Academic and Scholarly Positions
Education
Refereed Publications
“Queer Temporalities and Epistemologies of Jude Dibia’s Walking with Shadows and Chinelo Okparanta’s Under the Udala Trees.” African Literature Today 36: Queer Theory in Film & Fiction. November 2018.
“Making the Invisible Visible: Privilege, Shame, and Guilt in Midnight’s Children.” South Asian Review. 35(1). pp 169-187. 2014. Print.
Non-refereed Publications
Things Fall Apart Literature Guide (A Common Core-Aligned Teaching Guide). Secondary Solutions, LLC.,: Rancho Cucamonga, CA. 2012. Print.
Conference Presentations
“Black Orpheus and the Persistence of Colonial Gender and Sexual Politics in Postcolonial Small Magazine Publishing.” Modern Language Association Conference, Seattle, WA, January 2020.
“Sexual Knowledge-Power and the Postcolony: The Case of Meribe v Egwu.” Modern Language Association Conference, Chicago, IL, January 2019.
“African Women’s Writing, Mbari, and the African Writers’ Series.” Modern Language Association Conference, New York, NY, January 2018.
“Not a Network, but a Rhizome: The Mbari Movement and the Internationalization of African Literature.” African Literature Association Conference, New Haven, CT, June 2017.
“What about the Child: Futurity and Queer Emergence in Nigerian Literature.” Modern Language Association Conference, Philadelphia, PA, January 2017.
“African Authenticity: A Discourse of Power.” African Literature Association Conference, Atlanta, GA, April 2016.
“American Bildung, Slave Narratives, and the Incomplete Project of Incorporation.” Texas Tech University Comparative Literature Symposium, Lubbock, TX, April 2016.
“Deterritorializing Heterosexist Flows in Jessica Hagedorn’s Dogeaters.” UNC Asheville Queer Studies Conference, Asheville, TN, April 2015.
“Accounting for Cultural Relevancy in Taiye Selasi’s Ghana Must Go and NoViolet Bulawayo’s We Need New Names.” Texas Tech University Comparative Literature Symposium, Lubbock, TX, April 2015.
“Capital and Cost: Afro and Afro-American Hair in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah.” American Comparative Literature Association, New York, 2014.
“Metaphor and Metonymy in Novels of the Biafran War.” Texas Tech University Comparative Literature Symposium, Lubbock, TX, 2014.
Sponsored Panels
Manzo, Kerry and Joya Mannan. “Publishing the Colony/Colonizing Publishing.” Modern Language Association Annual Convention, New York City, January 2018.
Fellowships, Scholarships, and Awards
Texas Pride Impact Funds, Grants for LGBTQ Community Organizations in Texas, for Out in West Texas: An Initiative to Train Medical, Mental Health, and Legal Professionals of the West Texas Area in Transgender Affirming Practices.” Grant cycle 2018-19, Amount: $10,000.
Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowship, American Council of Learned Societies. Fellowship term September 2018 – May 2019. Amount: $30,000.
Departmental travel grant for "“What about the Child: Futurity and Queer Emergence in Nigerian Literature.” Modern Language Association Conference, Philadelphia, PA, January 2017. Amount: $700.
Dissertation Research Fellowship, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin. Residence term July 22-Aug 5, 2016. Amount: $1500.
Departmental travel grant for “African Authenticity: A Discourse of Power.” African Literature Association Conference, Atlanta, GA, April 2016. Amount: $700.
William Bryan Gates Scholarship, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX. 2016-17. Amount: $1500.
Departmental travel grant for “Deterritorializing Heterosexist Flows in Jessica Hagedorn’s Dogeaters.” UNC Asheville Queer Studies Conference, Asheville, TN, April 2015. Amount: $700.
Departmental scholarship to attend Futures of American Studies Institute, Dartmouth. June 2014. Amount: $1500.
Departmental travel grant for “Capital and Cost: Afro and Afro-American Hair in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah.” American Comparative Literature Association, New York, 2014. Amount: $700.
