, Environmental economics, Pedagogy

• Michele Villinski is an interdisciplinarian, which is very unusual for an economist. She focuses on economics, management, business and international business. Villinski has a special interest in environmental economics. Villinski is director of the Management Fellows Program at DePauw, and she is past…

Computing and the Internet

Douglas E. Harms

Professor of computer science

Department of Computer Science

• Specialties:

  Computer science, Computer science curriculum, Robotics, Service learning and community engagement, Community-based research

• Doug Harms' primary area of research is development of a software system for students to use with robots in introductory computer science classes. In Harms' introductory computer science class, each student receives a personal robot, and students are assigned to write programs to control the robots.…

Gloria Townsend

Professor of Computer Science

Department of Computer Science

• Specialties:

  Computer science, Autonomous robotics, E-textiles, Evolutionary computation, First-generation students in STEM, Service learning, Women in computing, Underrepresented groups in computing

• Gloria Townsend's research and teaching interests lie in evolutionary computation -- with publications and grant work involving biological applications -- robotics, computing ethics and gender issues of computing. As a founding member of DePauw's computer science department, Townsend has been determined…

Harry Brown

Associate Professor of English

Department of English

• Specialties:

  English, Early American literature, Native American literature, Puritans, Salem witchcraft, Digital humanities, Video games

• Harry Brown works in Digital Humanities, which is the use of digital tools to do research in the Humanities – such as using computers to analyze patterns in historical texts. Humanities tend to lag behind other disciplines in using computer technology. Brown is author of a book, Video Games in Education…

Education

Dana Dudle

Professor of Biology

Department of Biology

• Specialties:

  Biology, Plants, Conservation, Endangered and invasive species, Posse Program,

• Dana Dudle's work focuses on plant evolutionary ecology, plant reproductive biology, floral color change within species and how pollinators react to that, how plants respond to stress, invasive species; and pigments, e.g., why leaves turn different colors in the fall. All of her work is with her students…

Dave Berque

Professor of Computer Science and Dean of Academic Life

Department of Computer Science

• Specialties:

  Computer science, Human-computer interaction, Instructional technology, Pen-based computing, Persuasive technology

• Dave Berque is the creator of DyKnow software that enables teachers to provide class notes electronically, thus freeing students from concentrating on furiously writing notes by hand and, instead, allowing them to participate in discussion with the teacher and classmates. Berque has two patents for the…

Douglas E. Harms

Professor of computer science

Department of Computer Science

• Specialties:

  Computer science, Computer science curriculum, Robotics, Service learning and community engagement, Community-based research

• Doug Harms' primary area of research is development of a software system for students to use with robots in introductory computer science classes. In Harms' introductory computer science class, each student receives a personal robot, and students are assigned to write programs to control the robots.…

Gloria Townsend

Professor of Computer Science

Department of Computer Science

• Specialties:

  Computer science, Autonomous robotics, E-textiles, Evolutionary computation, First-generation students in STEM, Service learning, Women in computing, Underrepresented groups in computing

• Gloria Townsend's research and teaching interests lie in evolutionary computation -- with publications and grant work involving biological applications -- robotics, computing ethics and gender issues of computing. As a founding member of DePauw's computer science department, Townsend has been determined…

Hilary Eppley

Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

• Specialties:

  Chemistry, Inorganic chemistry, Ionic liquids, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, Undergraduate science research

• Hilary Eppley conducts undergraduate research with students in the field of inorganic chemistry, especially inorganic reactions in ionic liquids. She has been a leader in developing a website designed to help college faculty nationally in the teaching of inorganic chemistry. She spent a 2013-14 sabbatical…

Hiroko M. Chiba

Professor of modern languages (Japanese)

Department of Modern Languages

• Specialties:

  Memory and handwriting in language learning, Anime (Japanese animation), Robot making, Japanese language

• Hiroko Chiba teaches Japanese language, particularly focusing on the close relationship between memory and language learning – as well as the cognitive process in language learning. She also studies how memory is treated in science fiction, especially in anime (Japanese animation). Chiba has a special…

Meryl Altman

Professor of English and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

Department of English

• Specialties:

  Political economy of women, Women's political inequality, Women and money, Women in the ancient world, Feminism, Simone de Beauvoir, Women and philosophy, Higher education issues related to gender and inequality, Interdisciplinary education

• Meryl Altman is working to complete a book on Simone de Beauvoir, the French writer and philosopher who laid the foundation for the modern feminist movement. She has previously written journal articles about Beauvoir. Altman teaches a course titled "The Political Economy of Women," which covers the nitty-gritty…

Michael E. Roberts

Associate Professor of Psychology

Department of Psychology

• Specialties:

  Psychology, Neuroscience, Neural networks, Visual learning, Anxiety, Memory, Emotion regulation

