{"id":14232,"date":"2018-01-30T09:00:51","date_gmt":"2018-01-30T14:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bsuenglish.com\/?p=14232"},"modified":"2019-04-30T15:46:10","modified_gmt":"2019-04-30T19:46:10","slug":"meet-prof-alex-kaufman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/english\/blog\/2018\/01\/30\/meet-prof-alex-kaufman\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Prof. Alex Kaufman"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Although originally from Philadelphia, Alex Kaufman comes to us from Auburn University at\u00a0<\/em>Montgomery, in Alabama, where he was department chair and Professor of English. This summer, Dr. Kaufman was named <\/em>the Reed D. Voran Distinguished Professor of Humanities at Ball State. He teaches courses on\u00a0<\/em>Robin Hood, outlaws and banditry, historical literature, medieval literature, and medievalism. He is the co-editor of the book\u00a0series\u00a0Outlaws in Literature, History, and Culture<\/a>\u00a0from Routledge Publishing and is \u00a0the co-founder and co-editor of the scholarly journal\u00a0\u00a0The Bulletin of the International Association for Robin Hood Studies.<\/a>\u00a0Click here<\/a> to see his Academia page.<\/em><\/p>\n

Dr. Kaufman will give a talk at 4pm Monday, February 5, in AJ 175 on \u201cRobin Hood and the Outlawed Literary Canon.”<\/em><\/p>\n

After Dr. Kaufman got settled in to Muncie, we sat down to get to know him a bit.<\/em><\/p>\n

What led you to Ball State?<\/span><\/h3>\n

I was drawn to Ball State’s commitment to the liberal arts and the humanities, especially in the\u00a0undergraduate curriculum. <\/span>Both the Honors College and the Department of English\u00a0underscore\u00a0the intellectual and professional\u00a0value of an education focused on immersive learning, critical thinking, diversity, and an engagement with social concerns.<\/p>\n

How did you become interested in Robin Hood?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

I was very fortunate to study with Thomas H. Ohlgren at Purdue University during my graduate studies. Tom was, and remains, one of the leading scholars of the early Robin Hood poems, and his enthusiasm for the subject was contagious. With Robin Hood – and other outlaws in literature and history, from the medieval period to the present day – I am drawn to those individuals and groups who are marginalized by the society in which they live, and I seek to understand why and how\u00a0society creates these outsiders, and how these marginals attempt to survive within their literary or real worlds. The outlaw will always be relevant and a presence in most contemporary contexts.<\/p>\n

What are you reading?<\/span><\/h3>\n

I am reading Sean M.\u00a0Conrey’s recent book of poetry,\u00a0The Book of Trees.\u00a0It is\u00a0an extension of the medieval paradox of the beauty one finds in the external world and the challenge to fully describe and comprehend it. It is elegiac, contemplative, and timely.<\/p>\n

What are some of your hobbies or interests?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

I love exploring nature, especially with others, and Indiana has so much to offer. I also love listening to music, especially King Crimson, Warren Zevon, and John Cale, and I never stopped buying vinyl. We lost count of how many boxes of books, albums, and CDs we moved to Muncie!<\/p>\n

What advice would you offer students?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Take full advantage of everything that Ball State has to offer now, don’t wait. And talk to your\u00a0professors\u00a0and advisors to\u00a0create those professional connections – these can only help you when it comes to job placement, applying to graduate programs, and making sense of your studies.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although originally from Philadelphia, Alex Kaufman comes to us from Auburn University at\u00a0Montgomery, in Alabama, where he was department chair and Professor of English. This summer, Dr. Kaufman was named the Reed D. Voran Distinguished Professor of Humanities at Ball State. He teaches courses on\u00a0Robin Hood, outlaws and banditry, historical literature, medieval literature, and medievalism. 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