Rhodes Experts

Many Rhodes faculty are available to respond to media requests and to comment on various topics of interest. To reach our subject experts, please email news@rhodes.edu or call (901) 843-3470.

Faculty interested in being added to this list also should email news@rhodes.edu.

The following is by subject and not necessarily by department.

Ancient Mediterranean 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 

Art and Art History

• Miriam G. Clinton: Greek & Roman art, archaeology, Aegean Bronze Age
• Victor Coonin: Renaissance, Baroque and Medieval art history
• Karl Erickson: Art, studio art, digital art, animation, video 
• Erin Harmon: Painting, self-portraiture, pop culture 
• David McCarthy: Modern, contemporary and American art history 

Biology

• Michael Collins: Ecology, wildlife biology, ornithology, invasive species, conservation biology, evolution 
• Jonathan Fitz Gerald: Developmental Biology, Molecular Genetics and Plant Biology 
• Terry Hill: Biology of fungi, microbiology, cell biology
• Kate LeCroy: Pollinators, bees, ecology, entomology, botany, conservation biology, invasive species, citizen science, community science 
• 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
• Eric Mathews:  Entrepreneurship, small business, family business, succession planning, business strategy

Chemistry

• William Eckenhoff: Inorganic chemistry, electrochemistry, and renewable energy
• Darlene Loprete: Biochemistry
• Larryn Peterson: Organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry 

Computer Science 

• Betsy Sanders: Virtual environments, computer graphics, animation, and image processing 
• Catie Welsh: Computational biology, bioinformatics, data mining 

Educational Studies

• Zachary A. Casey: Multicultural education, race and racism, teacher education, critical pedagogy, equity in schools, teacher professional development
• Laura Kelly: Education, literacy, bilingual education, English as a second language
• Laura Taylor: Early/Elementary literacy, high-stakes testing, literacy policy, writing instruction

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: Humanities, Shakespeare, close reading, history of education  
• 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 and TV,  transnational cultural studies, visual media 
• 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

Environmental Studies and Sciences

• Kate LeCroy: Pollinators, bees, ecology, entomology, botany, conservation biology, invasive species, citizen science, community science
• Kate Shields: Aral Sea, Uzbekistan, environmental health, water management and policy 
• Roy B. Van Arsdale: geology, earthquakes, geology of the Mississippi River Valley

Health Equity

• Duane T. Loynes Sr.: Bias in healthcare, clinical determinants of health, racial disparities in health conditions/access/delivery
• Peter Hossler: Health equity, health care safety net, COVID-19, the nonprofit sector, opioid crisis
• Kendra G. Hotz: Health disparities caused by structural injustice (racism, poverty), social determinants of health (housing, food, transportation, environmental hazards), religion and health, bias in healthcare settings and the history of medicine

History

• Timothy Huebner: American South, U.S. Constitutional/legal history, American civil war/reconstruction 
• Sarah Ifft Decker: Medieval Europe; Jewish history; women and gender
• Charles L. Hughes: music history, African American history, disability history, country music, soul music, hip-hop, Memphis history
• Jeffrey Jackson: Modern Europe, modern France, history of jazz, urban history, history of natural disasters 
• 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 
• Samson Kaunga Ndanyi: History of Colonial and Post Colonial Africa; Global Ocean Pirates and Piracy; Global history of Cannabis; Cinema in Africa 
• 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 
• Chien-Kai Chen: Political economy of East Asian countries, international politics of East Asia, China’s domestic politics and foreign relations, China-Taiwan-US relations, Taiwan studies
• 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, migration policy, children’s rights, civil society and social movements  

Mathematics & Statistics

• Eric Gottlieb: Algebraic combinatorics 
• Chris Mouron: Topology, continuum theory, discrete dynamical systems
• Erika David Parr: Undergraduate mathematics education, graphical reasoning, teaching and learning of calculus 

Media

• Ricardo Martins: Latin American cinema, emerging media, game studies
• Rashna Richards: American film and TV,  visual media

Modern Languages and Literatures

• Eric Henager: Spanish language and Spanish-American literature   
• Alexandra (Sasha) Kostina: Russian language and literature, linguistics, Russian folklore, media theory
• Han Li: Chinese language and literature, contemporary Asian media and cinema, material culture
• Abou-Bakar Mamah: French language, Francophone Sub-Saharan African literature and film, African diaspora, migrations studies
• Ricardo Martins: Latin American cinema, Latin American cultures, Spanish language
• Nina Morais: German language and literature, transnational and transcultural studies, migration studies, fairy and folktales
• Elizabeth Pettinaroli: Spanish-speaking cultures and language, environmental humanities, extractivism, colonialism and neocolonialism, globalization, Spatial studies, visual culture and literature
• Yinyin Xue: Chinese language and literature, modern China, East Asian popular culture, Sinophone cinema, environmental humanities  

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
• Charles L. Hughes: music history, country music, soul music, hip-hop
• Vanessa Rogers: Music, opera, classical music, pop music
• Jacob Sunshine: Latin American & Caribbean Music, music of Sub-Saharan Africa, ethnomusicology, sound system and DJ cultures, sound and/in/as the environment, electric Guitar  

Philosophy 

• Daniel Cullen: Political Ideologies; Liberalism and Conservatism; Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom; Ethical Dimensions of Public Policy Issues; American Constitutionalism and Civic Education

Physics

• Shubho Banerjee: Theoretical physics, material science 
• Brent Hoffmeister: Ultrasonics, medical physics 
• Dave Rupke: Astronomy and astrophysics, climate change
• Ann Viano: Solid state physics, biomaterials 

Politics-Government-Law-American Scene

• Mark Pohlmann: educational policy, constitutional law, racial politics, and American politics
• Stephen Wirls: Congress, American politics, political theory, U.S. Constitution, city charters 

Psychology

• Rebecca Klatzkin: Stress, eating, obesity, and stress mindset 
• Natalie Person: Educational psychology, instructional technologies, artificial intelligence, and community engagement 
• 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, Christianity, the Bible and popular culture 
• Stephen Haynes: Holocaust studies, religion and racism, addiction and recovery, mass incarceration
• John Kaltner: Arabic, Islam, Catholicism, Bible 
• Steven McKenzie: Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), archaeology and the Bible, Dead Sea Scrolls 
• Sarah Rollens: Early Christianity, historical Jesus, Gospels, apocalyptic thought, ideas about the afterlife, religion in ancient Rome, the formation of the Bible, theories of religious belief and practice
• Brooke Schedneck: Buddhism, Southeast Asia, Thailand, Meditation, Religious Tourism

Urban Studies

• Austin Harrison: Housing, urban policy, neighborhood change (structural disinvestment, gentrification), community development/community organizing, urban development
• Kendra G. Hotz: Faith and health, Christian ethics, history of Christian theology; healthcare equity
• Charles L. Hughes: music history, African American history, disability history, country music, soul music, hip-hop, Memphis history
• 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)