• Michael Roberts has several areas of research interest, including: (1) He uses computer models/algorithmic solutions to investigate how we learn visual features, such as trees or other people, in the world. Humans are born with some of that ability, and some can be learned. Roberts is developing a neural…

Michele Villinski

Associate Professor of Economics and Management, James W. Emison Director of the Robert C. McDermond Center for Management and Entrepreneurship, and Director of the Management Fellows Program

Department of Economics and Management

• Specialties:

  Economics, Management, Business, Environmental economics, Pedagogy

• Michele Villinski is an interdisciplinarian, which is very unusual for an economist. She focuses on economics, management, business and international business. Villinski has a special interest in environmental economics. Villinski is director of the Management Fellows Program at DePauw, and she is past…

Rebecca Bordt

Professor of Sociology and Anthropology

Department of Sociology and Anthropology

• Specialties:

  Criminology, Intimate violence, Mid-career college teachers (how age affects teaching), Prison narratives, SoTL (Scholarship of Teaching and Learning), Women's prisons

• Rebecca Bordt teaches and conducts work in the area of criminology. She teaches a DePauw course titled "Intimate Violence." Her last research project was about prison narratives, nonfiction books written by prison inmates. During a 2014-15 sabbatical, Bordt conducted interviews of and collected data…

Environment

Dana Dudle

Professor of Biology

Department of Biology

• Specialties:

  Biology, Plants, Conservation, Endangered and invasive species, Posse Program,

• Dana Dudle's work focuses on plant evolutionary ecology, plant reproductive biology, floral color change within species and how pollinators react to that, how plants respond to stress, invasive species; and pigments, e.g., why leaves turn different colors in the fall. All of her work is with her students…

Glen D. Kuecker

Professor of History

Department of History

• Specialties:

  Conflict studies, Latin America, Latin American refugees and migrants, Latin American relations, Latin American resistance movements, Mexico, New Songdo City (South Korea), Urbanism, UN Habitat III, Complexity thinking, Urban studies, Smart cities, Economic history, Globalization, Climate change, Energy, Environmental studies, mining

• Glen Kuecker is currently working on a project called “The Making of Habitat III.” It is part of a larger project about how humanity will weather the perfect storm of 21st-century crises:  the intersections between climate change, energy transition, food insecurity, demographic shift (growth, aging,…

Gregory L. Schwipps

Associate professor of English

Department of English

• Specialties:

  English writing, Novel writing, Catfishing, Catfish conservation, Fishing for Dummies

• Gregory Schwipps is author of What This River Keeps, one of 13 books selected for the Next Indiana Bookshelf in 2015, which was created by The Indiana Center for the Book and Indiana Humanities to help celebrate Indiana's bicentennial in 2016. What This River Keeps tells a familiar Hoosier story – an…

Jeanette K. Pope

Associate Professor of Geosciences and Faculty Sustainability Coordinator

Department of Geosciences

• Specialties:

  Geosciences, Climate change, Agricultural runoff, Mining, STEM education, Environment, Water quality

• Jeanette Pope's passion is sustainability – protecting and promoting environmental quality and social justice. She teaches classes about science and the environment. Her research interests include water quality – especially agricultural runoff, including the effects of fertilizer runoff on streams. Pope…

Jim Benedix

Winona H. Welch Professor of Biology and Co-Director of the Environmental Fellows Program

Department of Biology

• Specialties:

  Ecology, Behavioral ecology, Evolution

• Jim Benedix gives students the freedom to choose their own research, which has led to some very interesting work that he otherwise wouldn't have done. Recent research has led to a shift in his work from basic research to applied research – getting at an actual issue. He will spend a 2015-16 sabbatical…

Michele Villinski

Associate Professor of Economics and Management, James W. Emison Director of the Robert C. McDermond Center for Management and Entrepreneurship, and Director of the Management Fellows Program

Department of Economics and Management

• Specialties:

  Economics, Management, Business, Environmental economics, Pedagogy

• Michele Villinski is an interdisciplinarian, which is very unusual for an economist. She focuses on economics, management, business and international business. Villinski has a special interest in environmental economics. Villinski is director of the Management Fellows Program at DePauw, and she is past…

Scott Wilkerson

Professor of Geosciences

Department of Geosciences

• Specialties:

  Geosciences, Earthquakes, Geophysics, Maps, Google Earth, Minerals, Oil Exploration

• Scott Wilkerson is coauthor – with Beth Wilkerson – of the Geotours Workbook. He will be on sabbatical in fall 2015 to develop a second edition of the book, which is used in a course that he teaches, "Map Interpretation." He also is working on a book in which he uses Google Earth to teach map interpretation…

Wade Hazel

Professor of Biology

Department of Biology

• Specialties:

  Biology, Butterflies, Swallowtail butterflies, Insect adaptation to climate change, Twins

