Jeffrey Swenson is a professor of English, teaching courses in American, Native American and African American literature, as well as writing pedagogy and autism and disability studies.

In his role as director of writing across the curriculum, he runs the Hiram College Writing Center, training new student writing tutors to become writing assistants every fall in one of his favorite courses, Teaching and Supervising Writing.

As associate dean of academic affairs, Swenson oversees courses in the College’s Master of Arts degree in interdisciplinary studies, the adult studies and online programs, partnership programs, and College Credit Plus.

Education

• B.A., Saint John’s University
• M.A., University of Alaska, Fairbanks
• Ph.D., University of Iowa

Research Interests

• Midwestern regionalism
• Native American studies
• Representations of autism in popular culture

Selected Publications

• “‘A Scrap of the Savage’: E. Pauline Johnson’s Canoeing Journalism.” Studies in Canadian Literature/Études en Littérature Canadienne. Vol. 43, No. 1 (2018): 69-90. https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/SCL/article/view/28793/1882521601
• “Beyond the Nostalgia of Objects: Fitzgerald’s ‘A Night at the Fair.’” Midwestern Miscellany (Forthcoming).
• “Worldly Temptations, Both Urban and Rural: J. F. Powers’s Morte D’Urban.” MidAmerica: The Yearbook of the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature. Vol. 43 (2016). (44-63).

Fun Facts

• Swenson spends his weekends on woodworking projects, including work on bookcases and a coffee table inspired by George Nakashima.
• He enjoys running, particularly half marathons.