Our Class

 

Sage Baraso

Hi! I am a rising senior at the College of Charleston and study English with a concentration in Writing, Rhetoric, and Publication. I have always loved to read and write and have more recently dabbled in Gothic Lit as well as the Romantic/Victorian era. Last semester, I took a Romantics class where we studied Northanger Abbey and other similar works. Outside of school, I love to travel and see the world. I have been to Barcelona, Canada, Aruba, Barbados, and many different cities around Italy. Last summer, I traveled to Spoleto, Italy with Professor Jackson and Dr. Vander Zee to study travel writing. It was one of the best experiences I have ever had and I knew I wanted to study abroad again! London has been a city that I have wanted to visit my whole life and I am so pumped to finally get to see it! I can’t wait to meet everyone!

 

Skylar McAllister

Hello everyone. I am a General Business major at USM. I’m currently working towards earning my bachelor’s degree in general business. I am from Foxworth, Mississippi. I have been to London once before, and I greatly enjoyed my time there. I’m excited to live in London again and experience Edinburgh for the first time. I am somewhat familiar with gothic literature, but my favorite literary works are horror stories. I’m a big fan of Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft. I’m also quite fond of the novel Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I look forward to learning more about gothic literature and exploring Great Britain together.

 

 

Haley Wheat

Hi, everyone! I’m from East Texas, but I am currently pursuing my MA in Creative Writing (Fiction) at the University of Southern Mississippi. I like to say that my writing uses comedy and surreal/absurd elements as a lens through which to examine and criticize social issues, but mostly I just enjoy writing silly little stories. Outside of reading and writing, I enjoy playing video games, Dungeons and Dragons, and spending time with my dog, Juliette.
I’ve only been outside of the US once, when I went to Puerto Rico for my high school senior trip. I’ve always wanted to visit the UK, so I’m incredibly excited for this trip! While Victorian literature isn’t necessarily one of my primary interests, I love gothic lit. My favorite novel is Frankenstein, and I currently have seven unique copies of it—I’m looking forward to hopefully adding a UK print to my collection!

Payton Howard

Hello! I am a Kentuckian currently earning my PhD in Creative Writing (Fiction) at USM, where I am chipping away at a novel project. Victorian literature is one of my comprehensive exam areas, so this class is both interesting and practical for my studies. I traveled to Europe twice during my undergraduate years, but I have never been to England or Scotland. I am looking forward to the new adventure.

Bella McGill
Hi, all! I am an English PhD candidate in creative writing at the University of Southern Mississippi. Originally, I’m from Delphi, IN. I just moved to Mississippi last year for my first year in the program!
I’ve done a lot of traveling, mainly in Europe. (My profile pic is in Barcelona.) I’ve been to London twice, and I’m excited to go back and really experience it for an extended amount of time!
As an English major, I obviously love to read. Mainly, I read YA, but I’m excited to get into gothic literature. One of my favorite books, “Clockwork Angel” by Cassandra Clare, has two main characters who talk a lot about gothic literature, and I’m excited to dive into it and hopefully enjoy it!
In my spare time, I like to write, listen to/play music, watch tv and anime, and read manga as well as YA. I’m super excited to work with everyone and experience gothic lit in England and Scotland!
Hannah Smart
Hi everyone! I’m a fiction creative writing Ph.D. student at USM. My main area of literary interest is metafiction, particularly the works of David Foster Wallace–I’ve read Infinite Jest seven times and presented at the International David Foster Wallace conference four times. This summer, I’m really looking forward to exploring the role metafiction played in early Gothic works like Wuthering Heights. 
In my free time, I love running, writing/playing/listening to music, drawing, and writing fiction; my short works have been published in a variety of literary magazines–most recently West Branch, Berkeley Fiction Review, Potomac Review, and Cleaver. I lived in Billericay (Essex) until I was six years old, so I’m looking forward to unearthing some early childhood memories this summer. I’m also a Beatles fanatic and cannot wait to visit Abbey Road.
Anna Hill
I am beyond excited to be studying in England and Scotland this Summer.
A little bit about me: I am from Oxford, Mississippi but I am an upcoming junior at Mississippi State University. I am an English major with a minor in French and International Relations. As well as that, I am the Vice President of Internal Affairs for MSU Esports. A club which is dedicated to playing competitive video games.
My passion for reading developed in the 5th grade when I discovered a book series about cats (yes, it is a little cringey to say that but it’s true). However, I branched off of reading those books a couple of years after that and began reading heavier materials. My favorite book is 1984 by George Orwell.
Besides that, in my spare time I like to play video games, listen to music and create characters. I like roleplaying so I absolutely love Dungeons and Dragons.
I particularly enjoy the gothic scene, specifically whimsical goth but I also like dark gothic/Victorian gothic aesthetics. I was super interested in reading Dracula again as it is one of my favorites.
I am incredibly excited to get to travel to England and Scotland as I have never been there before. I am also excited to get to meet everyone and hopefully make new friends.