• Wade Hazel specializes in evolutionary analysis of decision-making in organisms; e.g. all insects in temperate zones pass the winter in a state of suspended animation, then produce multi generations in summer. Scientific term is diapause.Twinning is a byproduct of natural selection for increased fertility…

Health and Medicine

Angela N. Castaneda

Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology

Department of Sociology and Anthropology

• Specialties:

  Sociology and anthropology, doula, intimate labor, childbirth, humanized birth, mothering, reproduction, Latin American culture

• Angela Castaneda specializes in the anthropology of reproduction, childbirth and mothering. In particular, she looks at the role of doulas, and specifically doulas who help pregnant and laboring couples. Castaneda did research with a community of doulas in Indiana, including mothers who have hired a…

Daniel G. Gurnon

Associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

• Specialties:

  Chemistry, Biochemistry, Rare genetic diseases, DNA sequencing, Bioinformatics, Art and science, Science visualization, Molecular animation

• Daniel Gurnon, the 2015 Indiana Professor of the Year, is especially interested in rare genetic diseases. He and his students work with the Rare Genomics Institute to analyze DNA sequences of patients – nationally and internationally – who have undiagnosed genetic diseases. Gurnon and students use bioinformatics…

Lynn Bedard

Associate Professor of Biology

Department of Biology

• Specialties:

  Biology, Cell biology, Molecular biology, Genetics, Cancer, Twins, Yeast

• Lynn Bedard has a special interest in yeast -- but not the kind of yeast used in baking bread. Bedard is collaborating with a colleague at the Indiana University School of Medicine in research on proteomics, or looking at the mechanism of how cells use DNA information to make RNA. There is a potential…

Matthew Hertenstein

Professor of Psychology

Department of Psychology

• Specialties:

  Psychology, Developmental psychology, Emotional development (child), Nonverbal communication, Parenting, Smiles/smiling, Tells (nonverbal communication), Touch (Emotional communication)

• Matthew Hertenstein focuses his research on emotional communication (including touch) and emotional development. He has a special interest in nonverbal communication, or tells, that reveal what you can tell about people. Heis author of a book, The Tell:The Little Clues That Reveal Big Truths About Who…

Pascal J. Lafontant

Associate professor of biology

Department of Biology

• Specialties:

  Biology, Biomedical science, Bioengineering, Heart development, Cell biology, Physiology, Zebrafish

• Pascal Lafontant's primary research interest is heart regeneration. He is recipient of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to study heart development and regeneration. Specifically, he uses zebrafish as a research model because zebrafish can be modified genetically in order to study particular…

Sharon Crary

Percy L. Julian Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

• Specialties:

  Biochemistry, Virology, Ebola, DNA, RNA, Global health, Service work, Social Promise, Uganda

• Sharon Crary conducts research on Ebola and RNA, and she is working with Rich Martoglio and students in order to develop a diagnostic test for Leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease. She conducts science outreach through The Castle; works with Social Promise (www.socialpromise.org); is an American…

Sunil K. Sahu

Professor of Political Science

Department of Political Science

• Specialties:

  Political science, political economy of development, Indian politics, electoral politics in India, party politics in South Asia, politics in Afghanistan and Pakistan, international terrorism, nuclear programs in South Asia, democratization in the developing world, globalization, pharmaceutical industry in India

• Sunil Sahu is working on a book titled Why Democracy Succeeds and Fails in the Developing World: A Comparison of India and Nigeria. He focuses his research on the nuclear program in India and Pakistan and the question of whether it has promoted peace or conflict. He also is researching India's prime…

Law

Jeremy P. Anderson

Assistant Professor of Philosophy

Department of Philosophy

• Specialties:

  Philosophy, Political philosophy, Philosophy of law, Punishment, Legal punishment, War, Just war, Government legitimacy, Ethics, Terrorism

• Jeremy Anderson focuses on political philosophy, especially the basis of political authority. In other words, why have a government? He also looks at which form of government is most justifiable, as well as how a government exercises its authority. For example, how does a government justify its use of…

Lori A. Miles

Associate professor of art and art history

Department of Art and Art History

• Specialties:

  Art history, Sculpture, Public art, Technology related to and used in art, Copyright issues (fair use and related legal issues), Community service related to art

• Lori Miles focuses on art making, mostly dealing with cultural memes – especially looking at the gap between sculpture and contemporary controversies. She works at the intersection of traditional sculpture and use of online images for which copyright has expired. Online images inspire her sculpture and…

Media and Entertainment

David Gellman

Professor of History

Department of History

• Specialties:

  History, American history, American Revolution, Colonial America, Founding Fathers, John Jay, Slavery, Abolition, Voting rights, New York, Bruce Springsteen

