Blake R. Westerlund, Ph.D.
Contact Information
Mondays 8-8:50 am
Tuesdays 11-11:50 am
Biography
Blake R. Westerlund is an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. A proud alum of UWEC, he earned his B.A. in literature and quickly fell in love with the works of the Bronte sisters, R. L. Stevenson, D. H. Lawrence, Walt Whitman, Willa Cather, Flannery O'Connor, Mary Oliver, and Thomas Pynchon;after his undergraduate career, he then completed his M.A. and Ph.D. in modern letters from the University of Tulsa. His scholarly publications and interests focus mainly on authors of the American West and their treatment of land and animals.
When not reading or writing, he very much enjoys spending time with his family. Long walks in the woods, longer drives in the car listening to copious amounts of music, taming wild terriers, bird watching (the man is a daredevil), park crashing, and swimming in cold pools are a few activities he is particularly fond of.
Education
- Ph.D., University of Tulsa (English with an Emphasis on 19th century British and secondary disciplines in 19th century American literature and 20th century theory)
- M.A., University of Tulsa (English)
- B.A., University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (English Literature)
Teaching and Research Interests
- Contemporary American Literature and 19th c. British Literature
- Critical Theory
- Gender Studies
- Studies in Sherlock
- Voices of the Old and New West
- The Modern Thriller and Spy Fiction
- Film Studies