Managing Editor of Open Educational Resources’s Profile

Why did that movie make you cry? Why does that novel make you feel like you can do anything? Why do you always feel better after listening to that stand-up comic? How is it possible that you fell in love with that fictional character? This class will explore how story impacts our brains by taking an unconventional approach to the study of literature and psychology. We will approach stories as tools that do work on our brains and design hypothetical experiments that may challenge the limitations of current technology. Students will select new stories to read, chronicle their own unique reading experiences, research how the emotions they experience have been studied, and design new experiments to study the complex and fascinating relationship between story and the brain.

Why did that movie make you cry? Why does that novel make you feel like you can do anything? Why do you always feel better after listening to that stand-up comic? How is it possible that you fell in love with that fictional character? This class will explore how story impacts our brains by taking an unconventional approach to the study of literature and psychology. We will approach stories as tools that do work on our brains and design hypothetical experiments that may challenge the limitations of current technology. Students will select new stories to read, chronicle their own unique reading experiences, research how the emotions they experience have been studied, and design new experiments to study the complex and fascinating relationship between story and the brain.

Syllabus and assignments for students enrolled in Representations of Nature (co-taught by Dr. Mary Isbell and Dr. Bryce DuBois in Fall 2026.

Syllabus and assignments for students enrolled in Representations of Nature (co-taught by Dr. Mary Isbell and Dr. Bryce DuBois in Fall 2026.

Syllabus and assignments for students enrolled in Dr. Isbell’s Seminar in Academic Inquiry and Writing (Fall 2026, Section 13).

Syllabus and assignments for students enrolled in Dr. Isbell’s Seminar in Academic Inquiry and Writing (Fall 2026, Section 13).

Syllabus and assignments for students enrolled in Dr. Isbell’s Seminar in Academic Inquiry and Writing (Spring 2026, Section 16)

Syllabus and assignments for students enrolled in Dr. Isbell’s Seminar in Academic Inquiry and Writing (Spring 2026, Section 16)

Syllabus and assignments for students enrolled in Dr. Isbell’s Literature and Immigration (Spring 2026)

Syllabus and assignments for students enrolled in Dr. Isbell’s Literature and Immigration (Spring 2026)