Kreg Abshire

Bio

I received a Ph.D. in 20th/21st-Century American Literature and film from the University of South Carolina. I’ve published on film westerns and Hollywood novels; I’ve also published some creative nonfiction. I teach a range of interdisciplinary courses in American literature, film, and music as well as first-year writing courses.  In my time at JWU, I’ve also served as the Chair of the College of Arts & Sciences and the director of the Honors Program.

During the 2018-19 Academic Year, I had the distinct honor to serve as Distinguished Visiting Professor of English and Fine Arts at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

I study American Culture of the 20th and 21st Centuries. My work brings together the study of literature, film, and music. And from my earlier work on Depression-era westerns to my current work on country music, I’ve maintained a consistent interest in the construction of class and the ways various cultural forms are deployed to maintain or trouble class lines. My book project is tentatively titled On Starting a Damn Country Band: Alternative Country Music and Class in America.

In all of my classes and my scholarship, I’m interested in the work that culture does — how a film or a song or a genre supports or challenges the way we assume we’re supposed to live our lives. I love to question our assumptions, and I really enjoy helping students develop a passion for exploration and inquiry.

I grew up in a small town in Southeast Texas; and like all good Texans, I’m very happy to be in Colorado where I live with my wife, children, and dogs.

Areas of Expertise

• American Literature
• Class Studies
• Film and music

Awards

• Johnson & Wales University, Denver, Faculty Research Fellowship (term-long research leave at full salary) for On Starting a Damn Country Band: Alternative Country Music and Class in America (Winter 2016-17)
• University of Texas, Austin, Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude, College Honors (1989-90)

Sample Publications

• “Making the West Safe for Middle-Class Men: Cimarron, Union Pacific and Stagecoach,” Columbia Journal of American Studies, 2007.
• “On Seeing,” HOBART, 2012.
• “Gillian Welch’s Degree from Cal, Santa Cruz, Doesn’t Make Her any Less an Orphan: On Authenticity, Americana, and Class in America.” Canadian Society for Traditional Music, 2018.
• “Listening to Country on the Left Side of the Dial,” American Studies Association, 2015.

Public Scholarship

• Editor, Quarterly Horse: A Journal of [brief] American Studies (2016-Present)
• Host, New Books in Popular Culture (2014-15)

Sample Courses

• MCST 2300: American Film
• ENG 1020: English Composition
• ILS 2150: Introduction to American Studies
• MCST 3100: Radio, Records & Popular Music