Service
Service to Field
Vice-Chair, Graduate Student Caucus of the African Literature Association, 2017-18
Nominee to MLA Delegate Assembly, Region 6, Central and Rocky Mountains, 2016
Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society, 2015-16
Member-at-large, Graduate Student Caucus of the African Literature Association, 2016-17
Assistant to the Book Review Editor, Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada 2014-16
Service to the Department
Co-director, 49th Annual Comparative Literature Symposium at Texas Tech University, 2016-17
Graduate English Society, President, Texas Tech Department of English, 2016-17
Graduate English Society, Secretary, Texas Tech Department of English 2015-16
Ambassador to Graduate Studies Committee, Texas Tech Department of English, 2015-17
Organizer and founder, Texas Tech Department of English queer theory reading group, Spring 2014-present
Service to the Community
Community educator, Out in West Texas, Midland, TX, 2017-present.
Co-founder, Out in West Texas, an organization for advancing transgender education in the Permian Basin, Midland, TX, 2018.
Co-director, Out in West Texas: A Symposium on Professional Competencies for Serving Transgender Clients, in cooperation with the Trans Equality Network of Texas (TENT), November 3-4, 2017
Panelist for screening of Real Boy, Basin Indie Lens Pop-up, Odessa, TX, May 23, 2017
Invited speaker for screening of Tangerine, Sexism | Cinema, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, May 3, 2017
Chair, Legislative Tracking Committee, Permian Basin LGBTQ (plus), March-July 2017
Teaching
SUNY Purchase
LIT 1150 Border Crossings
LIT 2305 Introduction to Contemporary Global Literature
Ind Study Senior Project 1
LIT 2765 Child Soldier Narratives
LIT 3095 Literature of Race and Human Rights
LIT 3228 Decolonizing Sex and Gender
Texas Tech University
ENGL 2308 Introduction to Nonfiction: Cosmopolitanism and the West African Memoir
ENGL 2307 Introduction to Fiction: The Nigerian Novel
ENGL 2306 Introduction to Drama: Postcolonial Drama
ENGL 2305 Introduction to Poetry: African American Poetry
ENGL 1302 First-Year Composition: Writing the Argument Paper
ENGL 1301 First-Year Composition: Writing the Literature Review
Daemen College
IND 101 Freshman Experience
University of Texas at El Paso
Intermediate ESOL, University of Texas at El Paso
Other Teaching
AP Language and Composition, Odessa High School, Odessa, TX
6th Grade Gifted and Talented Humanities, Brown Middle School, El Paso, TX
8th Grade Language Arts, Hornedo Middle School, El Paso, TX
Professional Affiliations
Modern Language Association
African Literature Association
American Comparative Literature Association
Digital Competencies
Skills:
Digital archive creation, Digital transcription, Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) markup, Graphic design, Branded content creation, Social media marketing, Email marketing, Social media management, Integrating visual messages in social media platforms
Software/Platforms:
Word Processing, Communication, and Design:
Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, OneNote, OneDrive, Publisher)
Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere Pro)
Educational Technology:
Blackboard (Blackboard Collaborate, Wikis, Discussion Boards, Groups)
Canvass
Moodle
Zotero
Web Development:
Google G-Suite
Squarespace
Weebly
GoDaddy
Social Media Management:
Facebook (Facebook Pages, Facebook Business, Facebook Group Management)
Twitter (incl. Tweetdeck)
Instagram
- Visiting Assistant Professor of Literature, State University of New York at Purchase, 2019-present
- Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellow, American Council of Learned Societies, 2018-19
- Graduate Part-Time Instructor, Department of English, Texas Tech University, 2013-18
- Graduate Student Assistant to the Director of Graduate Studies, Department of English, Texas Tech University, 2015-17
- Part-time Instructor, Interdisciplinary Studies, Daemen College, 2011-12
- Instructor, Department of Languages and Linguistics, University of Texas at El Paso, 2001-02
Education
- Ph.D. English Comparative Literature, Texas Tech University, May 2019. Dissertation: “When We See It, We Shall Be Happy: The Mbari Movement, Queer Emergence, and Counterpublics in the Production of West African Literature,” Defended, March 29, 2019.