• David Gellman's areas of research include: Early America (Colonial America to 19th Century); slavery and abolition; American Revolution; New York history (city and state); John Jay, founding father of America, first chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, diplomat, co-author of the Federalist papers…

Istvan Csicsery-Ronay

Professor of English

Department of English

• Specialties:

  Global science fiction, Human-animal studies (links between animal behavior and human culture), History of science fiction, Science fiction (how it inspires technological innovation), Science fiction (non-United States), Techno-culture studies (how technology affects cultures)

• Istvan Csicsery-Ronay is editor of Science Fiction Studies, the leading international journal about science fiction that is located at DePauw University. He is working on a book, a collection of essays, about the evolution of science fiction and the ways it has affected global culture, especially in…

Jeffrey McCall

Professor of Communication

Department of Communication and Theatre

• Specialties:

  Media, Television, News, First Amendment, Freedom of speech, Journalism ethics, Media literacy, Media regulation, FCC, TV violence, Political communication, Sports media

• Jeffrey McCall is an established media critic with national credentials. He has written numerous op-eds that have been published in newspapers around the country. He is quoted frequently as a media critic in newspaper stories, on television and radio. McCall's mission is to promote media literacy to…

Jonathan Nichols-Pethick

Associate Professor of Communication and Theatre, Director of the Eugene S. Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media, Director of the Media Fellows Program

Department of Communication and Theatre

• Specialties:

  Media, Media studies and criticism, Media industry, Television, Genre theory, Police dramas

• Jonathan Nichols-Pethick's work focuses on media studies, especially television studies; critical and cultural approaches to the media; media industries and audiences – focusing on how programming strategies and industrial structures influence how audiences understand TV; business of TV; TV genres; and…

Kevin Howley

Professor of Media Studies

Department of Communication and Theatre

• Specialties:

  Sociology of media and popular culture; political communication; media activism, social movement media; journalism studies; technology and culture.

• Kevin Howley is the author of “Drones: Media Discourse and the Public Imagination” (Peter Lang, 2018) and “Community Media: People, Places, and Communication Technologies” (Cambridge University Press, 2005). He was editor of “Understanding Community Media” (Sage, 2010) and “Media Interventions” (Peter…

Sherry Mou

Associate Professor of Modern Languages (Chinese) and Asian Studies

Department of Modern Languages and Asian Studies

• Specialties:

  Asian studies, China, Chinese history, Chinese culture, Chinese language, Chinese women, Chinese film, Taiwan

• Sherry J. Mou is Associate Professor of Chinese Literature and Language in Modern Languages Department and Asian Studies Program. Since joining the DePauw faculty in 2002, Professor Mou has offered courses in both modern and classical Chinese literature, language, and culture, including Chinese Theater…

Natural Disasters

James Mills

Ernest R. Smith Professor of Geosciences

Department of Geosciences

• Specialties:

  Geosciences, Geology, Earthquakes, Seismology, Volcanoes

• James Mills' research specialty is the origin and evolution of silicic magmatic systems (igneous rocks, both volcanic and other). In recent years, he has conducted research on igneous rocks in southern Missouri. That area of Missouri features interesting geologic history, with igneous rocks approximately…

Scott Wilkerson

Professor of Geosciences

Department of Geosciences

• Specialties:

  Geosciences, Earthquakes, Geophysics, Maps, Google Earth, Minerals, Oil Exploration

• Scott Wilkerson is coauthor – with Beth Wilkerson – of the Geotours Workbook. He will be on sabbatical in fall 2015 to develop a second edition of the book, which is used in a course that he teaches, "Map Interpretation." He also is working on a book in which he uses Google Earth to teach map interpretation…

Tim Cope

Associate Professor of Geosciences

Department of Geosciences

• Specialties:

  Geosciences, Geology, Radiometric dating, Plate tectonics, Geologic mapping

• Tim Cope's research centers on the tectonic development of northeastern China during the assembly of Asia. The Asian continent is composed of numerous continental fragments and volcanic islands that collided with each other over the course of the last 270 million years. The most recent manifestation…

Politics

David Gellman

Professor of History

Department of History

• Specialties:

  History, American history, American Revolution, Colonial America, Founding Fathers, John Jay, Slavery, Abolition, Voting rights, New York, Bruce Springsteen

• David Gellman's areas of research include: Early America (Colonial America to 19th Century); slavery and abolition; American Revolution; New York history (city and state); John Jay, founding father of America, first chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, diplomat, co-author of the Federalist papers…

Jeffrey McCall

Professor of Communication

Department of Communication and Theatre

• Specialties:

  Media, Television, News, First Amendment, Freedom of speech, Journalism ethics, Media literacy, Media regulation, FCC, TV violence, Political communication, Sports media

• Jeffrey McCall is an established media critic with national credentials. He has written numerous op-eds that have been published in newspapers around the country. He is quoted frequently as a media critic in newspaper stories, on television and radio. McCall's mission is to promote media literacy to…

