Lamanda Beesley Conrad

Background

About Lamanda Beesley Conrad

I teach Writing, full-time, at The University of Oklahoma. Our writing program delivers a challenging curriculum designed to help students explore personal values and community values before engaging in social/political discourse through writing and speech delivery. Students are taught how to make ethical, well-informed arguments, in an environment that promotes understanding and inclusivity. Most importantly, my students learn about civic responsibility and the importance of understanding why people feel the way they do about particular social issues. This understanding, ideally, leads to more productive discourse between people that disagree on particular issues. Ultimately, students are able to discover the power of their own voices and use their writing as a tool to engage in important research and debate. Much of my education has been invested in Early Modern Literary Criticism and Cultural Studies, particularly the works of John Milton, John Donne, and Shakespeare. I am also interested in the Protestant Reformation of the period, as well as the English Civil War. My most recent research project is an exploration of Shakespeare's Hamlet through the lens of 16th and 17th centuries theories of Casuistry and the theme of silence in the play. I am particularly interested in the influence of Classical polytheistic works in the Early Modern Period and questions of morality. Although I am currently teaching Composition and Writing, this background allows me to bring interesting examples into the classroom and find new and exciting ways to engage students.After studying literature and teaching writing for several years, I am FINALLY finishing my first novel in Literary Fiction.