James Reitter

MFA, PhD

Assistant Professor
of English

University of Wisconsin―Sheboygan

GO WOMBATS!

Education

Biography
I was born in Germany, but grew up in Westchester, NY. Benefiting from the full support of my family, I developed a passion for nature, athletics, music, and the performing arts. Once in college, my academic record greatly improved and I was inspired by my Freshman Composition teacher. I also developed an interest in poetry. From there, I went on to earn my MFA degree in poetry and became an assistant editor for several publishing houses, working with children’s books, sociology journals, and medical publications. After earning my PhD in Louisiana in 2006, I moved up to Sheboygan, Wisconsin where I am currently an Associate Chair and Assistant Professor of English.
 

Specialties

Research Interests
  • Creative Writing (poetry)
  • Nature/environmental literature and writing
  • Identity/gender in literature
  • Interdisciplinary studies (specifically, fine art and music)
  • Ethnography and occupational folklore
  • Gothicism and portrayals of nature in film
  • First-year/journal writing

 

 

 Dissertation Abstract: The crocodilian (crocodiles and alligators) has been a steady presence throughout much of Western culture. Dating back to the ancient civilizations of Babylon and Egypt, the crocodilian has been a significant construct in myth, literature, science, art, and film. This is because in certain aspects of culture, humanity needs a comparative figure by which to understand what it means to be human. The crocodilian fulfills this role by acting as a paradigm for what is monstrous and essentially non-human: the reptilian Other. However, the crocodilian also embodies a psychological primitive side of the Self, one that we cannot ignore. The R-complex (or, reptilian brain) is a physiological and cultural necessity, and our portrayal of the crocodilian epitomizes this. Evidence of the crocodilian acting as a foundational element from which humanity grows is seen in the fact that the Western culture’s understanding of the reptilian does not change, despite a fundamental shift in the comprehension of the natural order due to the Scientific Revolution. The crocodilian remains beside us as a pre-historic and pre-human Other: a mythic, alien ancestor that helps articulate how we see ourselves.

 

Scholarly Publications

Poetry
 
  • “Kipling’s Ancient Predator: The Mugger.” Nature in Literature and Story Annual. Forthcoming.
     
  • Explications of “Sonnet 35” and “Sonnet 98.” Companion to Shakespeare (NY: Facts on File). Forthcoming.
     
  • “The Legacy of Three Civil War Poets: Henry Timrod, Paul Hamilton Hayne, Sydney Lanier.”
    The South Carolina Review    . Volume 41.1 Fall 2008.
     
  • “Dickens and Three Stages of Illustration Evolution.”  Interdisciplinary Humanities. Volume 25.1
    Spring 2008.
     
  • “Western Symbolism of Crocodilians in Literature and Culture.” Midwestern Folklore Volume 31, Issue 1. August 2005.
  • “Coming Back to New York” freefall, Fall 2007.
  • “Dusting Off” The Southwestern Review, Spring 2005.
  • “Bleached” The Southwestern Review, Spring 2003.
  • “Homage to My Hips Revisited” The Southwestern Review, Spring 2002.
  • “Noel” Penny Dreadful Press, 2000.
  • “Companions” Riverrun, 1999.
  • “Untold” and “Change of Season” in Muse of Fire, #61, February 1998.
  • “Leopard Gecko in a 20 Gallon Tank” The Brooklyn Review, 1997.
  • “The Post-Dawn Dilemma” The Plastic Tower, #21, January 1995.
  • “If Only” The Laureate Letter, June 1994.
     

Teaching Experience

Dossier

  • Developmental English
  • Rhetoric and Composition
  • Composition and Literature
  • Romantic/Victorian Literature Survey
  • Early American Literature Survey
  • Introduction to Creative Writing
  • Introduction to Folklore
  • Introduction to Literature
  • Introduction to Narrative
  • Technical Writing
  • Literature of Nature
  

 
Useful Links:                 Modern Language Association                                                        Alexander Books (used bookstore)