Ryan Slesinger
Teaching Assistant Professor
PhD, University of Tulsa
MA, University of Oklahoma
BA, University of Oklahoma
Areas of Interest & Expertise
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American Literature & Culture
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Mysticism & Modernity
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Multiculturalism
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Deep Ecology, Ecocriticism & the Anthropocene
Recent Courses Taught
3000 Level
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American Road Stories (Cross-listed with American Studies).
2000 Level
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Survey of American Literature II (The Romantic Period to the Present).
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Survey of American Literature I (Beginnings through the Romantic Period).
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Race, Borders, and Intersectional Identities in America (Honors).
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The Gothic South (Honors).
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Wizards in Contemporary Literature (Honors).
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Conversations in Literature.
1000 Level
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Literature, Music, and Film of the 1960’s Counterculture (Honors).
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Perspectives on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Honors).
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Perspective in Artistic Eras: Romanticism through Postmodernism (Honors).
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English Composition II
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English Composition I
Selected Publications
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“Teaching the Grateful Dead and Happening Pedagogy.” Teaching (with) the Grateful Dead, special issue of Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy. February, 2022 (Forthcoming).
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“John Steinbeck’s To a God Unknown: The Clearing Cycle & the Monterey Metaphysics of Ricketts, Steinbeck, and Campbell.” The Steinbeck Review, vol. 17, no. 2, Penn State UP, 2020.
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“And Closed My Eyes To See: Buddhist Resonances in the Grateful Dead’s Lyrics.” Reading The
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Grateful Dead: A Critical Survey, Ed. Nicholas G. Meriwether, The Scarecrow Press, 2012, 109-121. First published in the Southwest Texas Popular Culture & American Culture Association Conference Program, Albuquerque, NM, February, 2010.
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“‘Diamond Eye Jack: Jack Kerouac, Robert Hunter, and American Spiritual Nature Writing.” The Grateful Dead and Religion, Ed. Deepak Sarma, Duke UP, Invited submission (In process).
Selected Conference Presentations
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“Organizational Mysticism in Jack Kerouac’s On the Road.” Modern Language Association Convention. Washington D.C. January, 2022 (Forthcoming).
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“‘Diamond Eye Jack: Jack Kerouac, Robert Hunter, and American Spiritual Nature Writing.”
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Southwest Popular Culture & American Culture Association Conference. Albuquerque, NM.
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February, 2020.
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“Jack Kerouac: ‘Really a Scholar, a Hip Mystic.’” American Literature Association Conference.
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Boston, MA. May, 2019.
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“Revisiting Steinbeck’s Early Novels.” Panel Co-organizer. American Literature Association
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Conference. Boston, MA. May, 2017.
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“On To a God Unknown.” American Literature Association Conference. Boston, MA. May, 2017.
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“Jack Kerouac and The Magic Mothswarm of Heaven.” Sacred Literature, Secular Religion: A
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Conference on Cultural Practices. Syracuse, NY. October, 2015.
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“Annus Mirabilis: Thoreau in 1860.” Panel Co-organizer. Thoreau Society Conference.
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Concord, MA. July, 2014.
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“Adopting the Method of Nature: Henry David Thoreau and John Joseph Matthews as Spiritual
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Stewards of the Land” Annual Gathering of the Thoreau Society. Concord, MA. July, 2014.
Professional Appointments or Professional Service
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Steering Committee, Gateway 2 Completion
Awards and Recognition
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College of Arts & Sciences Award for Excellence in General Education Teaching (2020).
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Excellence in Teaching for Non-Tenure Track Faculty Award, Nominee (2020)
Current Research
I am currently at work on a book project—Mystic America—that addresses the variety of ways twentieth-century novelists represent transformational mystical experiences in their work. To relate an ineffable experience in language, novelists often create striking formal innovations that challenge our understanding of genre. I call this trend, “literary mysticism,” episodes of which are often hidden in plain sight in twentieth-century fiction.