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Andrew F

- Research Program Mentor

PhD candidate at Princeton University

Expertise

American literature, Native American Studies, Colonial American Culture, Cinema Studies

Bio

My name is Andrew Ferris. I'm an advanced Ph.D student in English at Princeton University. I'm currently finishing my dissertation which is about how English colonists wrote about and understood their relationship to the many Native American cultures they encountered. My scholarship is interested in how people—centuries ago and today—imagine their place in a complicated, diverse world. I live in New Hampshire. I like mystery novels, playing chess (not that well), and trying to figure out what my cats really think of me. I am interested in mentoring students from a range of fields, including Native American Studies, American literature, and cinema studies. I'm excited to learn from you and facilitate your research.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Native American Storytelling

We know that storytelling is an important aspect of many Native American cultures. What can we learn by closely studying the details of one culture's storytelling tradition? What aspects of that culture's values and history are represented in their stories? And how does that storytelling tradition differ from others we might know? Students can focus on a particular group's tradition to explore how those stories can teach us about the culture and people.

Gothic America

From Charles Brockden Brown (in the 1790s) to Stephen King (starting the 1970s), American literature has been obsessed with the gothic. From murderous sleepwalkers to haunted mansions, the American landscape has been a scary place. What are the themes and preoccupations behind American gothic? Why does it keep coming back? Students can pick a particular work or author to analyze or look at a theme or commonality across different works.

Style in Cinema

From the very first silent movies to today's blockbusters, style has been an important part of film. We often like the films of certain eras or certain directors because of their style. But what exactly is film style? What are the elements that go into giving a film a particular style? Students can either track certain stylistic elements (camera movements, editing, use of color, etc.) or closely analyze a single film to explore the relationship between filmmaking and style.

Teaching experience

I have taught literature, composition, and film in several different schools, from Princeton to a New Jersey state prison.

Credentials

Work experience

Plymouth State University (2018 - 2020)
Teaching Lecturer in English

Education

SUNY Purchase
BFA Bachelor of Fine Arts (2007)
Filmmaking
Fordham University
MA Master of Arts (2012)
English
Princeton University
PhD Doctor of Philosophy candidate
English

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