Wendy Wagner (she/her)


Professor College of Arts & Sciences English Providence

Biography and Expertise

Wendy Wagner teaches courses in the English Department and the Media and Communication Studies Program and also serves as the Program Lead for the Interdisciplinary Studies: Design Your Own Major.

Wagner came to Johnson & Wales in 2003 after teaching at Bates College, the University of Maine Augusta and Pace University in New York City where she also headed the Department of Tutorial Services. She holds a B.A. in American Studies from Cornell University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in English from Duke University. Her dissertation was about 19th century African-American women’s literature, but her most recent research has been in television studies and romance fiction.

As a teacher, Wagner is always encouraging students to use what they learn in the classroom to make sense of their lives outside the classroom, to critically engage, question and embrace their cultural and social values and influences, and to develop skills in writing, critical thinking and analysis that will help them achieve their goals.

Education

PhD
Duke University

MA
Duke University

BA
Cornell University

Association for Interdisciplinary Studies

Popular Culture Association – American Culture Association

National Collegiate Honors Council

Northeast Popular Culture Association

Wagner, W.
The ‘Grandly and Inhospitably Strange’ World of Autistic Heroines in Romance Fiction
McFarland

Wagner, W.
Janet Dailey
Greenwood

Wagner, W.
Lorraine Hansberry
Facts on File

Wagner, W.
Madam C. J. Walker

Wagner, W.
Jennifer Crusie
Teaching American Literature: A Journal of Theory and Practice
2
2/3

Wagner, W.
Olivia Ward Bush-Banks
Greenwood

Wagner, W.
Black Separatism in the Periodical Writings of Mrs. A.E. (Amelia) Johnson.
Rutgers University Press

Wagner, W.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Oxford University Press

Wagner, W.
Mrs. A.E. (Amelia) Johnson
Gale

250 Years of Jane Austen: A Celebration of Her Work
Panel Moderation
Annual Conference
Northeast Popular Culture Association
Online

Spoiling For Love: The Influence of Shipping on Spoiler-Seeking Behavior Among Television Fans
Panel Presentation
#spoiletheconference
University of Zurich
Online

“The ‘Grandly and Inhospitably Strange World’ of Heroines on the Autism Spectrum in Romance Fiction.”
Paper
Popular Culture Association – American Culture Association National Conference
PCA/ACA
Washington
DC

Love In the Afternoon, Love In the Evening: The Influence of Soap Operas on Contemporary Prime-Time Television
Paper
Popular Culture Association – American Culture Association National Conference
PCA/ACA
Indianapolis
United States

‘The town has really nice blonde hair’: The Romance Plot and Civic Engagement in ‘Parks and Recreation’
Paper
Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association National Conference
PCA/ACA
New Orleans
LA
United States

’There Is Nothing More Deceptive Than an Obvious Fact’: DNA Testing, Genetic Genealogy, and ‘Finding Our Roots.’
Paper
Northeast Popular Culture Association Annual Conference
NEPCA
Providence

Harold and Kumar Find the American Dream
Paper
Popular Culture Association – American Cultural Association National Conference
PCA/ACA
Boston
MA
United States

When TED Talks, Everybody Learns
Paper
Teaching Professor Conference
Atlanta
GA

Vampire as Tragic Mulatto: Angel and Spike in the Whedonverse
Paper
North East Popular Culture Association
NEPCA
Boston
MA
United States

Rethinking Writing Assessment: An Educational Imperative
Paper
New England Educational Assessment Network
New England Educational Assessment Network
Worcester
MA

“To Save It From My Curse: Infanticidal Discourse in Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Paper
Society for the Study of American Women Writers
Society for the Study of American Women Writers
Philadelphia
United States

‘A Spoonful of Sugar’: Sweetening the Literature Survey Course
Paper
Rhode Island Council of Teachers of English
Rhode Island Council of Teachers of English
Providence
RI

‘I’ll Destroy You Worse’: Veronica Mars as Post-Buffy Feminist Heroine
Paper
Popular Culture Association of the South
Popular Culture Association of the South
Jacksonville
FL
United States