Graduate Student Directory

This is a list of current graduate students pursuing an M.A. in literature or a Ph.D. in literature (including those with a concentration in rhetoric, composition and pedagogy) in the department of English. A directory of graduate students in the MFA and Ph.D. in Literature and Creative Writing is also available.

   
 Ibrahim Badshah is a Ph.D. student in Literature hailing from the Indian state of Kerala. He earned his B.A in English Literature from the University of Calicut and M.A from the University of Delhi. Ibrahim’s academic interests include Translation theory, Postcolonial Literature and Theory, World Literatures, and Arab and Islamic Studies. Being a translator of texts from Arabic and English to his mother tongue Malayalam, Ibrahim’s research focuses primarily on postcolonial translation theory, in which he tries to go beyond the Eurocentric translation theories in an attempt to formulate a theory that concerns the East. Outside of academia, he loves photography, cooking, playing badminton and hiking.

 Godhuly Bose
Godhuly Bose (Ph.D., Literature) completed her B.A. and M.A. in English literature from Jadavpur University, India. Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in literature, she has worked in journalism and baking. Her academic interests lie in resistance, social movements, food and postcolonial literature. 

  
Anthony Box
Anthony Box (Ph.D., RCP) grew up in Bakersfield, California where he earned both his B.A. and M.A. in English from CSU Bakersfield. While there, he was a member of CSUB’s NCAA Division I wrestling team. His research interests include style, composition pedagogy, digital rhetoric and experimental writing.

 
Alissa Christopherson
Alissa Nicole Christopherson (Ph.D., Literature) hails from central California and has received a B.A. and M.A. in literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz and the University of Houston, respectively. Her research is focused on gender and sexuality in new media, with emphases on adaptation studies, Romanticism and modern gaming. Her scholarly interests are a natural extension of a decades-long investment in fandom culture, which continues to occupy a notable chunk of her free time. When not reading, writing or gaming, she also enjoys hiking.

 Lea Colchado
Lea Colchado (Ph.D., RCP) is a mestiza rhetorician from the borderlands of South Texas. Her areas of interest focus on the rhetoric of trauma, Chicanas, shadow work and healing. She has a passion for teaching decolonial and Anzaldúan modes of writing and Chicana feminist literature. As a Tejana, she inscribes her culture and amor for sangronas and poderosas into her work and her research. When Lea is not vigorously studying and writing, presenting her research at conferences, or dismantling machismo, she enjoys chilling at home with her little black cat, KiKi, and tending to her plants

  
Justin Dykes
Justin Dykes (Ph.D., RCP) was born and raised in San Diego, CA. There at SDSU, he earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and master’s degrees in both homeland security and rhetoric and writing studies. Justin’s research interests include composition pedagogy, marginalized rhetorics, and cultural, digital, (geo)political and religious rhetoric.
   

   
Sylvia Garcia
Sylvia Garcia is a Ph.D. candidate in literature specializing in Latin American literature and diaspora studies. Her research includes studying the intersections between language and the body in post-diaspora experiences and has been influenced by her experiences growing up in an immigrant family in the United States. When she is not pursuing her studies, Sylvia enjoys biking, jogging and discovering new places in Houston.
    

  
McKenzie Gray
McKenzie Gray is a second-year M.A. student studying literature in order to expand her teaching career. Her topics of interest include using archives in the secondary classroom, challenging Texas high school English Language Arts standards, and relationships formed by grief. In her spare time, she enjoys hanging out with her two dogs, Finn and Bear, and kayaking in any body of water. McKenzie completed her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Houston in 2017 and currently teaches high school English in Conroe, TX.
   

  
Rachelle Joplin 
Rachelle A.C. Joplin (Ph.D., RCP) aligns herself with feminist and cultural rhetorics. Her dissertation project explores how memories are experienced and dispersed via Japanese role-playing games in both playtime and fandom communities. She served as the editorial assistant for Peitho from fall of 2017 to summer of 2021. Her work has appeared in Presumed Incompetent II and Peitho.   

