Dr. Ashley Black

Associate Professor

Graduate Coordinator, English M.A. & M.S.Ed. Programs

Education

• Ph.D., Secondary Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning (English/Language Arts); The University of Alabama, 2013
• M.S. Ed., Secondary English/Language Arts Education; Troy University, 2007
• B.S., Secondary English/Language Arts Education; Troy University, 2005

Courses Taught

• ENGL 698: Problems in Teaching Literature and Composition
• ENGL 650: Studies in Themes and Theories (Southern Gothic Literature)
• ENGL 590: Young Adult Literature
• ENGL 550: Studies in American Literature (The Problem South; Ghost in
• ENGL Literature; Williams, Miller, and Inge; Southern Gothic Literature)
• ENGL 405: Senior Seminar
• ENGL 404: Schoolhouse Grammars and Pedagogy
• ENGL 340: Cultural Studies in Literature (Journeys to Freedom)
• ENGL 325: Special Topics (Survey of Southern Literature)
• ENGL 322: Introduction to the Teaching of Writing
• ENGL 321: Teaching Reading in Middle and Secondary English Classrooms
• ENGL 220: Introduction to Literature
• ENGL 112: Writing as Engagement
• ENGL 111: Academic Literacies
• ENGL 110: Introduction to College Writing
• INCO 101: University Seminar

Academic Interests

• Young Adult Literature
• Reading Engagement, Interest, and Motivation in Secondary Literacy
• Southern Literature
• Critical Whiteness Studies
• Culturally Responsive Teaching

Scholarly Activity

Publications

• Black, A.D. (2020, July 15). Approaches to teaching an online YA course: Spending a month with the Printz Award winners. Dr. Bickmore’s YA Wednesday. http://www.yawednesday.com/blog/approaches-to-teaching-an-online-ya-course-spending-a-month-with-the-printz-award-winners-by-ashley-black
• Black, A. D. (2019, July 31). Dreamland Burning: A charge to make sense of the present by interrogating our past.  Dr. Bickmore’s YA Wednesday. http://www.yawednesday.com/blog/archives/07-2019
• Black, A. D. (2017, September). Read of the month: The headmaster’s darlings, by Katherine Clark. Southern Literary Review. https://southernlitreview.com/reviews/september-read-month-headmasters-darlings-katherine-clark.htm?utm_source=Free+Southern+Lit+Review+Subscription&utm_campaign=242780c886-weekly_eNews&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f5c94d99ea-242780c886-235926325
• Black, A. D. (2016). Book review:  Golden Boy: A Novel by Abigail Tartelin.  SIGNAL Journal, 39(1), 54.
• Rush, L. S., Scherff, L, & Davis, A. L. (2012, October). “With whom might we partner? For what ends? In what contexts? With what reach?” English Education, 45(1), 3-9.

Presentations

• Black, A. D. (2019, November 21). When the tide rises: The environmental and cultural effects of flooding as presented in young adult literature and the canon. National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Annual Convention. Roundtable presentation at the meeting of NCTE, Baltimore, MD.
• Black, A. D. (2015, November 20). The conceptualization of interest, reading engagement, and motivation in two high school English teachers’ literature instruction. National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Annual Convention. Poster presentation at the meeting of NCTE, Minneapolis, MN.
• Black, A. D. (2015, June 3). “I can’t teach this”: Helping preservice teachers navigate censorship issues through multi-genre writing. National Young Adult Literature Conference. Baton Rouge, LA.
• Davis, A.L, & Windle, T. M. (2013, November 22). To read or not to read: How has Accelerated Reader affected adolescent literacy practices.  National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Annual Convention. Poster presentation at the meeting of NCTE, Boston, MA.
• Henderson, S. C., & Davis, A. L. (2012, November 30). Preservice teachers enacting text based discussions: Application of a theoretical framework to improve teaching practice. Literacy Research Association (LRA) Annual Convention. Presentation at the meeting of LRA, San Diego, CA. 
• Davis, A. L. (2012, June 26). How many ways can I say it? Using multi-genre writing in the secondary English classroom. The Gulf Coast Writing Conference Workshop Presentation, Destin, FL.
• Henderson, S. C., & Davis, A. L. (2012, February 25). Investigating preservice teachers’ text based discussions with elementary school students.  National Council of Teachers of English Assembly for Research (NCTEAR) Annual Convention. Presentation at the meeting of NCTEAR, Tuscaloosa, AL.

Other Professional Experiences

• American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE)
• National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
• Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English (ALAN)
• American Association of University Women (AUUW)
• International Reading Association (LRA)
• National Council of Teachers of English Assembly for Research (NCTEAR)
• National Education Association (NEA)
• Kappa Delta Pi
• Phi Kappa Phi

Other

Editorial Work

• Manuscript Reviewer, The ALAN Review
• Book Reviewer, Southern Literary Journal
• Book Reviewer, SIGNAL Journal
• Teaching Tolerance Curriculum Reviewer