Teaching Associate Professor
English
My primary fields of research are twentieth-century American cultural studies, drama and performance studies, labor studies, and film studies. And my research focuses on the intersection between economic calamity, theories of work and labor, and the performative art people produce during eras like the Great Depression. In my courses, I emphasize understanding the historical, social, and cultural context of texts, but also now our contemporary readings problematize literature. I also foster interdisciplinary dialogue between all fields in my courses, and support students with both their academic and professional goals.
My book, All Play and No Work: American Work Ideals and the Comic Plays of the Federal Theatre Project (Temple University Press, 2023), examines how select comedies produced by the federal government during the Great Depression portrayed complicated norms of working and labor. I argue that many plays actually subverted norms of traditional labor or promoted alternative forms of working to audiences during the 1930s. My writing on the Federal Theatre Project and other subjects, such as confidence artists and literature or other theater studies, has appeared in such outlets as Journal of American Drama and Threatre, Middle West Review, and Howlround, and I have a forthcoming chapter on portrayals of unions in pro wrestling. My current research project examines the cultural history of ice-skating shows in the United States and Canada in the 20th Century, focusing on how shows like the Ice Follies and Ice Capades intersected with sports and theater, as well as how they promoted and challenged gender norms.
Courses Taught
- American Literature
- Rhetoric/Composition
- Drama
- Cultural Studies
Research Interests
- American literature, theatre, and culture, 1865-1945
- Economic history
- Confidence artists
- Theories of work / Labor, Speculation
Publications
- "Monday Night Labor Wars: Representation of Union Movements in Professional Wrestling" in So Long, Dental Plan! Unions, Labor Relations and Class Struggle鈥s Seen On TV. State University of New York Press (Forthcoming)
- All Play and No Work: American Work Ideals and the Comedies of the Federal Theatre Project. Temple University Press. November, 2023.
- 鈥�Haunted City: Three Centuries of Racial Impersonation in Philadelphia.鈥� Rev. of Christian DuComb鈥檚 Haunted City: Three Centuries of Racial Impersonation in Philadelphia. Theatre History Studies. 3021, Volume 40. 218-221.
- "Salesman of the Year: Season One of Fargo and the Legacy of the Confidence Artist in the Midwest.鈥� Middle West Review. Volume 5, Number 2, Spring 2019.
- "The Illusion of Work: The Con Artist Plays of the Federal Theatre Project.鈥� Journal of American Drama and Theatre. Volume 30, Number 1 (Fall 2017).
- "No Security In Acting: A Moral Entertainment and the Conflict Over Theatrical Labor in the Federal Theatre Project.鈥� LATCH: A Journal for the Study of the Literary Artifact in Theory, Culture, or History. Volume 8, Number 1 (2015 to 2016).
- "The Feast of Crispian: Shakespeare with Veterans.鈥� HowlRound. February 15, 2018.
- "It Happened Here: Looking Back on Revivals of Sinclair Lewis鈥檚 Play During the 2016 Election.鈥� HowlRound. February 19, 2017.
- "Monday Night Labor Wars: Representation of Union Movements in Professional Wrestling" in So Long, Dental Plan! Unions, Labor Relations and Class Struggle鈥s Seen On TV. State University of New York Press (Forthcoming).
Additional Information
Office Hours
Fall 2025
- By Appointment: Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:00PM - 2:00PM
Teaching Schedule
Fall 2025
- 1001/139 MWF 12:00-12:50pm Lalumiere Language Hall 198
- 2889/101 MW 3:30-4:45 Johnston Hall 107
- 2879/101 MWF 1:00-1:50 Lalumiere Language Hall 198
- Introductory to Literary Studies
- 2880/102 MWF 2:00-2:50 Lalumiere Language Hall 198
- Introductory to Literary Studies
Dr. Paul Gagliardi黑料论坛
