Professor and Director of the School of Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Year Started at JMU: 2004
smithmx@jmu.edu
Contact Info
Education
M.F.A., English, Pennsylvania State University, 2000
B.A., English, Knox College, 1994
Professional Focuses
First-year writing, personal narrative, narrative journalism, the cultural history and impact of American comics, graphic novels and graphic literature, attention and digital media ethics.
Publications
"Being Godzilla." Writing on the Edge 31.1.2, 2022: 77-86. Print.
"'Driven to Sin': Victor Hugo’s Complex Vision in Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”"The Disney Versions. Eds. Douglas Brode and Shea T. Brode. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2016. 201-211. Print.
"Embracing Dionysius in Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing." Spec. issue of Studies in the Novel 47.3, 2015: 365-380. Print.
"What Does a Starship Need With God?": Divinization, Deicide, and the Re-Affirmation of Faith in Star Trek I-VI." Gene Rodenberry’s Star Trek: The Original Cast Adventures. Eds. Douglas Brode and Sheila T. Brode. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015. 141-152. Print.
"Bruce Banner on the Couch: Dubious Psychologizing, The Drama of the Gifted Child, and the Rise of the 'Victim Culture' in the 1980s and 1990s." The Ages of the Incredible Hulk: Essays on the Jade Giant in Changing Times. Ed. Joseph J. Darowski. McFarland and Company, 2015. Print.
"Worshipping at the Altar: The Myth of Inspiration and Creative Writing." Writing on the Edge 33.1, 2011: 69-75. Print.
"'More Human Than (Super) Human': Streamlining Superman and American Identity in the Reagan Era." Ages of Superman: The Evolving Contexts of a Pop Culture Icon. McFarland & Company, 2012. Print.
"It’s a Grand Old Song." Antiques Roadshow Insider. Belvoir Publications: July 2011. Print.
"Finding the Joker." Riddle Me This, Batman! Essays on Popular Culture as Philosophy, Literature, and Social Criticism. McFarland & Company: September 15, 2011. Print.
Entries "Mike Tyson," "Brett Favre," "Lebron James," "Yao Ming," "Phil Jackson," "Terrell Owens/Chad Ocho-Cinco." The Encyclopedia of Sports. Greenwood Press (March 2013). Print.
"The Dark Knight Returns." Graphic Novels. Salem Press (2012). Print.
"Independence Study." Antiques Roadshow Insider. Belvoir Publications: October 2009. Print.
"Two Very Independent Men" Antique Roadshow Insider. Belvoir Publications: November 2008. Print.
"Great Scott!" Antiques Roadshow Insider. Belvoir Publications. September 2008. Print.
"The GI." American Icons: An Encyclopedia of the People, Places, and Things that Have Shaped Our Culture. 1st ed. Ed. Dennis Hall and Susan Hall. Portsmouth, N.H.: Greenwood Press, 2006: 258-266. Print.
"Here Comes Big Ben." Antiques Roadshow Insider. Belvoir Publications: Jan. 2006. Print.
"Custer Rides Again." Antiques Roadshow Insider. Belvoir Publications: June 2006. Print.
"What About Bob?" Antiques Roadshow Insider. Belvoir Publications: July 2006. Print.
"Vitamins with a Complex." Better Nutrition. January 2003. Print.
“The Pros of Probiotics.” Better Nutrition. February 2003. Print.
"Poetic Pursuits." Antique Roadshow Insider. Belvoir Publications: March 2003. Print.
"What the Dickens!" Antique Roadshow Insider. Belvoir Publications: August 2003. Print.
"In the Land of Lincoln.” Antique Roadshow Insider. Belvoir Publications: September 2003. Print.
"On the Mark: Mark Twain Memorabilia" (in conjunction with Ken Burns’ Mark Twain documentary for PBS). Antique Roadshow Insider. Belvoir Publications: March 2002. Print.
"Calling All Clans." Richmond Magazine. May 2002. Print.
"The Essentials of Essential Oils." Better Nutrition. May 2002. Print.
"The Collectible Hemingway." Antique Roadshow Insider. Belvoir Publications: June 2002. Print.
"Here Comes the Band." Richmond Magazine. July 2002. Print.
"Elvis: The Collectible King." Antique Roadshow Insider. Belvoir Publications: August 2002. Print.
"In Step?: A Look Inside Richmond’s Public Schools." Richmond Magazine. August 2002. Print.
"Hitchcockania: Collecting Alfred Hitchcock." Antique Roadshow Insider. Belvoir Publications: November 2002. Print.
"Care from a Distance." SeniorSource. Winter 2001. Print.
