Seminole State College Assistant Professor of English Dr. Andrew Davis recently completed his doctoral program at Oklahoma State University. 

Dr. Davis completed his PhD in English with an emphasis in Screen Studies from OSU in December.

His dissertation, “Selling Queer Cinema: The Emergence and Decline of New Queer Cinema and its Impact on American and Transnational LGBTQ Cinemas (1990-2010),” examines the cultural and industrial shifts within American and transnational LGBTQ cinemas.

“The most challenging aspect of completing my doctorate was transitioning from the community environment of my classroom-based coursework to writing the dissertation on my own. Discussing my work with my peers and mentors and recognizing the relevancy of my work gave me the motivation to overcome this challenge and to see this endeavor to completion,” Dr. Davis said.

Dr. Davis has been employed by SSC for nearly two years. Before completing his doctorate, he received his Masters of Arts in Gender and Cultural Studies at Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts, and his Bachelor of Arts in English at Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut.

He was a recipient of the Robberson Summer Dissertation Fellowship research grant in 2015, and has presented his research at a number of conferences including the Society for Cinema and Media Studies and the National Popular Culture Association.

 “Completing my dissertation while teaching here at SSC has allowed me to relate to my students as they embark on their own research projects within my Composition courses. I have been able to share my own strategies and techniques throughout the research process and demonstrate, by example, how these skills that they are learning can be applied to future coursework and professional development,” Dr. Davis said.

In addition to teaching English courses at SSC, Dr. Davis also supervises the Writing House, a tutoring resource on campus that assists students with grammar, citations and many other aspects of writing. The Writing House is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.; and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.