According to the professionals, it's a good idea to introduce yourself in the first entry of your blog.
So . . . I'm Karen, your instructor for English 110.01. That's me with my fiance in the picture to the left. (Helpful hint: I'm not the tall guy in a tux.) I'm originally from sunny South Africa, and have been living in Columbus for about a year now, which means I still feel like a foreigner quite a bit of the time. I'm a graduate student in the English department, I'm about to start on my Ph.D, and I study medieval literature, which means that I mainly focus on writing produced in England in the 8th-9th and 13-14th centuries. I'm particularly interested in issues of rhetoric, gender and disability in those periods.
Perhaps fortunately for this course, though, I have a ton of more modern interests. So, here are some random facts about me:
- I read a lot of books, normally more than one at a time. I tend to have a skyscraper of them next to my bed. As of spring break, I have just finished reading Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar Tapestry and Richard Morgan's Altered Carbon.
- I am a gamer.
- I love science-fiction of all kinds. I am currently addicted to Battlestar Galactica and Fringe.
- I love going to watch big Broadway musicals, and am a huge Gleek. I can't wait until Chicago and Wicked come to Columbus this year!
- I do karate, and am a big fan of MMA. I worship at the shrine of Lyoto Machida, who has done much to erase the shame of Fred Ettish's fetal fighting. (Yes, I am aware he drinks his own pee. That's just a sign of how hardcore he is.)