Jeremy P. Anderson

Assistant Professor of Philosophy

Department of Philosophy

• Specialties:

  Philosophy, Political philosophy, Philosophy of law, Punishment, Legal punishment, War, Just war, Government legitimacy, Ethics, Terrorism

• Jeremy Anderson focuses on political philosophy, especially the basis of political authority. In other words, why have a government? He also looks at which form of government is most justifiable, as well as how a government exercises its authority. For example, how does a government justify its use of…

John T. Schlotterbeck

Professor of history

Department of History

• Specialties:

  U.S. South, 19th century U.S. history, Civil War and Reconstruction, history museums, popular music before 1965

• John Schlotterbeck is a social historian interested in the everyday lives of ordinary people in the United States. This is reflected in his scholarship and courses in which he examines how common people shaped the past even as their lives were constrained by larger economic, political, and social forces…

Kevin Howley

Professor of Media Studies

Department of Communication and Theatre

• Specialties:

  Sociology of media and popular culture; political communication; media activism, social movement media; journalism studies; technology and culture.

• Kevin Howley is the author of “Drones: Media Discourse and the Public Imagination” (Peter Lang, 2018) and “Community Media: People, Places, and Communication Technologies” (Cambridge University Press, 2005). He was editor of “Understanding Community Media” (Sage, 2010) and “Media Interventions” (Peter…

Meryl Altman

Professor of English and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

Department of English

• Specialties:

  Political economy of women, Women's political inequality, Women and money, Women in the ancient world, Feminism, Simone de Beauvoir, Women and philosophy, Higher education issues related to gender and inequality, Interdisciplinary education

• Meryl Altman is working to complete a book on Simone de Beauvoir, the French writer and philosopher who laid the foundation for the modern feminist movement. She has previously written journal articles about Beauvoir. Altman teaches a course titled "The Political Economy of Women," which covers the nitty-gritty…

Suman Balasubramanian

Assistant Professor of Mathematics

Department of Mathematics

• Specialties:

  Mathematics, Graph theory, Big Data, Social networks, Data mining, Interconnectivity, Indian-Asian history

• Suman Balasubramian particularly focuses on mathematical modeling of networks, which includes such phenomena as the spread of disease, social interactions, and data mining of social media such as Facebook.

Sunil K. Sahu

Professor of Political Science

Department of Political Science

• Specialties:

  Political science, political economy of development, Indian politics, electoral politics in India, party politics in South Asia, politics in Afghanistan and Pakistan, international terrorism, nuclear programs in South Asia, democratization in the developing world, globalization, pharmaceutical industry in India

• Sunil Sahu is working on a book titled Why Democracy Succeeds and Fails in the Developing World: A Comparison of India and Nigeria. He focuses his research on the nuclear program in India and Pakistan and the question of whether it has promoted peace or conflict. He also is researching India's prime…

Science and Technology

Arthur Evans

Emeritus Professor of Modern Languages (French)

Department of Modern Languages

• Specialties:

  French, Science fiction, Sci-Fi, Futurism, Jules Verne, Maurice Renard, Albert Robida, Translation

• Arthur Evans conducts research on French author Jules Verne and early science fiction; he is considered the preeminent authority on Verne. Evans is managing editor of Science Fiction Studies, a leading science fiction journal housed at DePauw. He also is the series editor for Early Classics of Science…

Dana Dudle

Professor of Biology

Department of Biology

• Specialties:

  Biology, Plants, Conservation, Endangered and invasive species, Posse Program,

• Dana Dudle's work focuses on plant evolutionary ecology, plant reproductive biology, floral color change within species and how pollinators react to that, how plants respond to stress, invasive species; and pigments, e.g., why leaves turn different colors in the fall. All of her work is with her students…

Daniel G. Gurnon

Associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

• Specialties:

  Chemistry, Biochemistry, Rare genetic diseases, DNA sequencing, Bioinformatics, Art and science, Science visualization, Molecular animation

• Daniel Gurnon, the 2015 Indiana Professor of the Year, is especially interested in rare genetic diseases. He and his students work with the Rare Genomics Institute to analyze DNA sequences of patients – nationally and internationally – who have undiagnosed genetic diseases. Gurnon and students use bioinformatics…

Dave Berque

Professor of Computer Science and Dean of Academic Life

Department of Computer Science

• Specialties:

  Computer science, Human-computer interaction, Instructional technology, Pen-based computing, Persuasive technology

• Dave Berque is the creator of DyKnow software that enables teachers to provide class notes electronically, thus freeing students from concentrating on furiously writing notes by hand and, instead, allowing them to participate in discussion with the teacher and classmates. Berque has two patents for the…

