Dr.  Robert Donahoo

What do we learn from books?

"Live all you can; it's a mistake not to."
-- Strether in Henry James's The Ambassadors

"Ah, but there is a difference between feeling dead and not knowing it, and feeling dead and knowing it.  Knowing it means there is a possibility of feeling alive though dead."
--Will Barrett in Walker Percy's The Second Coming

"She thought the word, Jesus, should be kept inside the church building like other words should be kept inside the bedroom.  She was a good Christian woman with a large respect for religion, though she did not, of course, believe any of it was true."
--Flannery O'Connor on Mrs. May in "Greenleaf"

"This wasn't a strange place; it was a new one."
--Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist

Information

In Brief. . .
        My areas of teaching interest are the Literature of the American South, Contemporary American Literature, Literary Theory and Criticism, and Drama.  I have published essays and articles on subjects ranging from Tolstoy's novel Resurrection to American Cyberpunk fiction, but most of my research and writing concerns the literature of the American South, especially the work of Flannery O'Connor.  I am currently continuing work on a project seeking to understand O'Connor's writings in the cultural and historical context of the South during the 1940s and 1950s. 

        Outside of my professional interest, I am kept busy and amazed by life with my wife, Anne, and my two children, Ben and Kate.   I like to travel, read, experiment with fiction writing, and participate in the life of our local church.  I hate yard work, grading papers, and attending faculty "functions," but I can, alas, still be spotted doing all of these.

        For a more detailed look at my professional life as represented  by my vita, click here. 

Useful Links for Students

    MLA Bibliographic and Format Assistance:  Site One

    MLA Bibliographic and Format Assistance:  Site Two

    Format and Style Writing Guide

   Syllabus:  American Humor, English 266w.09

    Syllabus:  American Humor, English 266w.14

     Handout Sheets:  Useful Terms for Analyzing Humor

      Helps for Writing Paper Assignments

       Syllabus:  English 337W.01, African American Literature--Fall 2002

       Syllabus:   English 361.01--Survey of American Literature, 1865-Present--Spring 2002  

      Guide to Preparing an Annotated Bibliography

     Syllabus:  English 370w.01--Modern Drama--Spring 2002

     Syllabus:  English 470w.01--American Regional Literature:   The South--Fall 2001

     Graduate Comprehensive Exam in 20th Century American Lit:  Information