Faculty/Staff Directory
Crystal O'Leary-Davidson
Professor
Credentials: PhD
| Office Hours: | Spring 2026 Office Hours - Jackson Hall 205 and Online Tuesday and Thursday 9:30 - 12:30 Wednesday 9:30 - 11:30 and on mutually agreed upon appointments |
| Locations: (Campus & Office) |
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| Biography: | Crystal O'Leary-Davidson is professor of English. She has taught at MGA since 2003. Her undergraduate degree is in Theatre (Performance) from the University of Mississippi, and she has Master's degrees in Speech Communication from the University of Alabama and English from Winthrop University with a focus in Gothic literature. She received her PhD from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where she continued her research in the Gothic, including Film Studies. She has since presented and published on the Gothic and horror in both fiction and film. She is also a fiction writer, publishing under C. O. Davidson. |
| Syllabi: |
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| Teaching and Research Interests: | The Gothic Film Studies (Feminism and Horror) The Graphic Novel Early American Literature Online Pedagogy AI (LLMs) Digital Minimalism |
| Courses: | Spring 2026 Schedule ENGL 1102 English Composition II T/TH 12:30 - 1:45 RH ENGL 3010 Intro to Literary Studies ONLINE ENGL 3999 Special Topics: Feminism and the Horror Film ONLINE HUMN 3999 Special Topics: Feminism and the Horror Film ONLINE Session 2 Class ENGL 2131 American Literature I ONLINE |
| Education: (All institutions attended and degrees or credentials earned) | Ph.D. in English, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Spring 2000 Dissertation: 鈥淎 Grave for this Book鈥: Textual Fetishism in American Gothic from Brockden Brown to John Carpenter Director: Joseph D. Andriano The Gothic premise of the 鈥渇ound manuscript鈥 becomes a powerful fetish or charm in these selected works of American Gothic. Unlike the British Gothic where the 鈥渇ound manuscript鈥 serves as a narrative premise, the American book-fetish exerts a terrible power over the characters while its contents may remain a mystery to the reader or viewer. This dissertation examines a variety of American Gothic texts exploring authorial anxiety and American culture in the fiction of Charles Brockden Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Stephen King and Jeffrey Eugenides, and films directed by David Lynch, Wes Craven, and John Carpenter. M.A. in English, Winthrop University, Summer 1994 Thesis: Transcending Monstrous Flesh: A Revision of the Hero鈥檚 Quest M.A. in Speech Communication, University of Alabama, Spring 1991 Master of Arts Project: Voices from the Margin: Women鈥檚 Own Words (A Readers鈥 Theater Based on Interviews on Self-identified Turning Points in Personal Narratives) B.F.A. in Theater Arts, Performance Degree, University of Mississippi, Summer 1989 |
| CV: | TEACHING CV (for additional CV information, see other areas on this page) 麻豆视频, Professor of English 2003 - present Primary areas of interest: Horror Fiction and Film, Gothic Literature, Popular Culture Studies, Early American Literature, American and British Literature 1764-present, Composition and Rhetoric, Pedagogy of Online and Hybrid Learning, Artificial Intelligence Promotion to Full Professor, May 2015 Tenure Awarded, February 2009 Humanities Division Chair (MGC), 2007 - 2013 Promotion to Associate Professor, May 2008 Assistant Professor of English, August 2003 COURSES TAUGHT Fully Online 2004 - present ENGL 3700: Studies in the Novel ENGL 3010: Introduction to Literary Studies ENGL 3999: Special Topics (Varied sections: The Gothic; The Gothic and the Weird; Slasher Films and Feminism; Horror and Race and Gender) ENGL 2131 Honors American Literature I ENGL 2131 American Literature 1 ENGL 2132: American Literature from 1864 to present ENGL 1101: Composition I ENGL 1102: Composition II Hybrid and Face-to-Face 1994 - present ENGL 3010: Introduction to Literary Studies ENGL 3999 Special Topics: The American Gothic HUMN 1001 Perspectives in Narrative ENGL 2131: American Literature through 1900* ENGL 2132: American Literature from 1864 to present* ENGL 2228: World Literature, Film Adaptation of Literature ENGL 1101/1102: Composition I and II* ENGL 429: The American Renaissance ENGL 375/475: Introduction to Film ENGL 360: Advanced Composition ENGL 320: The Modern Novel ENGL 206: Modern American Literature ENGL 115: Freshman English Honors Seminar COM 101: Introduction to Public Speaking COM 200: Interpersonal Communication SPCH 101: Introduction to Speech Communication ADDITIONAL TEACHING POSITIONS St. Thomas Moore; Lafayette, LA American Literature and Freshman Composition Teacher 2002 - 2003 The Episcopal School of Acadiana; Broussard, LA American Literature, Composition and Speech Teacher Director of Speech and Debate Team 2001 - 2002 University of Louisiana at Lafayette Adjunct Instructor of English 2000 鈥 2001 1994 - 1995 Carson-Newman University; Jefferson City, TN Visiting Instructor of Communication Arts Director of Nationally-Ranked Speech and Debate Team 1991 - 1992 |
| Professional Experience: | Dr. O鈥橪eary-Davidson is a scholar of Gothic and horror literature in fiction and film. She published fiction under C. O. Davidson. Her work has appeared in PseudoPod,聽Vastarien,聽Cemetery Gates and in various horror anthologies. She co-edited聽Monsters of Film, Fiction, and Fable and is a founding member of the Atlanta chapter of the Horror Writers Association. |
| Publications and Scholarships: (Last 5 Years) | Selected Recent Academic Writing Monsters of Film, Fiction, and Fable, edited volume, 2018 Cambridge Press Recent Fiction 鈥淥uroboros鈥 Short Story. Weird Fiction Quarterly, Forthcoming Winter 2026 鈥淩ush.鈥 Short Story. Fraidy Cat Quarterly, Vol 7 (Rage). December, 2025. 鈥淎 Parliament in the Woods.鈥 Short Story. Darkness Most Fowl. Anthology. 34 Godmother of Horror Press. Oct. 31, 2025. 鈥淐ynthia鈥檚 Mixtape Invocation.鈥 Short Story. Effigies and Incantations. Frightful Fables. July 2025. |
| Professional Affiliations: | The Horror Writers Association (HWA) - International Horror Writers Association Atlanta Chapter (Founding Member) Broadleaf Writers Association (Board Member) Member of The South Atlantic Modern Language Association (SAMLA) Popular Culture / American Culture Association in the South (PCAS/ACAS) |
| Organizations: | South Atlantic Modern Language Association (SAMLA) Broadleaf Writers Association Horror Writers Association (HWA - ATL Chapter) Popular Culture/American Culture of the South Association (PCAS/ACAS) Reacting to the Past, Faculty |
| Awards and Honors: | Cemetery Gates Media July 2021 Short Fiction Winner |
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