Cal Poly Experts Directory - The Arts & Humanities
Film • Literature & Creative Writing • Music • Philosophy • Photography • Theater
Film
Douglas Keesey, Ph.D.
Professor of English
Director of Cal Poly’s General Education Program
(805) 756-5067 / e-mail: dkeesey@calpoly.edu
Author of books on Paul Verhoeven, Erotic Cinema, and Don DeLillo.
Areas of expertise:
- film
- contemporary literature
- general education
Literature and Creative Writing
Odile Ayral-Clause, Ph.D.
Professor of French
(805) 756-2094/1205 / e-mail: oclause@calpoly.edu
Author of Camille Claudel.
Areas of expertise:
- French language and culture
- 19th century French literature and art
- poet Sabine Sicaud
John D. Battenburg, Ph.D.
Professor of English
(805) 756-2945/1205 / e-mail: jbattenb@calpoly.edu
Author of English Monolingual Learners' Dictionaries: A User-Oriented Study (1991).
Consultant to English as a second language programs.
Member, American Association of Applied Linguistics, Dictionary Society of North America, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages.
Areas of expertise:
- lexicography
- English dictionaries
- language learning
- foreign and second language teaching and learning
- applied and general linguistics
- American literature of the 17th to 19th centuries
Hernan Castellano-Giron, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Modern Languages
(805) 756-1620/1205 / e-mail: hcastell@calpoly.edu
Author of eight books and numerous articles and essays.
Internationally known artist with many group and individual shows in Europe,
North America and Latin America.
Recipient of many literary awards, including the Hispamerica Prize for a
short story (1978).
Areas of expertise:
- Spanish and Italian languages and cultures
- Latin American literature--especially 20th century
- Magical Realism, Surrealism and Neo-realism
- cinema and graphic art in Latin America
* the Renaissance
- Italian movie art
- Federico Fellini
- Luis Buñuel
Kevin Clark, Ph.D.
Professor of English
(805) 756-2506/2596 / e-mail: kclark@calpoly.edu
Web: www.calpoly.edu/~kclark
Author of poems published in The Antioch Review, Denver Quarterly, College English, ansas Quarterly, Beloit Poetry Journal, California Quarterly, The Georgia Review, Black Warrior review, and several anthologies.
Author of one full-length book of poetry: tentatively titled The Near World (forthcoming 2001); author of three chapbooks of poetry: Granting the Wolf (1984), Widow Under a New Moon (1990), and One of Us (2000).
Author of numerous articles on contemporary American poetry and numerous poems published in national journals.
Member, Modern Language Association and Associated Writing Programs.
Areas of expertise:
- contemporary American poetry
- teaching of poetry writing
- poetry readings
- love and sex in contemporary poetry and literature
- poets T.S. Eliot, Adrienne Rich and John Ashbery
- modern American literature
- the pedagogy of creative writing
- literature and poetry of baseball
Robert Inchausti, Ph.D.
Professor of English
(805) 756-2862/2596 / e-mail: rinchaus@calpoly.edu
Author of Spitwad Sutras: Classroom Teaching as Sublime Vocation (1993), The Ignorant Perfection of Ordinary People (1991), and Thomas Merton's American Prophecy.
Areas of expertise:
- American literature
- Russian literature in translation
- secondary schools
- religious biography
- Thomas Merton
- Gandhi
- Mother Teresa
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
- non-violence
- the vocation of the teacher
- prayer
William T. Little, Ph.D.
Professor of Modern Languages & Literatures
(805) 756-2750/1205 / e-mail: wlittle@calpoly.edu
Translator & editor of medieval and early Renaissance texts, including The Labors of the Very Brave Knight Esplandian.
Author of numerous articles on Spanish, Latin American and French literature.
Author & translator of bilingual book of poetry, Poemario II/Poemary II.
