Biography
Wendy Wagner teaches courses in the English Department and the Media and Communication Studies Program and also serves as the Program Lead for the Interdisciplinary Studies: Design Your Own Major.
Wagner came to Johnson & Wales in 2003 after teaching at Bates College, the University of Maine Augusta and Pace University in New York City where she also headed the Department of Tutorial Services. She holds a B.A. in American Studies from Cornell University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in English from Duke University. Her dissertation was about 19th century African-American women’s literature, but her most recent research has been in television studies and romance fiction.
As a teacher, Wagner is always encouraging students to use what they learn in the classroom to make sense of their lives outside the classroom, to critically engage, question and embrace their cultural and social values and influences, and to develop skills in writing, critical thinking and analysis that will help them achieve their goals.
Education
PhD, Duke University
English
MA, Duke University
English
BA, Cornell University
American Studies
Association for Interdisciplinary Studies
Popular Culture Association – American Culture Association
National Collegiate Honors Council
Northeast Popular Culture Association
Wagner, W. (2022). The ‘Grandly and Inhospitably Strange’ World of Autistic Heroines in Romance Fiction: New Frontiers in Popular Romance: Essays on the Genre in the 21st Century. (Book Chapter).
McFarland.
Wagner, W. (2018). Janet Dailey: Encyclopedia of Romance Fiction. (Book Chapter).
Greenwood.
Wagner, W. (2011). Lorraine Hansberry: The Encyclopedia of Women and American Popular Culture. (Encyclopedia Entry).
Facts on File.
Wagner, W. (2011). Madam C. J. Walker: The Encyclopedia of Women and American Popular Culture. (Encyclopedia Entry).
Wagner, W. (2008). Jennifer Crusie. (Journal Article).
Teaching American Literature: A Journal of Theory and Practice, 2(2/3).
Wagner, W. (2005). Olivia Ward Bush-Banks: Encyclopedia of African American Literature. (Encyclopedia Entry).
Greenwood.
Wagner, W. (2001). Black Separatism in the Periodical Writings of Mrs. A.E. (Amelia) Johnson.: The Black Press: Literary and Historical Essays on the Front Page. (Book Chapter).
Rutgers University Press.
Wagner, W. (July (3rd Quarter/Summer) 4, 2001). Uncle Tom’s Cabin: African American Studies Center. (Reference Entry).
Oxford University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1093/acref/9780195301731.013.51074
Wagner, W. (2000). Mrs. A.E. (Amelia) Johnson: Dictionary of Literary Biography: American Women Prose Writers, 1870-1920. (Reference article).
Gale.
Annual Conference, “250 Years of Jane Austen: A Celebration of Her Work,” Northeast Popular Culture Association. (October 10, 2025).
#spoiletheconference, “Spoiling For Love: The Influence of Shipping on Spoiler-Seeking Behavior Among Television Fans,” University of Zurich. (March 18, 2022).
Popular Culture Association – American Culture Association National Conference, ““The ‘Grandly and Inhospitably Strange World’ of Heroines on the Autism Spectrum in Romance Fiction.”,” PCA/ACA, Washington, DC. (April 19, 2019).
Popular Culture Association – American Culture Association National Conference, “Love In the Afternoon, Love In the Evening: The Influence of Soap Operas on Contemporary Prime-Time Television,” PCA/ACA, Indianapolis, United States. (March 31, 2018).
Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association National Conference, “‘The town has really nice blonde hair’: The Romance Plot and Civic Engagement in ‘Parks and Recreation’,” PCA/ACA, New Orleans, LA, United States. (2015).
Northeast Popular Culture Association Annual Conference, “’There Is Nothing More Deceptive Than an Obvious Fact’: DNA Testing, Genetic Genealogy, and ‘Finding Our Roots.’,” NEPCA, Providence. (October, 2014).
Popular Culture Association – American Cultural Association National Conference, “Harold and Kumar Find the American Dream,” PCA/ACA, Boston, MA, United States. (April 14, 2012).
Teaching Professor Conference, “When TED Talks, Everybody Learns,” Atlanta, GA. (May 22, 2011).
North East Popular Culture Association, “Vampire as Tragic Mulatto: Angel and Spike in the Whedonverse,” NEPCA, Boston, MA, United States. (October 23, 2010).
New England Educational Assessment Network, “Rethinking Writing Assessment: An Educational Imperative,” New England Educational Assessment Network, Worcester, MA. (November 7, 2008).
Society for the Study of American Women Writers, ““To Save It From My Curse: Infanticidal Discourse in Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” Society for the Study of American Women Writers, Philadelphia, United States. (November 10, 2006).
Rhode Island Council of Teachers of English, “‘A Spoonful of Sugar’: Sweetening the Literature Survey Course,” Rhode Island Council of Teachers of English, Providence, RI. (October 15, 2005).
Popular Culture Association of the South, “‘I’ll Destroy You Worse’: Veronica Mars as Post-Buffy Feminist Heroine,” Popular Culture Association of the South, Jacksonville, FL, United States. (October 8, 2005).