Faculty
Our faculty includes publishing writers and scholars, experienced teachers, and enthusiastic mentors! With our small class sizes, you will get to know each of your English professors as you engage in thoughtful class discussions. Our professors are passionate about what they teach and are dedicated to helping you get the most out of your liberal arts education.
Elizabeth Foley O'Connor
Acting Chair (Spring 2023), Associate Professor of English, Internship Coordinator,
Director of the Gender Studies Program
Teaching: Modernism; 20th-Century British, Irish, and Postcolonial Literature; Journalism
Courtney Rydel
(On Sabbatical, Spring 2023) Chair, Associate Professor of English | Director of Medieval
and Early Modern Studies Minor
Teaching: Medieval Literature, Women’s Writing, Chaucer, Arthurian Romance, Fairy Tales
Teaching: Nonfiction, Journalism, Contemporary Literature
Teaching: 18th- and 19th-Century Transatlantic Literature, Women’s Writing, the Novel
Teaching: US Popular Culture, African American Culture, Edgar Allan Poe
James Hall
Director of the Rose O’Neill Literary House, Associate Professor of English and Creative
Writing
Teaching: Creative Writing (Poetry and Nonfiction); Editing & Publishing; Queer Literature
Roy Kesey
Associate Director of the Rose O’Neill Literary House, Lecturer in English and Creative
Writing
Teaching: Fiction, Travel Writing, Modern and Contemporary Literature
Alisha Knight
Associate Provost for Diversity & Inclusion and Senior Equity Officer; Professor of
English and American Studies
Teaching: African American Literature and Culture, Late 19th/Early 20th Century American Literature,
American Print Culture
Sean Meehan
Professor of English; Director of Writing; Co-Director, Cromwell Center for Teaching
and Learning
Teaching: Rhetoric and Composition, Multimedia Writing, Environmental Literature
- aallen5@washcoll.edu
- aallen5@washcoll.edu
- Rose O'Neill Literary House