Personal Website

Carlisle Hall - Rm 418

(ph): 817.272.2659
(fax): 817.272.2718

Email Professor Kulesz

Years of Service at UT Arlington:

Senior Lecturer in English, 2000 - Present

Faculty Liaison and Lecturer, Honors College Advanced Placement Summer Institute, 2003-2007 

Coordinator of College Learning Courses, Lecturer in English, 2000-2002

Education:

Ph.D., University of Texas at Arlington, 2000

M.A., University of Texas at Arlington, 1994

B.S., Howard Payne University, 1977

Current Research:

Images of America as a God ordained nation hearken back to a group of early immigrants and a sermon preached aboard a tiny ship in 1630. John Winthrop’s “A Model of Christian Charity” typologically situated his community as the New Israel—God’s chosen people-- and he employed the “city on a hill” as a visionary metaphor for Puritan destiny.  How did this specifically Christian model become so ingrained into the fabric of American thought that democracy becomes one of the nation’s most important and even sacred exports?  If we consider the nineteenth century missionary movement as a sweeping exportation enterprise, we will begin to see how religious rhetoric actually paved the way for the conflation of the sacred idea of the “city on a hill” into a nationalistic metaphor. Currently Professor Kulesz is conducting a study of nineteenth-century hymns and gospel songs to analyze how these texts both reflect and influence notions of American identity. Many of the major social and political movements of the nineteenth century found their roots in evangelical Christianity. These massive cultural movements sought to enlist “armies” of supporters to fight for temperance, suffrage, abolition, social gospel programs, and/or missionary endeavors. Hymn writers responded to these efforts by creating texts to motivate action and garner monetary support for particular causes. She will focus on three specific types of hymn texts in her study: missionary hymns, national/patriotic hymns, and hymns with military messages and imagery.

Recent Publications:

Forthcoming entry, “Anna Warner” Dictionary of Literary Biography

“Religious Writing and the Literary Marketplace.” Popular Nineteenth-Century Women Writers in the Literary Marketplace.  Newcastle upon Tyne, UK:  Cambridge Scholars Press, 2007.

Forthcoming in premier issue of TCEA online journal, “"Transparent Teaching: A Pedagogy for Success”

 

 

 

Department/University Committees:

Faculty Advisor UTA English Student Association
UTA English Dept. Retention and Recruitment Committee
UTA English Dept. Sophomore Literature Curriculum Committee
UTA English Dept. Graduate Teaching Assistant Committee

UTA English Dept. Media and Technology Committee (Ad hoc member)

 

Recent Awards & Grants:

Recipient of UTA Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2007

Freshman Leaders on Campus recognition for teaching, 2006

 

 

Consulting:

Birdville ISD –Secondary English Consultant and Workshop Facilitator

Reader, Advanced Placement Literature Exam, College Board

LINKS Conference, Connecting the Writing Curriculum from High School to College; sponsored by Univ. of Arkansas—Pine Bluff and Pine Bluff ISD with a grant from the Arkansas Dept. of Education

 

 

Professional Memberships:

Conference of College Teachers of English
Texas College English Association
South Central Modern Language Association
Southwest Conference on Christianity and Literature

 

 

 

 

 

Back to Faculty Directory