Dr. Maria O'Connell

 

Bio

Dr. Maria O’Connell is an Assistant Professor of English in the School of Languages and Literature, and she has taught American and World Literature on various levels, undergraduate to graduate. She has also taught beginning Spanish. She graduated from Wayland with a BA in English in 2006. She earned an MA in English, with a minor in Spanish, at Texas Tech University, and then her PhD in English at Tech in December,

2012. She also has eighteen graduate hours in Spanish from Texas Tech. Her emphasis at Tech was in Literature, Social Justice, and Environment and her research interests are interdisciplinary, including thing theory, systems theory, gender and

environmental studies, translation, and social constructions of persons. Her dissertation explored the role of myth and masculinity in Cormac McCarthy’s novels. She has publications and presentations in both Spanish and English. She enjoys a dynamic classroom experience, collaborating with her students to build engagement with and understanding of composition and literature. 

When not teaching, Dr. O’Connell enjoys reading, gardening,  walking, crocheting, and spending time with her husband, Pat, and with whomever of their now-grown children is around. They are very involved in their local church, San José de Calasanz, where they teach high school and adult students about the Bible, the Church, and their Christian faith.