- M.A. Linguistics, University of Texas at El Paso, 2006. Thesis: “The Hope for Mapping in Spanish”
- B.A. English and American Literature, University of Texas at El Paso, 2001.
Refereed Publications
“Queer Temporalities and Epistemologies of Jude Dibia’s Walking with Shadows and Chinelo Okparanta’s Under the Udala Trees.” African Literature Today 36: Queer Theory in Film & Fiction. November 2018.
“Making the Invisible Visible: Privilege, Shame, and Guilt in Midnight’s Children.” South Asian Review. 35(1). pp 169-187. 2014. Print.
Non-refereed Publications
Things Fall Apart Literature Guide (A Common Core-Aligned Teaching Guide). Secondary Solutions, LLC.,: Rancho Cucamonga, CA. 2012. Print.
Conference Presentations
“Black Orpheus and the Persistence of Colonial Gender and Sexual Politics in Postcolonial Small Magazine Publishing.” Modern Language Association Conference, Seattle, WA, January 2020.
“Sexual Knowledge-Power and the Postcolony: The Case of Meribe v Egwu.” Modern Language Association Conference, Chicago, IL, January 2019.
“African Women’s Writing, Mbari, and the African Writers’ Series.” Modern Language Association Conference, New York, NY, January 2018.
“Not a Network, but a Rhizome: The Mbari Movement and the Internationalization of African Literature.” African Literature Association Conference, New Haven, CT, June 2017.
“What about the Child: Futurity and Queer Emergence in Nigerian Literature.” Modern Language Association Conference, Philadelphia, PA, January 2017.
“African Authenticity: A Discourse of Power.” African Literature Association Conference, Atlanta, GA, April 2016.
“American Bildung, Slave Narratives, and the Incomplete Project of Incorporation.” Texas Tech University Comparative Literature Symposium, Lubbock, TX, April 2016.
“Deterritorializing Heterosexist Flows in Jessica Hagedorn’s Dogeaters.” UNC Asheville Queer Studies Conference, Asheville, TN, April 2015.
“Accounting for Cultural Relevancy in Taiye Selasi’s Ghana Must Go and NoViolet Bulawayo’s We Need New Names.” Texas Tech University Comparative Literature Symposium, Lubbock, TX, April 2015.
“Capital and Cost: Afro and Afro-American Hair in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah.” American Comparative Literature Association, New York, 2014.
“Metaphor and Metonymy in Novels of the Biafran War.” Texas Tech University Comparative Literature Symposium, Lubbock, TX, 2014.
Sponsored Panels
Manzo, Kerry and Joya Mannan. “Publishing the Colony/Colonizing Publishing.” Modern Language Association Annual Convention, New York City, January 2018.
Fellowships, Scholarships, and Awards
Texas Pride Impact Funds, Grants for LGBTQ Community Organizations in Texas, for Out in West Texas: An Initiative to Train Medical, Mental Health, and Legal Professionals of the West Texas Area in Transgender Affirming Practices.” Grant cycle 2018-19, Amount: $10,000.
Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowship, American Council of Learned Societies. Fellowship term September 2018 – May 2019. Amount: $30,000.
Departmental travel grant for "“What about the Child: Futurity and Queer Emergence in Nigerian Literature.” Modern Language Association Conference, Philadelphia, PA, January 2017. Amount: $700.
Dissertation Research Fellowship, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin. Residence term July 22-Aug 5, 2016. Amount: $1500.
Departmental travel grant for “African Authenticity: A Discourse of Power.” African Literature Association Conference, Atlanta, GA, April 2016. Amount: $700.
