Welcome to my personal website. I use this space to gather my thoughts and organize my work. People always talk about their jobs in these things. I’m told that’s how you show you are a responsible member of the collective. Here it goes …

People see this photo and invariably ask, “What are you looking at?” I remember a flock of birds. But then I reply, “A bright future!”

I’m in higher ed. I like to do a lot of the things people in higher ed like to do: teach, write, design courses, think radically. I am especially fond of working with first-year students. I don’t know, there’s something about helping young people shape their life trajectories that inspires me. I used to fancy building a time machine. Turns out I’m not good at physics. Helping young people is probably the next-best thing to going back and making all the right decisions.

I’ve been trying to help kick start this new discipline, Veterans Studies, for the better part of a decade. And I think we’ve come a long way with the program at our school. I served in the Army a long time ago and that experience shaped my research and writing interests early on. I’m currently working on a book about the topic of veteran identity.

I specialized in twentieth-century American war literature and social theory when I was getting my doctorate. Though, I’m pretty fond of playing with ideas from across the disciplines. It would be fine with me if I were remembered as a charlatan. At least I’d be remembered for something.

Interdisciplinarity pays off. I’m interested in coming up with new ideas instead of rehashing old ones. And I genuinely appreciate it when people tell me I’m wrong. Except for Larry. Nothing ever makes him happy. Sometimes I think he just likes to argue… I know. I know. He’s probably just lonely. Don’t be like Larry. But do reach out if you want to talk shop.

Oh, yeah, the humanizing stuff. I have three dogs and a cat. My partner is a pretty feminist scholar-activist who doesn’t take any guff. None. I declared myself “King of the Dogs” for a week and I thought it was going to drive her crazy. I mean, when I say things like that I only half-believe them. I would have tested the theory until I got bit by a stray or into a scrap with a wolf.

Anyway, it’s best not to bring your guff around the house. I’m full of the stuff. Most importantly, I really feel like I got some mileage out of the word “guff” today.

Of course, I digress.

-Travis