Sam is a first-year student in the Rhetoric, Writing, and Linguistics graduate program at the University of Tennessee. Her undergraduate degree is in English Literature, and her undergraduate thesis focused on the act of snake handling in religious contexts in Appalachia. The academic motivation for this study arose from an observed divide between some Appalachian communities and corresponding movements that mischaracterize the other and attempt to curtail cultural practices. Sam’s personal motivation for the thesis arose from a familial connection: Henry F. “Dutch” Swann, Sam’s great-grandfather, was the district attorney for the Tennessee Supreme Court Case “State ex. rel. Swann v. Pack” (1975), in which the state enjoined church members from handling snakes during religious worship.

Sam also spent two weeks studying religion in Chiang Mai, Thailand. This experience shed light on issues of democracy and education within an Eastern tradition. Sam wrote two blogs on this experience which currently reside in the Maryville College Global Blogspot.

Sam is super excited to join the graduate crew at UT. Her interests include rhetoric, dialect, culture, religion, and region.