William Bryan Gates Scholarship, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX. 2016-17. Amount: $1500.
Departmental travel grant for “Deterritorializing Heterosexist Flows in Jessica Hagedorn’s Dogeaters.” UNC Asheville Queer Studies Conference, Asheville, TN, April 2015. Amount: $700.
Departmental scholarship to attend Futures of American Studies Institute, Dartmouth. June 2014. Amount: $1500.
Departmental travel grant for “Capital and Cost: Afro and Afro-American Hair in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah.” American Comparative Literature Association, New York, 2014. Amount: $700.
Service
Service to Field
Vice-Chair, Graduate Student Caucus of the African Literature Association, 2017-18
Nominee to MLA Delegate Assembly, Region 6, Central and Rocky Mountains, 2016
Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society, 2015-16
Member-at-large, Graduate Student Caucus of the African Literature Association, 2016-17
Assistant to the Book Review Editor, Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada 2014-16
Service to the Department
Co-director, 49th Annual Comparative Literature Symposium at Texas Tech University, 2016-17
Graduate English Society, President, Texas Tech Department of English, 2016-17
Graduate English Society, Secretary, Texas Tech Department of English 2015-16
Ambassador to Graduate Studies Committee, Texas Tech Department of English, 2015-17
Organizer and founder, Texas Tech Department of English queer theory reading group, Spring 2014-present
Service to the Community
Community educator, Out in West Texas, Midland, TX, 2017-present.
Co-founder, Out in West Texas, an organization for advancing transgender education in the Permian Basin, Midland, TX, 2018.
Co-director, Out in West Texas: A Symposium on Professional Competencies for Serving Transgender Clients, in cooperation with the Trans Equality Network of Texas (TENT), November 3-4, 2017
Panelist for screening of Real Boy, Basin Indie Lens Pop-up, Odessa, TX, May 23, 2017
Invited speaker for screening of Tangerine, Sexism | Cinema, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, May 3, 2017
Chair, Legislative Tracking Committee, Permian Basin LGBTQ (plus), March-July 2017
Teaching
SUNY Purchase
LIT 1150 Border Crossings
LIT 2305 Introduction to Contemporary Global Literature
Ind Study Senior Project 1
LIT 2765 Child Soldier Narratives
LIT 3095 Literature of Race and Human Rights
LIT 3228 Decolonizing Sex and Gender
Texas Tech University
ENGL 2308 Introduction to Nonfiction: Cosmopolitanism and the West African Memoir
ENGL 2307 Introduction to Fiction: The Nigerian Novel
ENGL 2306 Introduction to Drama: Postcolonial Drama
ENGL 2305 Introduction to Poetry: African American Poetry
ENGL 1302 First-Year Composition: Writing the Argument Paper
ENGL 1301 First-Year Composition: Writing the Literature Review
Daemen College
IND 101 Freshman Experience
University of Texas at El Paso
Intermediate ESOL, University of Texas at El Paso
Other Teaching
AP Language and Composition, Odessa High School, Odessa, TX
6th Grade Gifted and Talented Humanities, Brown Middle School, El Paso, TX
8th Grade Language Arts, Hornedo Middle School, El Paso, TX
Professional Affiliations
Modern Language Association
African Literature Association
American Comparative Literature Association
Digital Competencies
Skills:
Digital archive creation, Digital transcription, Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) markup, Graphic design, Branded content creation, Social media marketing, Email marketing, Social media management, Integrating visual messages in social media platforms
Software/Platforms:
Word Processing, Communication, and Design:
Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, OneNote, OneDrive, Publisher)
Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere Pro)
Educational Technology:
Blackboard (Blackboard Collaborate, Wikis, Discussion Boards, Groups)
Canvass
Moodle
Zotero
Web Development:
Google G-Suite
Squarespace
Weebly
GoDaddy
Social Media Management:
Facebook (Facebook Pages, Facebook Business, Facebook Group Management)
Twitter (incl. Tweetdeck)