Areas of expertise:
- Spanish and Latin American cultures
- Spanish and French languages
- French, Spanish and Latin American literature
* The Don Juan myth
- Amadis de Gaula by Garci Rodriguez de Montalvo (translation and edition of volumes 1 through 4)
- poetry writing
William Martinez, Jr., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Spanish
(805) 756-2889/1205 / e-mail: wmartine@calpoly.edu
Contributing author to four articles on Venezuelan poetry.
Co-author of language acquisition textbook and author of second-year Spanish textbook.
Resident director, Mexico summer program.
Areas of expertise:
- Venezuelan literature -- 1958 to present (Trafico & Guaire)
- Latin American literature
- Mexican culture (biculturality and bilinguality)
- second-language acquisition theory and teaching methodologies
- Chicano and Latino culture and literature
- "center-margin" theory
- literature of women
- literature of the Mexican Revolution
- theory of the lyric--historization as a need to analyze texts
- cultural diversity
Bianca Rosenthal, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair of Modern Languages & Literatures
(805) 756-1205 / e-mail: brosenth@calpoly.edu
Author of Pathways to Paul Celan: A History of Critical Responses as a Chorus of Discordant Voices (1995).
Areas of expertise:
- German and French
- language acquisition
- German literature -- 18th century to present
- French literature -- 20th century
- German, French and Russian cultures
- literature of women
- values and technology
Music
Antonio (Greg) Barata, DMA
Professor of Music
(805)756-2664/2406 / e-mail: abarata@calpoly.edu
Advisory Board Member and President's Award recipient of Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States. Director of the Sound Design Program within the Music Department at Cal Poly. Engineer and Producer for many commercial recordings in a wide variety of styles. He is a composer of both electronic and acoustic music, premiered throughout US.
Areas of expertise:
- Contemporary Art Music
- Music Theory and Composition
- Sound Recording and Editing
- Electronic Music & Sound Synthesis
- Computer Applications in Music
- Acoustics
Kenneth S. Habib, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Music
(805) 756-2741 e-mail: khabib@calpoly.edu
Professor Habib earned his Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, with specializations in the Middle East and American popular music. He has particularly concentrated on the music of the Eastern Mediterranean, and especially on the collaboration of the Lebanese superstar singer, Fairouz, and the Rahbani composers. He has taught music at Pomona College and UCSB, and he has taught Arabic at Santa Barbara City College and served as assistant to the director of the Middlebury College Arabic School. Professor Habib also is a composer and
performer, and his responsibilities at Cal Poly include direction of the Arabic Music Ensemble.
Areas of expertise:
- musical and textual analysis
- use of musical arts in the creation of personal and social meaning
- the experience of music culture in diaspora
William V. Johnson
Professor of Music
805 756-2556 e-mail: wjohnson@calpoly.edu
Coordinator of Instrumental Music, Cal Poly. Conductor, Cal Poly
Wind Orchestra, Wind Ensemble and instructor of wind chamber ensembles.
Instructor of music theory, conducting and music education at Cal Poly.
Conductor, San Luis Obispo Wind Orchestra. Past resident of the
World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles. Elected to
membership in the American Bandmasters Association, 1984. Frequent
guest conductor of wind bands and orchestras in the United States,
Europe, Israel and the Pacific Rim ountries. Member, San Luis Obispo
Rotary Club.
Areas of expertise:
- Orchestral performance
- Orchestral conducting
- National and International wind band relations
- Music theory
- Big Band jazz
- Music Education
Alyson McLamore, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Music
(805) 756-2612/2406 / e-mail: amclamor@calpoly.edu
Member, American Musicological Society, College Music Society, and Music Library Association.
Co-editor of Renaissance Essays in Honor of Frank D'Accone.
Editor of section in anthology Women Composers: Music by Women Through the Ages; section deals with symphony written by an 18th-century princess of Saxony.
Areas of expertise:
- Classical music
- concerts
- women in music
- music history
- music education
- music skills
- band performance
- musical theater
- jazz
* American music
Craig Russell, Ph.D.
Professor of Music
(805) 756-1547/2406 / e-mail: crussell@calpoly.edu
Director of the Mozart Akademie program for young people, part of the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival.