Georgia Campbell

Howdy, y’all! I’m a rising senior library and information science major with a minor in psychology. I’m from Slidell, Louisiana, but I’ve also lived in Silicon Valley in California and northern Georgia. I grew up surrounded by books: my mother loves reading and passed it on to me. My first memory of classic literature is my mom reading me Little Women every night before bed; my second memory is my tears trickling into my pillow at one particularly tragic part. I’ve read a variety of literature since then, including Jane Eyre and Rebecca, both of which were instant favorites.

While I haven’t read a lot of Gothic Literature, I do enjoy it, and I’m looking forward to reading more! I haven’t traveled out of the country since I was a child, but I’ve traveled a lot inside the states. I’m excited to visit London for the first time! I am also excited to visit libraries and archives during my trip, since I am writing my thesis about the archives and plan to attend graduate school to study in the archives. I can’t wait to meet y’all and talk about Gothic lit!

Grace Borcherding

Hello there, everyone! My name is Grace Borcherding and I am an English literature Ph.D. student at USM. I live in Hattiesburg, Mississippi for school but frequently go back home to Springfield, Louisiana, which is where my parents and two dogs live. I was born in Maryland but have lived in Louisiana for enough of my life that I just say I’m from Louisiana. I’ve traveled sporadically throughout my life to places like D.C., New York, and Mexico, but this trip is going to be my first time travelling to Europe.

In regard to academics, my primary areas of interest are 20th century literature and pop culture, children’s literature, and specifically the works of A.A. Milne. I’m also a graduate assistant at USM so I’ve been teaching freshman composition since August of last year. Though Gothic literature falls somewhat outside of my area of study, I nonetheless find the topic fascinating. As I said, this is going to be my first time in Europe so all in all I’m incredibly excited. I can’t wait to get to know everyone and see everything that the UK has to offer.

Tim Carens

Hi everybody!

I am Professor of English and Director of British Studies at the College of Charleston. Before taking this job way back in 1998, I lived in Brooklyn for about 10 years while getting a Ph.D. at NYU. I grew up in Lewisburg, PA, a small town in the middle of the state. My wife, Betsy, is from Maine. She is a clinical psychologist with a practice in Mt. Pleasant (where we live). I have two children, Maddy (26), who lives in Philadelphia and works at a heart disease research lab at UPenn, and Ben (24), who lives in D.C. and works as a bartender and manager at a popular restaurant.

I didn’t know what to do after college, so I decided to move to London. The jobs I took were pretty crappy, but I loved living in London. After closing down a pub where I worked, I walked home through the dark streets, thinking “I live here.” I have since been back to London many times for research, teaching, and pleasure.

One of my jobs on that first stint in London was working in the dingy back room of a bookstore in Piccadilly Circus. There was basically nothing for me to do, so I stole Dickens novels and spent my time reading. From that point on, I have found the literature and culture of Victorian Britain endlessly fascinating. I have published on Dickens, Charlotte and Emily Brontë, George Eliot, Wilde, Hardy, and other Victorian writers.

I can’t wait to get this class started!