Gloria Townsend

Professor of Computer Science

Department of Computer Science

• Specialties:

  Computer science, Autonomous robotics, E-textiles, Evolutionary computation, First-generation students in STEM, Service learning, Women in computing, Underrepresented groups in computing

• Gloria Townsend's research and teaching interests lie in evolutionary computation -- with publications and grant work involving biological applications -- robotics, computing ethics and gender issues of computing. As a founding member of DePauw's computer science department, Townsend has been determined…

Harry Brown

Associate Professor of English

Department of English

• Specialties:

  English, Early American literature, Native American literature, Puritans, Salem witchcraft, Digital humanities, Video games

• Harry Brown works in Digital Humanities, which is the use of digital tools to do research in the Humanities – such as using computers to analyze patterns in historical texts. Humanities tend to lag behind other disciplines in using computer technology. Brown is author of a book, Video Games in Education…

Hilary Eppley

Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

• Specialties:

  Chemistry, Inorganic chemistry, Ionic liquids, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, Undergraduate science research

• Hilary Eppley conducts undergraduate research with students in the field of inorganic chemistry, especially inorganic reactions in ionic liquids. She has been a leader in developing a website designed to help college faculty nationally in the teaching of inorganic chemistry. She spent a 2013-14 sabbatical…

Istvan Csicsery-Ronay

Professor of English

Department of English

• Specialties:

  Global science fiction, Human-animal studies (links between animal behavior and human culture), History of science fiction, Science fiction (how it inspires technological innovation), Science fiction (non-United States), Techno-culture studies (how technology affects cultures)

• Istvan Csicsery-Ronay is editor of Science Fiction Studies, the leading international journal about science fiction that is located at DePauw University. He is working on a book, a collection of essays, about the evolution of science fiction and the ways it has affected global culture, especially in…

James Mills

Ernest R. Smith Professor of Geosciences

Department of Geosciences

• Specialties:

  Geosciences, Geology, Earthquakes, Seismology, Volcanoes

• James Mills' research specialty is the origin and evolution of silicic magmatic systems (igneous rocks, both volcanic and other). In recent years, he has conducted research on igneous rocks in southern Missouri. That area of Missouri features interesting geologic history, with igneous rocks approximately…

Jeanette K. Pope

Associate Professor of Geosciences and Faculty Sustainability Coordinator

Department of Geosciences

• Specialties:

  Geosciences, Climate change, Agricultural runoff, Mining, STEM education, Environment, Water quality

• Jeanette Pope's passion is sustainability – protecting and promoting environmental quality and social justice. She teaches classes about science and the environment. Her research interests include water quality – especially agricultural runoff, including the effects of fertilizer runoff on streams. Pope…

Jeffrey A. Hansen

Professor of chemistry and biochemistry

Department of Chemistry and biochemistry

• Specialties:

  Chemistry and biochemistry, Organic synthesis, Pharmaceuticals, Food chemistry, Spectroscopy, Science education

• Jeffrey Hansen focuses his research on organic synthesis and developing chemical reactions that can be used in synthesis. His research is related to the pharmaceutical industry and the many drug compounds made through organic synthesis (organic means molecules of carbon). He makes molecules and tests…

Jim Benedix

Winona H. Welch Professor of Biology and Co-Director of the Environmental Fellows Program

Department of Biology

• Specialties:

  Ecology, Behavioral ecology, Evolution

• Jim Benedix gives students the freedom to choose their own research, which has led to some very interesting work that he otherwise wouldn't have done. Recent research has led to a shift in his work from basic research to applied research – getting at an actual issue. He will spend a 2015-16 sabbatical…

Lori A. Miles

Associate professor of art and art history

Department of Art and Art History

• Specialties:

  Art history, Sculpture, Public art, Technology related to and used in art, Copyright issues (fair use and related legal issues), Community service related to art

• Lori Miles focuses on art making, mostly dealing with cultural memes – especially looking at the gap between sculpture and contemporary controversies. She works at the intersection of traditional sculpture and use of online images for which copyright has expired. Online images inspire her sculpture and…

Lynn Bedard

Associate Professor of Biology

Department of Biology

• Specialties:

  Biology, Cell biology, Molecular biology, Genetics, Cancer, Twins, Yeast

• Lynn Bedard has a special interest in yeast -- but not the kind of yeast used in baking bread. Bedard is collaborating with a colleague at the Indiana University School of Medicine in research on proteomics, or looking at the mechanism of how cells use DNA information to make RNA. There is a potential…

Pascal J. Lafontant

Associate professor of biology

Department of Biology

• Specialties:

  Biology, Biomedical science, Bioengineering, Heart development, Cell biology, Physiology, Zebrafish

• Pascal Lafontant's primary research interest is heart regeneration. He is recipient of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to study heart development and regeneration. Specifically, he uses zebrafish as a research model because zebrafish can be modified genetically in order to study particular…

