Ryan Fletcher, ABD

Either Ryan just before the oral or a late 20th-century animal representation

It's definitely ABD season, and the Tenants are pleased to be able to congratulate Ryan Fletcher for successfully passing the Qualifying Exam for Doctoral Candidacy. Ryan's dissertation project will focus on sensuous animal representations in American literature from the mid 19th century into the early 20th century.

Rumor has it that the wide-ranging oral examination included discussions of the tastes and smells of a sperm whale's bodily fluids, the sensory lives of sled dogs, and the gender politics of feline representation between Ryan and his committee: Tim Sweet (Chair), Lara Farina, Lowell Duckert, Cari Carpenter, and Karl Steel (Brooklyn College).