Mitchell Crouse

PhD Candidate
Queen’s University

John Watson Hall (4th Floor)
49 Bader Lane
Kingston ON
K7L 3N6
6msc@queensu.ca

You can also download a PDF copy of my CV, which is generally the most up-to-date version, here.

About

My dissertation mainly concerns the fiction written by survivors of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Haitian earthquake in 2010. My other research interests include contemporary Caribbean literature, black American literature, postcolonial literature, as well as memory studies, ecocriticism, and Digital Humanities.

My teaching practice is informed by the skills I learned during my time as a professional secondary school teacher, with an emphasis on student-centred learning and modern pedagogical best practices. Incorporating this into my teaching involves interactive learning, student-driven workshops and activities, enthusiasm and energy, and the use of technology and new media.

Teaching Experience

Teaching Assistant / Queen’s University

2017-2018
ENGL 100
I lead a tutorial group of thirty undergraduate students once a week where I teach and practice close-reading and essay writing skills with students. I mark all of their assignments and exams, and meet with them when they require additional help with course material or crafting strong papers. I strive to make my lessons engaging and interactive, with my teaching practices guided by experiential learning.

Teaching Assistant / Queen’s University

2016-2017
ENGL 292 – Introduction to Literary Theory

Teaching Assistant / Queen’s University

2015-2016
ENGL 160 – Modern Prose Fiction

English and Drama Teacher / EIS (Escuela Internacional Sampedrana)

2013-2014, San Pedro Sula, Honduras

English and Drama Teacher / Boren Sino-Canadian School

2011-2013, Jiangmen, China

Education

PhD Candidate / Queen’s University

2016 – PRESENT, KINGSTON ON
Department of English Language and Literature
Comprehensive Field Examinations in Postcolonial Literature (Distinction)

Master of Arts / Queen’s University

2015 – 2016, KINGSTON ON
Department of English Language and Literature

Bachelor of Education / Queen’s University


Intermediate/Senior
English and Drama
Specialization in language acquisition

Bachelor of Arts (Honours) / Queen’s University

2006 – 2010, KINGSTON ON
Medial in English Language and Literature and Drama

Conference Presentations

Aid, Environment, and Hierarchies in the Aftermath of the 2010 Earthquake in Haiti / HSA

2019, Gainesville FL  (Accepted)
Haitian Studies Association

“this country done left us for dead”: Hurricane Katrina, Cultural Memory, and the Power of Literary Resistance / ICSLAC

2019, Ottawa ON (Accepted)
Institute for Comparative Studies in Literature, Art, and Culture

“What kind of demon”: Intersections of Cultural Memories in Marlon James’s The Book of Night Women / ACCUTE

2018, REGINA SK
Association of Canadian College and University Teachers of English

“A patchwork of negro bones”: Specificity and Relationality in Marlon James’s The Book of Night Women / CCLA

2018, REGINA SK
Canadian Comparative Literature Association

Vultures, Pygmies, and Fleas: Emotional Performativity and Alterity in John Dryden’s All for Love / CSECS

2017, TORONTO ON
Canadian Society for Eighteenth Century Studies

Guest Lectures

Academic Presentations
“Une de nos îles me rendit”: Eco-Trends in the Traditional Literary Canons of Haiti and Louisiana / STP

2018, KINGSTON ON
Special Topics Presentation

Edward Said’s Orientalism / Queen’s University

MARCH 13, 2017
ENGL 292 – Introduction to Literary Theory

Roland Barthes’s “The Death of the Author” and “From Work to Text” / Queen’s University

NOVEMBER 28, 2016
ENGL 292 – Introduction to Literary Theory

Awards

Joseph-Armand Bombardier Doctoral Scholarship / SSHRC

2018 – 2021
The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

Graduate Student Travel Award / Queen’s University

2017

EG Bauman Fellowship / Queen’s University

2017 – 2018

Arthur B. McDonald Prize for Academic Excellence / Queen’s University

2016-2017, KINGSTON ON

Graduate Entrance Award / Queen’s University

2015-2016, KINGSTON ON

Other Academic Projects

Zeitgrad / Podcast

2019 – PRESENT
I create, host, and edit a podcast called Zeitgrad. In each episode I attempt to delve beneath the surface of contemporary cultural and political issues by uncovering historical or unconsidered connections between the current contemporary moment and academic research from a wide cross-section of fields. The majority of guests on Zeitgrad are graduate students and early-career scholars who share their expertise to elucidate a topic of interest from the day’s headlines. You can listen to a sample episode here.

MitchellCrouse.ca / Academic Blog

2018 – PRESENT
I maintain a personal, academic blog on this site where I explore issues and topics that are pertinent to my research and other areas of interest. I try to blend the formality and citations of academic research with the informal, conversational tone of blogging. Though I occasionally branch into political theory and contemporary political issues, the vast majority of posts relate to the intersections of music and race, and I am particularly interested in exploring and writing about the genres of jazz and hip-hop. Sample posts can be found here and here.

Academic Service

Mentor to Participants of the QUCL (Queen’s Undergratuate Conference in Literature)

2018
Mentees: Aliyaa Mohammed and Ishann Selby
Paper Titles: “The Composite Text as Narrative Imperialism: The History of Mary Prince” and “Race and the Construction of the Diasporic Subject in What We All Long For and Uhuru Street

ENGL 100 Representative of the Graduate English Society (GES)

2017-2018

PhD Graduate Studies Committee Representative for the GES

2017-2018

GES Computer Liaison

2015- 2016

MA Graduate Studies Committee Representative for the GES

2015-2016

Professional Memberships

CCLA (Canadian Comparative Literatures Association)

2018 – PRESENT

ACCUTE (Association of Canadian College and University Teachers of English)

2017-PRESENT

MLA (Modern Language Association)

2017 – PRESENT

CSECS (Canadian Society for Eighteenth Century Studies)

2017-PRESENT