Rhodes Experts

Many Rhodes faculty and staff are available to respond to media requests and comment on various topics of interest. To reach any of our subject experts, please contact the Communications Office at (901) 843-3875. 

The following list is by subject and not necessarily by department.
 

Anthropology-Sociology

  • Susan Kus: Symbolic anthropology, early state origins, archaeology and ethnography of Madagascar 

Art and Art History

Biology

  • Michael Collins: Ecology, wildlife biology, ornithology, invasive species, conservation biology, evolution  
  • Terry Hill: Biology of fungi, microbiology, cell biology 
  • Alan Jaslow: Herpetology, animal communication, health professions advising  
  • Carolyn Jaslow: Biomechanics, histology, embryology, mammalogy 
  • Gary Lindquester: Molecular biology, virology, gene expression 
  • Mary Miller: Genetics and cancer biology 

Business-Commerce-Economics-Finance-Management

  • Dee Birnbaum: Personnel/human resource management, occupations and careers, health care careers, nursing shortage, hospital administration, employee motivation, leadership, organizational design, organizational performance and attitudes 
  • Marshall Gramm: Regulation, mortgage lending, betting markets, equine industries 

Chemistry

Education and Higher Education

  • Melissa Butler: Disability and higher education, transitioning from high school to college 
  • Sandi Tracy: Career preparation, jobs, internship programs 
  • Carey Thompson: Enrollment trends, the college admissions process, tips for students and parents 

English

  • Gordon Bigelow: Nineteenth century British and Irish literature, cultural studies 
  • Marshall Boswell: Twentieth century American literature, contemporary fiction, creative writing 
  • Lori Garner: Old English language and literature; oral traditions   
  • Scott Newstok: Shakespeare, adaptation, lyric poetry, rhetoric 
  • Leslie Petty: Nineteenth- and Twentieth-century American literature, feminist theory, cultural studies, feminist activism in American fiction 
  • Jason Richards: Early and antebellum American literature, Gothic studies, critical race theory 
  • Rashna Richards: American film history, critical theory, transnational cultural studies, visual culture 
  • Seth Rudy: Eighteenth century British poetry & prose, encyclopedism genre 
  • Brian Shaffer: Twentieth century British literature and Irish literature
  • Caki Wilkinson:  Twentieth century American literature, contemporary poetry, creative writing

Greek and Roman Studies  

  • Geoff Bakewell: Ancient Greece and its history, literature and religion 
  • Joseph Jansen: Athenian political and economic history 
  • Ariel Lopez: Late Antiquity, ancient/late antique Egypt, Coptic, papyri 
  • Susan Satterfield: Roman Republican history and religion 
  • David Sick: Spoken Latin, comparative mythology, early Christianity 

History

  • Michael Drompp: East Asian history, China and Japan, Inner Asia 
  • Timothy Huebner: American South, U.S. Constitutional/legal history, American civil war/reconstruction 
  • Jeffrey Jackson: Modern Europe, modern France, history of jazz, urban history, history of natural disasters 
  • Jonathan Judaken: Modern European intellectual history/History of Ideas; existentialism; racism and anti-Semitism; Post-Holocaust philosophy
  • Tait Keller: Environmental history, war and society 
  • Michael LaRosa: Contemporary Latin America, Colombia, Catholic Church history 
  • Seok-Won Lee: Modern Asia 
  • Charles W. McKinney Jr.: African American history, civil rights movement, 20th century social and political history, social change in the United States 
  • Robert Saxe: U.S. history since 1945, World War II, and U.S. political history 
  • Lynn Zastoupil: Modern Britain, India/Pakistan, European intellectual history 

International Studies

  • Dee Birnbaum: Women in the Middle East, Middle East culture, the meaning of amulets, symbols and dress in the Middle East and Central Asia 
  • Stephen Ceccoli: International relations, international political economy, comparative public policy, pharmaceutical industry 
  • Shadrack W. Nasong′o: African politics, international relations, comparative politics, conflict studies, ethnicity and nationalism, democratization, social movements 
  • Amy Risley: Latin American politics, comparative politics 
  • Jennifer Dabbs Sciubba: Demographic and environmental security, national security strategy, population aging and labor policy 

Mathematics and Computer Science

  • Eric Gottlieb: Algebraic combinatorics 
  • Chris Mouron: Topology, continuum theory, discrete dynamical systems 
  • Betsy Sanders: Virtual environments, computer graphics, animation, and image processing 
  • Christopher Seaton: Orbifolds, differential geometry, differential topology  

Modern Languages and Literatures

  • Eric Henager: Spanish language and Spanish-American literature   
  • Alexandra Kostina: Russian language and literature, linguistics, Russian folklore 
  • Han Li: Chinese language and literature, material culture, Hong Kong cinema 
  • Shira Malkin: French language and literature, French culture, drama, translation, intercultural communication 
  • Elizabeth Pettinaroli: Hispanic culture and language, early modern/colonial literature, invention of global worlds, space and place, visual culture, cartography and literature  

Music

  • John Bass: Jazz studies, regional music studies, music history, guitar 
  • Carole Blankenship: Voice, vocal literature, American music, the songs of Paul Bowles 
  • Thomas Bryant: Piano, music theory and literature 
  • Courtenay Harter: Prokofiev′s piano sonatas, music theory, music history, oboe, English horn, chamber music (woodwind quintet), orchestra, wind ensemble 
  • Vanessa Rogers: Music, opera, classical music, pop music 
  • William Skoog: Conducting, choral studies and literature    

Philosophy

  • Patrick Shade: American philosophy, ethics, logic, history of philosophy, interdisciplinary humanities 

Physics

Political Science-Government-American Scene

  • Daniel Cullen: American political thought, history of American politics, political theory 
  • Marcus Pohlmann: Racial politics, urban politics, voting rights, constitutional law and civil liberties, intercollegiate mock trial, education policy, Memphis and Tennessee politics 
  • Stephen Wirls: Congress, American politics, political theory, U.S. Constitution, city charters 

Psychology

  • Rebecca Klatzkin: Binge eating disorder, relationship between neuroendocrine and cardiovascular stress responses and food consumption 
  • Natalie Person: Educational psychology, instructional technologies, artificial intelligence 
  • Marsha Walton: Social and moral development, narrative development, peer conflict, and storytelling practices 
  • Katherine White: Psychology and aging, language and cognition  

Religious Studies

  • Thomas Bremer: Religious history of the Americas, sacred space, religious tourism 
  • Patrick Gray: New Testament, religious conversion, superstition 
  • Rhiannon Graybill: Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), gender and sexuality in the Bible 
  • Stephen Haynes: Holocaust studies, religion and racism, religion and education, religiously affiliated colleges 
  • Kendra G. Hotz: Faith and health, Christian ethics, history of Christian theology 
  • John Kaltner: Arabic, Islam, Catholicism, Bible 
  • Steven McKenzie: Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), archaeology and the Bible, Dead Sea Scrolls 
  • Bernadette McNary-Zak: Early Christianity 
  • Brooke Schedneck: Buddhism, Southeast Asia, Thailand, Meditation, Religious Tourism

Theatre

  • David Mason: Theatre history, dramatic theory, Asian theatre, religion and theatre

Urban Studies

  • Duane T. Loynes Sr.: Black communities and law enforcement, Black philosophy and religion, Christian history and theology, social protest movements (e.g., Black Lives Matter)