Presentations

I love sharing my research and the stories I have collected. There’s something exhilarating about standing in front of a group of interested peers and discussing my passions, whether it be literature, history, religion, or popular culture. Due to the pandemic, the recent conferences have been online, and it’s been great to see how everyone has adapted to make it work. My past presentations have been:

“Hockey Violence: The 1969 Green-Maki Incident and the Future of Fighting in the NHL,” Northeast Popular & American Culture Association Conference. Virtual. October 12-14, 2023.

“‘Historically Significant and True:’ MUFON, Thomas Reed, Jimmy Carter, and the Search for UFOs in 1969,” Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association Conference. Virtual. November 10-12, 2022.

High-denomination American banknotes were withdrawn in 1969, but eliminating  $100 bills would raise many concerns.

“Breaking Baseball’s Unwritten Rules: Saving the Sport or Driving away Dollars?” Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association Conference. Virtual. November 10-12, 2022.

“Operation Intercept: The War on Drugs, Pacifism, and Race Relations in 1969,” Southeast World History Association Conference. James Madison University. Harrisonburg, Virginia (virtual). November 4-6, 2022.

“Bugs Bunny, Big Bird, and the Brady Bunch: The Expansion of Family-Friendly Television in 1969,” Northeast Popular & American Culture Association Conference. Virtual. October 20-22, 2022.

“Farewell, Franklin?: Elimination of High-Denomination Bills in 1969 and the Future of U.S. Currency,” Midwest World History Association Conference. Grand Valley State University. Grand Rapids, Michigan (virtual). September 23-24, 2022.

“Bruising the Heads of Satan and Ophion: Revenge through Serpent Stories in Paradise Lost,” American Academy of Religion/Society of Biblical Literature Southeast Region Annual Conference. Florida State University. Tallahassee, Florida (virtual). March 11-13, 2022.

“Breaking All the Old Hierarchies: Sex and Gender in Marge Piercy’s Woman on the Edge of Time,” Utopian Studies Society Conference. University of Porto. Porto, Portugal (virtual). December 10-12, 2021.

“Poison Hath Residence and Medicine Power: Friar Lawrence’s Dual Nature in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet,” Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association Conference. University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada (virtual). November 11-14, 2021.

“Youthquake, The Archies, and the Song of 1969,” Mid-Atlantic Popular and American Culture Association Conference. Virtual. November 10-13, 2021.

“Correcting Baseball’s History Books: Possibilities and Obstacles in Integrating Negro Leagues Statistics,” Mid-Atlantic Popular and American Culture Association Conference. Virtual. November 10-13, 2021.

Miles Davis, who recorded the groundbreaking jazz album Bitches Brew in 1969

“Goodness vs. Greatness in Henry Fielding’s Jonathan Wild,” Northeast Conference on British Studies. Virtual. October 22-23, 2021.

“The Other Music of 1969: Bad Boys, Bubblegum Beats, and Bitches Brew,” Northeast Popular Culture Association Conference. Virtual. October 21-23, 2021.

“Forecasting Disaster in 1969: The Ohio Fireworks Derecho, Yangjiang Earthquake, and Hurricane Camille,” Midwest World History Association Conference. Lewis University. Romeoville, Illinois (virtual). September 24-25, 2021.

“History, Composition, and Interpretation of the Book of Daniel,” Southeastern Commission for the Study of Religion Conference. Florida State University. Tallahassee, Florida (virtual). March 12-14, 2021.

“Manipulation of Words, Manipulation of Minds: Totalitarian Language in the Dystopias of Zamyatin and Orwell,” South Atlantic Modern Languages Association Conference. Jacksonville, Florida (virtual). November 13-15, 2020.

“Flames, Floods, and Fireworks: Lessons from Cleveland’s Disastrous Summer of 1969,” Southeast World History Association Conference. Arkansas Tech University. Russellville, Arkansas (virtual). October 24-25, 2020.

The complex in Jerusalem containing the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque, site of arson in 1969.

“Arguments for an Inclusive Baseball Hall of Fame,” Northeast Popular Culture Association Conference. Southern New Hampshire University. Manchester, New Hampshire (virtual). October 22-24, 2020.

“From Refrigerator Mothers to #ActuallyAutistic: Leo Kanner’s 1969 Awakening and the Neurodiversity Movement,” Connections: Humanities and Social Sciences Conference. University of Lethbridge. Lethbridge, Alberta. May 3-5, 2019.

“Jerusalem, Three Faiths, and the 1969 Al-Aqsa Mosque Arson,” Connections: Humanities and Social Sciences Conference. University of Lethbridge. Lethbridge, Alberta. May 3-5, 2019.

“‘People Like You Don’t Deserve It’: Professional Wrestling as a Reflection of Domestic Racial Tensions,” American Historical Association Annual Meeting. Chicago, Illinois. January 3-6, 2019.

“Discovery or Deception?: Fernand Navarra’s 1969 Expedition and the Search for Noah’s Ark,” Research in Religious Studies Conference. University of Lethbridge. Lethbridge, Alberta. May 5-6, 2018.

“1968-1969: Major League Baseball’s Rock Bottom and Rebound,” Far West Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Conference. Las Vegas, Nevada. February 23-25, 2018.

Swami Vivekananda, a Hindu monk, promoted respect and peaceful relations between religions.

“The Legacy of Swami Vivekananda’s 1893 Address to the World’s Parliament of Religions,” Research in Religious Studies Conference. University of Lethbridge. Lethbridge, Alberta. April 28-29, 2006.

“A Sociological History of the British Fashion System, 1846-1945,” guest lecture for Sociology 102: Social Institutions and Processes. College of the Rockies. Cranbrook, British Columbia.  January 19-20, 2006.

“Liberation through Alteration: Rereading the Wife of Bath’s Rewriting of the Bible,” Carleton University-University of Ottawa Medieval and Renaissance Studies Society Conference. Carleton University. Ottawa, Ontario. April 16, 2005.

The site of the “Tyburn Tree,” the gallows that attracted thousands of eager spectators.

“From Tyburn to Room 101: Fielding, Thackeray, and Orwell on Capital Punishment,” English Graduate Student Colloquium. Carleton University. Ottawa, Ontario. April 14, 2005.

“Exodus to the Promised Land: Soviet Mennonites and World War II,” Underhill Graduate Student Colloquium. Carleton University. Ottawa, Ontario. March 3-4, 2005.

“Cultural Values Reflected in Medieval Literature: Beowulf, The Song of Roland, and The Canterbury Tales,” Medieval and Renaissance Cultural Studies Graduate Conference. University of Calgary. Calgary, Alberta. April 16-17, 2004.

Cash picture courtesy of Pictures of Money (Flickr) (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic). Miles Davis picture (cropped) courtesy of William P. Gottlieb (Public Domain). Jerusalem picture (cropped) courtesy of Andrew Shiva (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International). Vivekananda picture courtesy of Manjappabg (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported).Tyburn picture courtesy of John D. Smith of Cwmbran, Wales (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)