Patricia Oman has been teaching at Hastings College since 2012. She teaches courses in literature, film, publishing, and writing. Whether teaching surveys of U.S. literature or courses on narrowly focused topics (such as the Muppets), she delights in challenging academia’s assumptions about literary and cultural value.
Dr. Oman’s research specialty is twentieth-century American regional literature and culture, focusing particularly on the Midwest, forgotten writers, and popular culture. She serves on the editorial board of the journal MidAmerica.
As the director of Hastings College Press, Dr. Oman works one-on-one with students in courses and internships. Students who are interested in learning about the process of making books should consider taking the Block 5 course WRIT 234 Book Production, which is offered most years—students in this course lay out and proofread most of HC Press’s titles for the year.
Dr. Oman is the faculty sponsor for several organizations on campus, including HC’s chapter of Sigma Tau Delta (an English honorary society) and the student literary magazine Spectrum.
Education
- PhD English (University of Oregon, 2010)
- MA Modern Literature (University of Leicester, 2004)
- BA Classics (University of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign, 2000)
- BA Comparative Literature (University of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign, 2000)
