Graduate School Alumnus
-
Derrick R. Spires, MA’05, PhD’12: Citizenship Across Space and Time
Derrick R. Spires, an associate professor of literatures in English at Cornell University, has a talent for making 19th-century newspapers and pamphlets feel as accessible as the latest social media feed. He explores the culture of the early 19th-century Black press in his 2019 book 'The Practice of Citizenship: Black Politics and Print Culture in the Early United States' (University of Pennsylvania Press), which was recently released in paperback. Read MoreApr 26, 2023
-
Rabbi Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus, MA’86, PhD’91, finds meaning in the myths and rituals of America’s signature meals
Rabbi Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus, a professor of religion at Wheaton College, has written extensively on food rituals and Jewish food for more than 20 years. His book "Gastronomic Judaism as Culinary Midrash" was published in 2018 (Rowman & Littlefield). He defines midrash as “a way of interpreting traditional stories and practices in new ways,” food being one of them. Now, he's turning his attention to Thanksgiving food myths and rituals. Read MoreNov 7, 2022
-
Terrance Dean, MTS’14, MA’18, PhD’19: Gifted Educator and Author
Terrance Dean, assistant professor at Denison University in Granville, Ohio, died Aug. 11 after an illness. He was 53. Read MoreNov 4, 2022
-
Conkin, Distinguished Professor Emeritus and eminent American intellectual historian, has died
Paul K. Conkin, Distinguished Professor of History, Emeritus, former chair of the Department of History and author of more than 20 books on a wide range of American intellectual history, died July 23 in Nashville. Read MoreAug 8, 2022
-
Richard Batey, BD’58, PhD’61: Sepphoris Scholar
The research of New Testament scholar Richard Batey, BD'58, PhD'61, into the ancient city of Sepphoris in Galilee broadens ideas about Jesus and gives a new perspective for understanding the Gospels. Read MoreJun 8, 2022
-
Parton and Patterson collaborate on novel and album
Prolific bestselling novelist James Patterson, MA’70, and country music legend Dolly Parton have collaborated on a novel, Run, Rose, Run, to be published March 7 by Little, Brown and Co. Read MoreJan 31, 2022
-
C.J. Sentell, PhD’15: Food for Thought
C.J. Sentell, PhD’15, a philosopher and food-focused social entrepreneur, was appointed CEO of the Nashville Food Project in July to continue to grow the organization which was founded on this simple but powerful mission: to feed neighbors in need. Read MoreNov 18, 2021
-
Thomas G. Burton, MA’58, PhD’66, Serpents and Stories
A profile of Graduate School alumnus Thomas G. Burton, whose book 'The Serpent and the Spirit' was the basis for the recent HBO documentary 'Alabama Snake.' Read MoreApr 22, 2021
-
Script Change: The road to Hollywood is sometimes paved through Wilson Hall
For television writer and producer Saladin Patterson, MA’96, an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from MIT was not the start of his career—at least not as he’d initially planned. Thanks to his on-campus job in tech support at Wilson Hall, Patterson plotted a career that led straight to Hollywood. Read MoreJul 29, 2020