Philip R Grech
pgrech@fsu.edu | English Department | Florida State University
631 University Way | Williams Bldg | Tallahassee, FL 32306-1580
EDUCATION
Ph.D. English
Florida State University, Department of English, August 2020
Major: American literature and culture before 1900
Minor: Literary theory and cultural studies
Dissertation: The United States of Psychopathy: Sympathy and Savagery in American Literature, 1776-1865
Committee: John Mac Kilgore (Chairperson), Trinyan Mariano, and Barry Faulk
M.A. English
Florida State University, Department of English, August 2015
Thesis Title: Crowd Affect Amidst the Emergence of Democracy for Melville, Poe, and Whitman
B.A. English, Philosophy
Flagler College, April 2013
PUBLICATIONS
“The Science of Psychopathy and Poe’s ‘The Man of the Crowd.’” The Edgar Allan Poe Review, vol. 19, no. 1, 2018, pp. 53-75.
Grech, Phil. Overtime 9: Don’t Waste Your Hands. Blue Cubicle Press, 2009. [chapbook]
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
Regional
“Civilized in Externals, but a Savage at Heart: Psychopathy in Melville’s America and Billy Budd.” Southeastern American Studies Association, Atlanta, GA. March 2019.
“Confidence in Crowds: Affect in Democracy through Melville, Poe, and Whitman.” Northeast Modern Language Association, Hartford, CT. March 2016.
“The Emergence of Affect in Crowds for Melville, Poe, and Whitman.” How to Feel About Affect, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. October 2014.
“Calvinism and the Internalization of Terror in Gravity’s Rainbow.” Popular/American Culture Association of the South, Savannah, GA. October 2013.
Local and Institutional
Discussion presentation. Affect Theory. U.S. Literature Discussion Group, Florida State University. October 2017.
“The Science of Psychopathy and Poe’s ‘The Man of the Crowd.’” English Colloquium, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL. November 2016.
Invited guest lecture. Crèvecoeur’s Letters From an American Farmer, Florida State University. October 2014.
Invited guest lecture. Melville’s Billy Budd, Chipola College, Marianna, FL. August 2014.
“Calvinism and the Internalization of Terror in Gravity’s Rainbow.” English Colloquium, Flagler College, Saint Augustine, FL. March 2013.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Florida State University, Teaching Faculty I, August 2020-present.
Research, Genre, and Context. Two sections: 2020.
This course continues foci from First-Year Writing and emphasizes teaching students research skills that allow them to effectively incorporate outside sources in their writing and to compose in a variety of genres for specific contexts.
Florida State University, Graduate Teaching Assistant, June 2013-June 2020.
In each of the following courses I was the Instructor of Record. Roles include full responsibility for reading schedule, assignments, teaching, and grading. Courses I designed are indicated as such.
Major Figures in American Literature: Crowds in Nineteenth-Century American Literature. Two sections: Summer 2018, Spring 2019.
Developed curriculum. This course focuses on major authors (traditional and new canon) in nineteenth-century American literature and studies literary portrayals of crowds with social and political questions driving our discussions.
Perspectives on the Short Story. Four sections: 2018—2020.
Developed curriculum. This course covers tone, narration, form, and theme in representative short stories including both fiction and nonfiction.
Contemporary Literature. One section: Summer 2017.
Developed curriculum. This course covers fiction and nonfiction from WWI to the present focusing on authors of color.
The Short Story. One section: Spring 2017.
Developed Curriculum. This course covers tone, narration, form, and theme in representative short stories including both fiction and nonfiction.
American Authors to 1875. Two sections: Fall 2016, Fall 2017.
Developed curriculum. This course covers important writings by representative American authors (traditional and new canon) from the colonial period through the post-Civil War era.
Introduction to English Studies. One section: Summer 2019.
This course helps students to think about what it means to be an English major and shows how English studies can be used in their career choices.
Research, Genre, and Context. Five sections: 2015—2019.
This course continues foci from First-Year Writing and emphasizes teaching students research skills that allow them to effectively incorporate outside sources in their writing and to compose in a variety of genres for specific contexts.
Writing about Coming of Age of Film and Prose. Two sections: Spring 2015.
Developed curriculum. This course includes reading, studying film, research, drafting, and writing essays and a journal for a total of 7,000 words.
Freshman Writing, Reading, and Research. One section: Spring 2014.
This course includes reading, research, drafting, and writing essays and journal entries for a total of 7,000 words.
First-Year Writing: Rhetorical Composing. Twelve sections: 2014–2020.
This course includes drafting and writing expository essays and journal entries for a total of 7,000 words. The semester focuses on the importance of critical reading, writing, and thinking skills, as well as the importance of using writing as a recursive process involving invention, drafting, collaboration, revision, rereading, and editing to clearly and effectively communicate ideas for specific purposes, occasions, and audiences.
ACADEMIC SERVICE
Coordinator. U.S. Literature Discussion Group, Florida State University, Spring 2016.
Nonfiction Associate/Reader. Southeast Review, Florida State University, 2014.
Reading and Writing Center Tutor. Florida State University. Fall 2013—Spring 2014.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
American Studies Association (ASA). Member, 2018—
Southern American Studies Association (SASA). Member, 2018—
Journal of Nineteenth-Century Americanists (J19). Member, 2016—2017.
Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA). Member, 2016—2017.
South Atlantic Modern Language Association (SAMLA). Member, 2015—2016.
Graduate Assistants United Student Union, Florida State University. Member, 2014—
Golden Key International Honour Society. Member, December 2013—
Philosophy/Religion Symposium, Flagler College. President, 2011—2013.
Sigma Tau Delta. Member, 2012—