California State University Outstanding Professor (1994-95).
Recipient, CSU Wang Family Excellence Award, (2007). Composer, music historian, and master of guitar and lute. His teaching spans the musical field from introductory survey classes, to Mozart, to '60s pop. Trained in classical guitar at the University of New Mexico, he earned his doctorate in musicology from the University of North Carolina before going on to do groundbreaking work which brought to light the forgotten musical heritage of 17th and 18th century Mexican and Californian culture. His original compositions have been recorded and performed nationally as well as at international festivals.
Areas of expertise:
- California mission music
- Mexican music
- cathedral music in the Baroque period
rock music of the 1960s
- protest music
- Chicano music
- the Beatles
- Bob Dylan
Clifton Swanson, M.M.
Professor Emeritus
e-mail: cswanson@calpoly.edu
Former Conductor, Cal Poly Chamber Orchestra.
Former Music director and conductor, San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival (now Festival Mozaic).
Resident director, Cal Poly Fall London Study Program.
Areas of expertise:
- general music
- Mozart
* - string bass performance
Philosophy
Laurence D. Houlgate, Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy
(805) 756-2585/2041 / e-mail: lhoulgat@calpoly.edu
Founder and co-president, Society for Philosophy and the Family.
Author of two books on children's rights and family law.
Areas of expertise:
- ethical issues arising from medicine and health care
- ethical issues of family and family law such as divorce, child abuse, neglect, and welfare
- public policy related to family
Tal Scriven, Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy
(805) 756-1397/2041 / e-mail: tscriven@calpoly.edu
Visiting fellow and professor, University of Colorado, Boulder (1990-91).
Author of Wrongness, Wisdom and Wilderness.
Author of several articles on environmental ethics, philosophy of economics, political philosophy and social decision theory (including game-theoretic analysis).
Areas of expertise:
- environmental ethics
- philosophy of art
Photography
Sky Bergman, M.F.A.
Professor of Art & Design
(805) 756-1538/1148 / e-mail: sbergman@calpoly.edu
On-line project "Women/Beyond Borders" (on World Wide Web).
CD-ROM project "Computers and the Intuitive Edge" (also on World Wide Web).
Work has been exhibited at the New York Academy of Art; Carnegie Museum of Art, Oxnard, Calif.; Cage Gallery, incinnati; Maryhill Museum of Art, Washington; Visions Gallery, San Francisco; Schiebaum &Rusek Gallery, Santa Fe, N.M.
Areas of expertise:
- fine art and commercial photography
- digital image-making (PhotoShop)
- interactive design--CD-ROM production and Web design
Theater
Michael R. Malkin, Ph.D.
Professor of Theatre & Dance
(805) 756-6453/1465 / e-mail: mmalkin@calpoly.edu
Author of three books, Traditional & Folk Puppets of the World, Moving Towards Theatre, and Training the Young Actor; and three museum catalogs, Puppets: The Power of Wonder, Puppets: Art & Entertainment, and Puppets: Revealing Selves--Uniting Nations.
Recipient, UNIMA-USA Citation of Excellence for puppet play "The Stone Circle" (1993).
Author of more than 30 articles on puppets for journals such as Theatre Crafts Dramatics, The Puppetry Journal, and The Museum of California.
Former member, Board of Directors, UNIMA-USA.
Exhibition curator, "Puppets: The Power of Wonder," at the Center for Puppetry Arts, Atlanta.
Author of nine plays published or professionally produced.
Areas of expertise:
- puppet theater
- uppet theater criticism
- puppet history
Patricia M. Troxel, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of English
(805) 756-1257/2596 / ptroxel@calpoly.edu
Author of articles on David Hare, Caryl Churchill, Shakespeare, David Storey, educational outreach.
Company dramaturge and director, Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts Theatrefest, Santa Maria, Calif., and consultant, Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
Script editor for novels and plays from Kentucky and
California authors.
Developing educational outreach programs in theater for youth, teachers and seniors.