I began drawing and painting in high school, and for many years it was only a hobby. But when I began an academic career, I discovered art informed my intellectual curiosities and teaching style in surprising ways.

I approach both art and teaching as a storyteller. In addition to picking out readings and planning assignments, I try to give my courses an aesthetic identity. I want to immerse the students in the world of a subject, and to help them ‘feel’ concepts as well as understand them in the abstract.

I have also used art as a way to develop more practical knowledge about the production and distribution of media. It’s provided a new perspective on transmedia storytelling, fandom, amateur production, and worldbuilding. In the classroom, I can approach these subjects as a participant, as well as a scholar.