Scott Wilkerson

Professor of Geosciences

Department of Geosciences

• Specialties:

  Geosciences, Earthquakes, Geophysics, Maps, Google Earth, Minerals, Oil Exploration

• Scott Wilkerson is coauthor – with Beth Wilkerson – of the Geotours Workbook. He will be on sabbatical in fall 2015 to develop a second edition of the book, which is used in a course that he teaches, "Map Interpretation." He also is working on a book in which he uses Google Earth to teach map interpretation…

Sharon Crary

Percy L. Julian Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

• Specialties:

  Biochemistry, Virology, Ebola, DNA, RNA, Global health, Service work, Social Promise, Uganda

• Sharon Crary conducts research on Ebola and RNA, and she is working with Rich Martoglio and students in order to develop a diagnostic test for Leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease. She conducts science outreach through The Castle; works with Social Promise (www.socialpromise.org); is an American…

Suman Balasubramanian

Assistant Professor of Mathematics

Department of Mathematics

• Specialties:

  Mathematics, Graph theory, Big Data, Social networks, Data mining, Interconnectivity, Indian-Asian history

• Suman Balasubramian particularly focuses on mathematical modeling of networks, which includes such phenomena as the spread of disease, social interactions, and data mining of social media such as Facebook.

Tim Cope

Associate Professor of Geosciences

Department of Geosciences

• Specialties:

  Geosciences, Geology, Radiometric dating, Plate tectonics, Geologic mapping

• Tim Cope's research centers on the tectonic development of northeastern China during the assembly of Asia. The Asian continent is composed of numerous continental fragments and volcanic islands that collided with each other over the course of the last 270 million years. The most recent manifestation…

Wade Hazel

Professor of Biology

Department of Biology

• Specialties:

  Biology, Butterflies, Swallowtail butterflies, Insect adaptation to climate change, Twins

• Wade Hazel specializes in evolutionary analysis of decision-making in organisms; e.g. all insects in temperate zones pass the winter in a state of suspended animation, then produce multi generations in summer. Scientific term is diapause.Twinning is a byproduct of natural selection for increased fertility…

Social Issues

Angela N. Castaneda

Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology

Department of Sociology and Anthropology

• Specialties:

  Sociology and anthropology, doula, intimate labor, childbirth, humanized birth, mothering, reproduction, Latin American culture

• Angela Castaneda specializes in the anthropology of reproduction, childbirth and mothering. In particular, she looks at the role of doulas, and specifically doulas who help pregnant and laboring couples. Castaneda did research with a community of doulas in Indiana, including mothers who have hired a…

Beth Benedix

Professor of World Literature, Religious Studies and Community Engagement

Department of Religious Studies and Jewish Studies

• Specialties:

  Religion, Existentialism, Kafka, Nietzsche, The Holocaust, Judaism, Jewish culture, Modern Jewish writers

• Beth Benedix is a Professor of World Literature, Religious Studies, and Community Engagement at DePauw University. She is the author of Ghost Writer (A Story About Telling a Holocaust Story) (Spuyten Duyvil, 2018), Reluctant Theologians: Franz Kafka, Paul Celan, Edmond Jabès (Fordham University Press…

David Gellman

Professor of History

Department of History

• Specialties:

  History, American history, American Revolution, Colonial America, Founding Fathers, John Jay, Slavery, Abolition, Voting rights, New York, Bruce Springsteen

• David Gellman's areas of research include: Early America (Colonial America to 19th Century); slavery and abolition; American Revolution; New York history (city and state); John Jay, founding father of America, first chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, diplomat, co-author of the Federalist papers…

Glen D. Kuecker

Professor of History

Department of History

• Specialties:

  Conflict studies, Latin America, Latin American refugees and migrants, Latin American relations, Latin American resistance movements, Mexico, New Songdo City (South Korea), Urbanism, UN Habitat III, Complexity thinking, Urban studies, Smart cities, Economic history, Globalization, Climate change, Energy, Environmental studies, mining

• Glen Kuecker is currently working on a project called “The Making of Habitat III.” It is part of a larger project about how humanity will weather the perfect storm of 21st-century crises:  the intersections between climate change, energy transition, food insecurity, demographic shift (growth, aging,…

Gregory L. Schwipps

Associate professor of English

Department of English

• Specialties:

  English writing, Novel writing, Catfishing, Catfish conservation, Fishing for Dummies

• Gregory Schwipps is author of What This River Keeps, one of 13 books selected for the Next Indiana Bookshelf in 2015, which was created by The Indiana Center for the Book and Indiana Humanities to help celebrate Indiana's bicentennial in 2016. What This River Keeps tells a familiar Hoosier story – an…

Jeffrey S. Dunn

Assistant professor of philosophy

Department of Philosophy

• Specialties:

