Faculty/Staff Directory

Dr. John B. Murphy

John B. Murphy

Assistant Professor
Department of English

Phone: 478-934-3694

Locations:
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 1:00 to 3:00, By Appointment, Roberts Library 232 or Microsoft Teams

Tuesday and Thursday, 2:00 to 3:00, By Appointment, Roberts Library 232 or Microsoft Teams
Biography: I'm a native Middle Georgian and grew up in Sandersville, midway between Macon and Augusta, midway between Atlanta and Savannah.

I earned my AB in English in the Honors Program at the University of Georgia in Athens, where I also worked at Wuxtry Records and wrote for Flagpole Magazine. I also earned my MA in English at UGA, where my thesis on Henry James was directed by Hubert McAlexander with Hugh Kenner and Simon Gatrell.

I earned my Ph.D. in English at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, where I was Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant, Director of the Writing Center, and after graduation, Assistant Professor on the General Faculty. My dissertation on Joseph Conrad and Ford Madox Ford was directed by Michael Levenson with Stephen Arata and Karen Chase.

Since 2019, I've lived in Bonaire, near Warner Robins, and taught primarily on MGA's campus in Cochran and online.

I serve as Coordinator for the MGA Writing Center's Cochran branch and co-sponsor the Knights' Journey Storytelling and Game Design Club with Dr. James Blackburn, MGA's Associate Provost for Academic Innovation.

My interests as a teacher and scholar include:

Modern and Contemporary World Literature
Literary Romanticism, Realism, and Modernism
Popular Fiction: Horror, Crime, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Graphic Fiction: Comic Books, Manga, Bandes Dessinées

My research centers on overlapping questions of ethics, anthropology, and character in late 19th and early 20th century writers including Henry James, Joseph Conrad, and Ford Madox Ford. Its theoretical perspective is informed by current work in virtue ethics by Alasdair MacIntyre and in philosophical anthropology by Charles Taylor.

Courses: ENGL 0999: English Learning Support
ENGL 1101: English Composition I
ENGL 1102: English Composition II
ENGL 2112: World Literature II
ENGL 2122: British Literature II
ENGL 3900: On-Campus Internship (The Writing Center)
Education: Ph.D. in English, University of Virginia
MA in English, University of Georgia
AB in English, University of Georgia
Professional Experience: Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) - Middle Georgia State University
Assistant Professor (General Faculty) - University of Virginia
Assistant Professor (Adjunct) - Piedmont Virginia Community College
Director, The Writing Center, University of Virginia
Tutor, The Writing Center, University of Virginia
Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Virginia
Graduate Research Assistant, University of Georgia
Teacher (10th and 12th Grade English) - Brentwood School (Sandersville)

Professional Affiliations: The Joseph Conrad Society of America
The International Ford Madox Ford Society
The South Atlantic Modern Language Association
Awards and Honors: Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Virginia
Honors Program Graduate, Cum Laude, University of Georgia
Publications: “The ’Ind Legs of The Elephink: Pantomime, Prophecy and Tosh in Parade’s End,” in Ashley Chantler and Rob Hawkes eds, Ford Madox Ford’s Parade’s End: The First World War, Culture, and Modernity. Amsterdam and New York: Rodopi, 2014.


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