My primary area of research is British literature, Jane Austen and the novel of manners, but I am also interested in the way the teaching of literature has evolved in our schools. Close contact with English majors who are in our teacher-education track keeps me in touch not only with current theory, but also with the practical side of teaching and learning in the classroom. My current work bridges these two areas; I have recently completed a piece on Matthew Arnold’s theories of educational reform, and I am working on a project that explores an interdisciplinary, experiential approach to literary reading and critical writing: students work aboard a nineteenth-century sailing vessel as they read the texts of those who have gone to sea before them.