Department of English - Alison Langdon

Dr. Alison Langdon

Associate Professor and Advisor

Office:  Cherry Hall 116
Phone:  270-745-5708
Email:  alison.langdon@wku.edu

Courses

ENG 100: Introduction to College Writing
ENG 200: Introduction to Literature
ENG 299: Introduction to the Major
ENG 300: Writing in the Disciplines
ENG 333: Medieval Literature
ENG 381: Survey of British Literature
ENG 399: Special Topics: Arthurian Traditions
ENG 481/G: Chaucer
ENG 487/G: Dante
ENG 492: Senior Seminar
HON 300: Colloquium: Creation as Re-Creation: Adapting Literary Texts and Beyond
HUM 172: Literature of Medieval and Renaissance Europe (Honors)

Research

Old and Middle English, Chaucer and His Contemporaries, The Arthurian Tradition, Troubadour and Trobairitz Lyrics, Dante, Critical Animal Studies

Bio

Alison Langdon earned Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees in English from Arizona State University and a doctorate in medieval literature from the University of Oregon.  Before coming to WKU, she held a position as Assistant Professor of English at Valparaiso University in Indiana.  She is deeply interested in issues of ethics and gender in medieval literature,  and her scholarship has appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as The Chaucer Review, Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Teaching, and Romance Notes. Her teaching encompasses a wide range, from general education courses to specialized seminars in medieval literature.  Dr. Langdon is a member of the Medieval Academy, the New Chaucer Society, the Society of Medieval Feminist Scholars, and the Medieval Association of the Midwest, serving for the latter as a member of the Executive Council and as Convener of Conferences.

Teaching Philosophy

My goals as a teacher of English are to instill in my students a deep, abiding appreciation for the written word, to cultivate their awareness of the beauty and power of language, to help them develop critical thinking skills and the ability to express their ideas clearly and effectively, to develop their intellectual awareness of being a part of the human experience, and to give them the tools to think for themselves and weigh their own responsibilities and actions. My teaching style is essentially dialogic, seeking to foster a creative understanding in which students remain aware of their difference while recognizing and acknowledging the concerns and values of the period or culture they are studying.