Sarah is a doctoral candidate in Literature, Criticism, and Textual Studies with a transhistorical focus on early medieval and Southern/Appalachian literature. Her dissertation, currently titled, “The Medievalish McCarthy: Medieval Afterlives in Appalachian Literature,” interrogates how Cormac McCarthy employs medieval references in his first five novels: The Orchard Keeper, Outer Dark, Child of God, Suttree, and Blood Meridian. She published an excerpt in the 2022 edition of Medieval Perspectives, titled “Child of Grendel, Child of God: Cormac McCarthy’s Appalachian Retelling of Beowulf.”  She is also pursuing a Digital Humanities certificate and has several digital projects in process.

As a Graduate Teaching Associate, Sarah has taught sections of the following courses:

• English 101: English Composition
• English 102: Inquiry into Heroes
• English 102: Inquiry into the Good Death
• English 102: Inquiry into the Apocalypse
• English 150: Appalachia Now 
• English 255: Public Writing
• English 295: Writing in the Workplace
• First Year Studies 101: Pre-Professional Track

She also worked as a line editor on the forthcoming anthology, Vikings, Knights, Elves, and Ogres: Essays in Honor of Shaun F.D. Hughes. Finally, Sarah is an embedded writing consultant at the UTK Veterans Success Center, as part of an outreach program she spearheaded in 2021.