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Profile for Ryan Friesen

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Ryan Friesen

Pronouns: He/Him/His
Teaching Professor
English University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

Ryan Friesen's office hours

Monday
noon to 1 p.m.
or by appointment
Tuesday
1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
or by appointment
Wednesday
noon to 1 p.m.
or by appointment
Thursday
1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
or by appointment
Friday
noon to 1 p.m.
or by appointment
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Ryan Friesen Pronouns: He/Him/His

Teaching Professor

English

Specialty area(s)

College composition, Early Modern literature, comic books as social commentary, supernatural themes in literature, dreams as literary and cultural themes. 

Brief biography

Sarah Churchwell, “Why the Humanities Matter,” Times Higher Education, 13 November 2014:

“When we stopped being citizens and began to think of ourselves—or rather, each other—only as consumers, we relinquished thousands of years of human development. How can we sustain our civilisation if we don’t understand how it works? How can we interpret Magna Carta and defend our rights if no one reads Latin? How will we protect our own laws? How can we hope for transcendence in a secular age if we give up on beauty? Even in instrumentalist terms, the humanities represent 5,000 years of free research and development in what it means to be human. I think we should make use of that.

“The humanities are where we locate our own lives, our own meanings; they embrace thinking, curiosity, creation, psychology, emotion. The humanities teach us not only what art is for, but what life might be for, what this strange existence might mean. What kind of humans would think that the humanities don’t matter? We need the advanced study of humanities so that we might, some day, become advanced humans.”

Current courses at UWL

College Writing; Literature and Human Experience: The Comic Book; Shakespeare; British Literature; English Renaissance; First-Year Seminars

Education

PhD, University of Leeds, UK, 2005
MA, Medieval Studies, University of Leeds, UK, 2002
MA, English, Winona State University, MN, 2001
BA, Majors: English and History, Minor: Philosophy, Winona State University, MN, 1998

Career

Teaching history

University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, 2005-present, Teaching Professor
University of Leeds, UK, 2002-2005, literature instructor
Winona State University, MN, 1999-2001, composition instructor

Research and publishing

Supernatural Fiction in Early Modern Drama and Culture, Sussex Academic Press, 2009.

The Nightly Act of Dreaming: Cognitive Narratology and the Shared Identity of Myth, Sussex Academic Press, 2019. 

Kudos

presented

Ryan Friesen, Christopher McCracken and Olivia Stoltman, all English, presented "Using Mock Interviews and Eagle Advantage to Promote Career Readiness" at English Department William J. and Yvonne M. Hyde Colloquium Series on Friday, Dec. 8 in La Crosse, WI.

Submitted on: Dec. 8, 2023

presented

Ryan Friesen, English, presented "The Jail Literacy Program and Supporting Incarcerated Writers: Mistakes Made & Lessons Learned" at English Department William J. and Yvonne M. Hyde Colloquium Series on Friday, April 21 in La Crosse, WI.

Submitted on: April 21, 2023

served

Brenda Leahy, Michele Nauman and Kalia Vang, all Academic Advising Center & Career Services; Ana Mendoza and Corey Sjoquist, both Admissions; Kaylie Connaughty, Heather Dutcher, Britney Heineman, Jake Speer and Maren Walz, all Advancement; Michael Abler and Renee Redman, both Biology; Zac Knutson, Budget Office; Dawn Hays, Campus Child Center; Mark Sandheinrich, College of Science & Health; Ashley Jochimsen, Counseling & Testing; Ryan Friesen, English; Samuel Schmidt, Exercise & Sport Science; Meredith Thomsen, Extended Learning; Ka Lia Smith, Financial Aid; John Kelly, Geography & Earth Science; James Longhurst, History; Natalie Solverson, Institutional Research, Assessment & Planning; Christine Manno, Management; Suzanne Anglehart, Microbiology; Anthony Chergosky, Regina Goodnow and Sean Hurtubise, all Political Science & Public Administration; Sandra Grunwald and Betsy Morgan, both Provost's Office; Nathan Barnhart and Jeff Keenan, both Rec Sports; Vitaliano Figueroa, Student Affairs; Kara Ostlund, Student Life; and Kyle Burke, University Centers; served Verification Tent Staffing during Move In Week. THANK YOU to the many staff and faculty who greeted students and their families at the Verification Tent during Residence Life Move In Week. These welcoming faces helped ensure those who are vaccinated are recorded as such and those who are not vaccinated had completed a negative COVID test prior to move in. We could not have completed this large task without their assistance. They have helped keep our community healthy and contributed to the campus-wide endeavor of welcoming students back to campus.

Submitted on: Sept. 13, 2021