  Philosophy, Epistemology, Logic, Philosophy of science, Belief revision/beliefs, Ethics of science, Ethics in the Virtual World (video game ethics), Bayesian statistics

• Jeffrey Dunn studies primarily epistemology and the philosophy of science, particularly looking at the best methods for gathering accurate beliefs. He also has a special interest in Epistemic Consequentialism; i.e., what is the best thing to do that results in the best consequences. He investigates whether…

Jennifer L. Adams

Associate professor of communication and theatre

Department of Communication and theatre

• Specialties:

  Environmental communication (including issues and movements), Public discourse, Free speech issues, Helen Gouger, Women's suffrage, Sedition, Love letters (how to write)

• Jennifer Adams has a fellowship to conduct archival research on free speech issues. In particular she is researching World War I-era women radicals who were imprisoned under the Sedition Act. Adams also studies and writes about Helen Gouger, an Indiana suffrage rights worker. Gouger's efforts were well…

Jeremy P. Anderson

Assistant Professor of Philosophy

Department of Philosophy

• Specialties:

  Philosophy, Political philosophy, Philosophy of law, Punishment, Legal punishment, War, Just war, Government legitimacy, Ethics, Terrorism

• Jeremy Anderson focuses on political philosophy, especially the basis of political authority. In other words, why have a government? He also looks at which form of government is most justifiable, as well as how a government exercises its authority. For example, how does a government justify its use of…

John T. Schlotterbeck

Professor of history

Department of History

• Specialties:

  U.S. South, 19th century U.S. history, Civil War and Reconstruction, history museums, popular music before 1965

• John Schlotterbeck is a social historian interested in the everyday lives of ordinary people in the United States. This is reflected in his scholarship and courses in which he examines how common people shaped the past even as their lives were constrained by larger economic, political, and social forces…

M. Susan Anthony

Professor of Communication and Theatre

Department of Communication and Theatre

• Specialties:

  American drama and theatre, Early American actresses, Women's theatrical history, Gender and theatre, Theatre history and criticism, Gothic drama, acting and directing

• Susan Anthony focuses her research on women's place in society throughout American history, and particularly women's role in theatre. She is compiling information about early British/American actresses, seeking a glimpse into society and theatrical life of the time. In her first book, Gothic Plays in…

Matthew Hertenstein

Professor of Psychology

Department of Psychology

• Specialties:

  Psychology, Developmental psychology, Emotional development (child), Nonverbal communication, Parenting, Smiles/smiling, Tells (nonverbal communication), Touch (Emotional communication)

• Matthew Hertenstein focuses his research on emotional communication (including touch) and emotional development. He has a special interest in nonverbal communication, or tells, that reveal what you can tell about people. Heis author of a book, The Tell:The Little Clues That Reveal Big Truths About Who…

Meryl Altman

Professor of English and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

Department of English

• Specialties:

  Political economy of women, Women's political inequality, Women and money, Women in the ancient world, Feminism, Simone de Beauvoir, Women and philosophy, Higher education issues related to gender and inequality, Interdisciplinary education

• Meryl Altman is working to complete a book on Simone de Beauvoir, the French writer and philosopher who laid the foundation for the modern feminist movement. She has previously written journal articles about Beauvoir. Altman teaches a course titled "The Political Economy of Women," which covers the nitty-gritty…

Michael E. Roberts

Associate Professor of Psychology

Department of Psychology

• Specialties:

  Psychology, Neuroscience, Neural networks, Visual learning, Anxiety, Memory, Emotion regulation

• Michael Roberts has several areas of research interest, including: (1) He uses computer models/algorithmic solutions to investigate how we learn visual features, such as trees or other people, in the world. Humans are born with some of that ability, and some can be learned. Roberts is developing a neural…

Rebecca Bordt

Professor of Sociology and Anthropology

Department of Sociology and Anthropology

• Specialties:

  Criminology, Intimate violence, Mid-career college teachers (how age affects teaching), Prison narratives, SoTL (Scholarship of Teaching and Learning), Women's prisons

• Rebecca Bordt teaches and conducts work in the area of criminology. She teaches a DePauw course titled "Intimate Violence." Her last research project was about prison narratives, nonfiction books written by prison inmates. During a 2014-15 sabbatical, Bordt conducted interviews of and collected data…

Yung-chen Chiang

Professor of history

Department of History

• Specialties:

  Chinese culture, Social sciences in China, Modern China and gender, Hu Shi, Knowledge transfer across cultures

• Yung-chen Chiang, a native of Taiwan, focuses his research on Modern China and gender, and work on a multi-volume biography of Hu Shi, former Chinese ambassador to the United States from 1938-42. The first two volumes on Hu Shi have been published in Taiwan and China. Chiang plans to complete the third…