Department: English

Clare Emily Clifford

Visiting Assistant Professor of English

Office:

Humanities Center 205

Contact Information:

Box 549030
Birmingham-Southern College
900 Arkadelphia Rd
Birmingham, AL 35254
Office Phone: (205) 226-7840
Office Fax: 226-3089
E-mail:ccliffor@bsc.edu

Brief Career Background:

Birmingham Southern College, 2005/2007
The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2005-2007
The University of Alabama, 1999-2005
Northeastern University, 1997-1999

Educational Background:

PhD, The University of Alabama, American Literature(2005)
MA, Northeastern University, English and American Literature (1999)
BA, Virginia Tech, English & Liberal Arts and Sciences (1997)

Areas of Academic Interest:

American Literature
20th/21st Century American Poetry
Creative Writing
War Literature
Literature of Crisis (Death, Suicide, Trauma)
Cultural Studies
Medical Humanities
Buddhist Philosophy

Courses Taught:

EH 102: Seminar in Critical Thinking and Writing (1)
A seminar on college-level writing and critical inquiry. The course emphasizes clear and engaging prose, persuasive reasoning, various rhetorical strategies, research documentation, and standard English grammar and mechanics.

EH 208: Intermediate Writing (1)
The development of intensive analytical skills, precise and extensive vocabulary, and consciousness of style.

EH 205: Introduction to Creative Writing (1)
Beginning work in creative writing in several genres, including fiction, poetry, and either drama or creative nonfiction, at the discretion of the instructor. Using a combination of in-class exercises, readings, and workshops, the course introduces students to the fundamentals of creating, reading, and evaluating short pieces of creative writing.

EH 220: Literature and the Social Experience (1)
An introduction to the social interpretation of literature through study of a faculty-selected topic, focusing on a cultural movement, a social issue, or the perspective of a social group.

EH 325 Natural, Wild, and Free: American Environmental Literature (1)
An investigation of American environmental literature and nature writing. The course gives particular attention to literature and fi lm that examines the consequences of human activity on natural systems and engage in conversations about human connections to the environment, nature, wilderness, conservation, and preservation.

MFS 100 Introduction to Media and Film Studies (1)
An introduction to critical analysis of mass media in the context of contemporary culture and social institutions, including an examination of how mass media, such as film, television, advertising, the internet, and others, impact and reflect cultural values, political attitudes, personal identity, and behavior. Students learn basic media literacy by developing conceptual tools for thinking critically about mass media, with a special emphasis on (1) how various media shape and convey meaning; and (2) the impact that the form, function, and institutional production of media have on local, national, and global communities.

HON 243 Dissecting the Text: Literature, Medicine, and the Body (1)
An investigation of the relationship between literature, medicine, and the body. This seminar examines all aspects of the medical humanities as represented in literary texts about the experience of health, illness, and doctoring from medical professional, physician, and patient perspective. By analyzing the way we represent, interpret, and “read” the body, this course dissects the politics of health and suffering, illness and recovery, hope and healing.