Faculty/Staff Directory
Dr. John B. Murphy
478-934-3375
Assistant Professor
Department of English
| Office Hours: | Monday, 1:00 to 5:00 by appointment Wednesday, 1:00 to 5:00 by appointment |
| Locations: (Campus & Office) |
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| Biography: | A native Middle Georgian (from Sandersville), I've also called Athens and Charlottesville, Virginia home. Currently, I live in Houston County and work on MGA's campus in Cochran. I teach first-year courses in English Composition (ENGL 1101 and 1102), second-year surveys of Modern World Literature (ENGL 2112) and Modern British Literature (ENGL 2122), and an upper-division course on 19th Century American Poetry and Prose (ENGL 3500). I contribute regularly to international scholarship on the British modernist writers Joseph Conrad and Ford Madox Ford through academic publications and conference presentations. My work on Conrad and Ford is informed by Virtue Ethics, the study of human well-being through beneficial character traits. Virtue Ethics also informs my service projects at MGA, along with complementary interests in positive psychology and the development of AI applications to foster student success. |
| Syllabi: | |
| Courses: | ENGL 1101-14: TU and TR, 3:30-4:35, Russell 319 ENGL 1101-23: M and W, 11:00-12:15, Russell 327 ENGL 1102-20: TU and TR, 11:00-12:15, Russell 327 ENGL 3550-01: Asynchronous, Online |
| Education: (All institutions attended and degrees or credentials earned) | Ph.D., English Language and Literature, University of Virginia AB, MA, English, University of Georgia (Cum Laude with General Honors) Honors Program, University of Georgia UGA-at-Oxford, Jesus College, Worcester College, University of Oxford |
| Professional Experience: | Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) - Middle Georgia State University Coordinator, The Writing Center - Middle Georgia State University Assistant Professor (Visiting) - University of Virginia Director, The Writing Center - University of Virginia Head Teaching Assistant - University of Virginia Tutor - The Writing Center - University of Virginia Graduate Teaching Assistant - University of Virginia Graduate Research Assistant - University of Georgia |
| Publications and Scholarships: (Last 5 Years) | Selected Recent Publications: “The Egg and Spoon Race That Life Is: Virtue, Integrity, and Well-Being in Ford Madox Ford's Parade’s End,” in Ana Sofia Lauro and Seamus O'Malley eds, Ford Madox Ford: At the Dawn of an Era. Anglo Saxonica, vol. 23, no. 1, 2025. Selected Recent Presentations: "Conrad, Global Modernism, and Western Frontier Fiction: Walter van Tilburg Clark's The Ox-Bow Incident and Oakley Hall's Warlock." Annual Conference. Joseph Conrad Society (UK). London, England. 2026. "Code vs. Character vs. Contingency: Virtue and Dependence in Conrad's Late Fictions of Initiation." Annual Conference. Joseph Conrad Society (UK). Rome, Italy. 2025 "A Very Plucky Girl: Flora de Barral, the Ethics of Care, and Moral Luck in Conrad's Chance." Annual Conference. Joseph Conrad Society (UK). London, England. 2024. "The Precarity of Virtue: Ethics, Anthropology, and Character in Parade's End" International Symposium. Ford Madox Ford: At the Start of an Era. Lisbon, Portugal. 2023. "Virtue Ethics and College Composition at an Access Insitution." Annual Conference. Association of English Language Teachers and Educators. Ankara, Turkey. 2022. |
| Professional Affiliations: | The Joseph Conrad Society of America The Joseph Conrad Society UK The Ford Madox Ford Society The South Atlantic Modern Language Association |
| Organizations: | USG/MGA Pilot Project for ENGL 1101 and ENGL 1102 (Contributor) MGA First-Year Experience Initiative (Supporter) MGA P.O.E.T.R.Y. Club (Sponsor) |
| Awards and Honors: | Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Virginia |
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