I am currently a Ph.D. candidate in English concentrating in Cinema Studies. My research interests include film aesthetics, history of Hollywood, European art cinema, International genre film (film noir, horror, crime), and film and literature. My disseratation, Grotesque Attractions: Genre, Modernity and the Origins of the Horror Film explores the development of the horror film genre in relation to popular entertainments (e.g., carnivals, sideshows, World Expos) and scientific discourses of modernity.

I have taught numerous film and literature courses at Penn including World Film History to 1945, American Crime Fiction, Hollywood Film Genres, and Film Noir: From Page to Screen. In Fall 2011, I will be teaching a course on Film Adaptations and in Spring 2012 I will be teaching World Film History to 1945.