S. Elizabeth Passmore, an associate professor of English, teaches History of the English Language, Literature of the Middle Ages, Medieval World Literature, Chaucer, and several university core courses.  She has taught special topics courses such as Medieval Courtly Literature and Shakespeare in (Medieval) Cultural Context, and she anticipates teaching other special topics like medieval Arthurian narratives and medieval romance. All of her upper-level courses offer a graduate-level component for master’s degree students.

Dr. Passmore came to Evansville and USI in the Fall of 2005, after completing her PhD in Medieval Studies at the University of Connecticut-Storrs with a dissertation on the English and Irish Loathly Lady narratives. Recent research projects include an essay collection, The English “Loathly Lady” Tales: Boundaries, Traditions, Motifs published by Medieval Institute Publications, and a variety of articles and conference presentations. She was awarded the Lilly Endowment Excellence Through Engagement Summer Research Fellowship during the Summer of 2006 as well as a number of Liberal Arts Research Awards (2005-2008) which provided course releases to work on several research projects culminating in conference papers and articles.

Dr. Passmore has become involved in the Evansville and USI communities in various ways. She served for a year as a member of the inaugural Courier & Press community advisory editorial board (2006-2007), during which time she published several “Community Viewpoint” articles on topics such as trash and recycling, tree-topping, urban sprawl, and downtown development. In the Fall of 2006, she instituted the USI Medieval Studies Forum, a lecture series for faculty, students, and members of the community to explore interdisciplinary topics from the Middle Ages. She is also faculty advisor for the USI student groups “Medieval Studies Society” and "Pagan Student Union"

Facebook pages:

Medieval Studies Society >>

Pagan Student Union >>

Phone:  461-5433

Office:  OC3033

Link to Curriculum Vitae

Link to Personal Viewpoint: Why be an English Major

Link to Dr. Passmore's Language/Literature Course Descriptions

Cover Design of recently-published volume
by Medieval Institute Publications
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