 

 

  
Jennifer Julian 
Jennifer L. Julian (Ph.D., Literature) a native Houstonian, received her B.A. and M.A. in English from Texas Southern University. Her interests of research include the African American gothic, African diaspora literature, speculative fiction & fantasy, and the voice of writers in literary works. She can be found listening to music when not reading. An avid graphic novel and comic book fan, she also spends her free time crafting novels.
   

 

Rand Khalil is Fulbright alumna and a first-year Ph.D. candidate in literature at the University of Houston. She received her M.A. in English Literature at the University of Northern Iowa. Her research interests include Anglophone Arab Literature, Post-Colonial Theory and the politics of hyphenated Arab identities. Her M.A. thesis was titled, "Hybridity, Border-Crossings and the Homeland in Contemporary Literature by Women" and supervised by Julie Husband, Ph.D. 

 
Marisa Koulen
Marisa Koulen (Ph.D., RCP) was born in New Jersey and raised along the eastern shores of Maryland. Marisa received her B.A. in English-Writing Studies with a minor in journalism from Millersville University in Pennsylvania. Her studies continued at Millersville where she obtained her M.A. in English.
   

 
 

  
Ann G. Kroger
Ann Kroger (Ph.D., RCP) is a native Houstonian who earned her undergraduate degrees in English literature and secondary education. Fifteen years sober, Ann’s research explores the public vs. private natures of addiction and recovery and how the dialogue surrounding addiction manifests in mainstream culture and public policy. In addition to studying both fiction and nonfiction accounts of addiction, Ann's research looks at historical representations of addiction, public and counter-public spheres and activist pedagogy.

Karen Lagana
Born in NYC, Karen Lagana (Ph.D., RCP) most recently lived in Buffalo, NY. While there, she earned her Ed.M. in English education, tutored students in writing and the LSAT and learned to regard any snowfall under three feet as a mere dusting. Her undergraduate degrees are in English and philosophy. Her primary interests are student-centered pedagogy, the socially situated nature of knowledge and how that impacts Rhet/Comp and how an education in rhetoric can help build a just democracy where citizens engage in authentic dialogue across difference.
   
 
 
Amy Lipke
Amy Lipke is a Ph.D. candidate in rhetoric, composition and pedagogy (RCP). She received a BS in technical and professional writing from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.A. in rhetoric and composition from the University of Houston-Downtown. Her doctoral research investigates the use of language acquisition theory in composition pedagogy.
   
 

 
Jo McIntosh
Jo McIntosh is a Ph.D. in literature student and non-tenured faculty at Concordia University Texas. Jo's literary and critical work is in early modern and Renaissance studies, Mary Wroth's corpus and digital humanities. In each area, Jo prioritizes feminist praxis, which includes racial equity and fair labor. Jo hopes to complete a WGSS certificate and DH project while at the University of Houston. She presents a paper at the Sixteenth Century Society Conference in October and is the 2021-2023 graduate representative for the International Sidney Society. Jo is equally committed to spending time at the beach, with family and writing.

   
  
Brian McWilliams
Brian McWilliams (Ph.D., RCP) is a Houston resident, military veteran, and has worked for many years as a firefighter here in Houston before making the lumbering transition into graduate studies and teaching.  He earned his M.A. from Sam Houston State University.  His background includes a diverse mix of composition and literature, philosophy, engineering, computer science, fire science, and earning a collegiate skydiving record in the process.
   

 
Ann O’Bryan
Ann O’Bryan is a first year Ph.D. student with a concentration in rhetoric, composition and pedagogy. Her research focus is service learning in the composition classroom and prison pedagogy. She earned her M.A. in English, rhetoric and composition from California State University, Northridge. She earned her B.A. in English, creative writing from Colorado State University. She presented her research on video games in the composition classroom at the Conference on College Composition and Communication. She has won various awards for research and teaching excellence. A lifelong nature lover, Ann can be found on hiking and nature trails, when her nose isn’t buried in books.

  
Dalel Serda

   
  
Alix Zachow
A native of Mississippi, Alix Zachow (Ph.D., Literature) received her B.A. from Middlebury College in Vermont and her M.A. from Teachers College-Columbia University in New York. Her research interests include medical/health humanities, contemporary poetry and poetics, globalization and the Anthropocene.