Return to Donald Larsson’s home page
Updated 30 August 2007
Donald Foss Larsson
Professor, English Department,
Minnesota State University
ADDRESS: Department
of English, 230 Armstrong Hall
Minnesota State University
Mankato, MN 56001
OFFICE: 301-L Armstrong Hall
PHONE: 507-389-2368 (office), 507-317-8955 (cell)
FAX: 507-389-5362
E-MAIL: donald.larsson@mnsu.edu
Web Page: http://english2.mnsu.edu/larsson/larsson.html
EDUCATION
Ph.D., English: University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1980
Minor: Film (Communication Arts)
Dissertation: The Film Breaks: Thomas Pynchon and the Cinema
M.A., English (with Distinction): University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1974
B.A., English: George Washington University, Washington, D.C., 1971
1981-Present: English Department, Minnesota State University, Mankato
(formerly Mankato State University)
1989-Present:
Full Professor
1984-1989: Associate Professor
1981-1984: Assistant Professor
1980-81: English Department, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Adjunct Assistant Professor
1975-78, 1979-1980: English Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Teaching Assistant
July 2007: MSU Mankato Faculty Improvement Grant ($2500) to participate in Oxford Round Table
session: “Allusions to God in British and American Literature since 1750”
2007-2009: President, Minnesota State University, Mankato Faculty Association
2007-2009: President, National Association for Humanities Education
Fall 2006: Outstanding Service Award for Academic Affairs, Minnesota State University, Mankato
2005-2007: President-Elect,
National Association for Humanities Education (office effective
Spring 2007-2009)
2002-2005: Chair, English Department, Minnesota State University, Mankato
2001-Present: Consultant-Evaluator, The Higher Learning Commission, North Central
Association of Colleges and Schools
2001-2005: Board Member, National Association for Humanities Education
Fall 2000: Sabbatical Leave, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Spring 2000: Program Director, $1000 grant, graduate student/faculty conference:
“Time of Transition: African-American Voices in
Mid-Century American
Literature”
Summer 1997: Teaching
Scholar Fellowship: "Narrative and Stylistic Form in African Cinema"
Mankato State University
1996-2002: Director, Humanities Program, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Summer 1995: National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Study Grant:
"The New Wave and the Fifth Generation: Narrative and Stylistic Form
in Contemporary Chinese and Japanese Film"
March 3, 1993: MSU College of Arts and Humanities Research Lecture:
"The First Wave of Neo-Film Noir: The Paranoid Thriller"
Spring 1990: Faculty Research Grant, Mankato State University, Sabbatical Leave
Summer 1989: Fellow, NEH Summer Seminar: "Narrative in Film and Fiction,"
University of California, Berkeley
1986-1989: Co-Director, $75,000 grant, "Computers in Writing," Northwest Area Foundation
1986-1987: Director, Computers in Writing Workshop for State University Faculty,
Bush Foundation Grant
1985-1987: Director,
MSU Film Society, Grants from Mankato State University Foundation
1984: Community Discussion Leader, "George Orwell's 1984,"
Grant from Minnesota Humanities Commission
1982, 1983: Director, South Central Minnesota Film Society,
Grants from Minn. Humanities Commission
1981: Fellow, NEH Summer Seminar: "Film and the Affective Response,"
New York University
1979-1980: Departmental Assigned Dissertation Fellowship,
University of Wisconsin-Madison
1978: Domestic
Travel Fellowship, University of Wisconsin-Madison
1975: Vilas Fellowship, English Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison
MEMBERSHIPS AND PROFESSIONAL INTERNET DISCUSSION GROUPS
Professional Organizations
Inter Faculty Organization, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
Midwest Modern Language Association
Modern Language Association
National Association for Humanities Education
Society for Cinema and Media
Studies
Society for the Study of Narrative Literature
Internet Discussion
Groups
The Balcony (discussion of film, by
invitation only)
NARRATIVE-L (discussion of literary and other narrative)
SCREEN-L (academic discussion of film)
SERVICE
Service to Minnesota State U. English Department
2005-2007: (various years) Program Review & Assessment Committee,
Literature Track Head
2002-2005: English Department Chair
Spring 2000: Advisor, Graduate Student/Faculty conference: “Time of Transition: African-
American Voices in Mid-Century American Literature”
1999-2001: Advisor, Literati (student discussion group)
1981-2002: (various years)
Curriculum Committee, Freshman English Committee, Personnel
Committee, Program Review & Assessment Committee, Scheduling
Committee
Service to Minnesota State University
2007-2009: President, MSU Faculty Association
Spring 2006: Baldrige Award Application Writing Committee
2003-2006: Co-Chair, North Central Association Higher Learning Commission Re-accreditation Self-Study Committee
2001-2005: Arts and Humanities Unit Representative to Faculty Association Executive Committee and Meet & Confer
2001-2002: Member, Presidential Search Committee, Minnesota State U., Mankato
1999-2000: Co-Chair, North Central Association Focused Visit Committee
Spring 2000: University Budget Committee
1998-2000: Ad hoc member, Program Review and Assessment Committee
1998-1999: University Space Allocation Committee
Faculty Association Constitution Review Committee
1997-1998: Vice President, Faculty Association
1994-1997: Planning Committee (Faculty Chair 1996-1997)
1990-1993: Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee (Faculty Chair 1992-1993)
1989-1990: Advisory Council, President's Commission on Strategic Planning
1988-1990: Student Conduct Committee
1988-1989: Learning Center Task Force
1984-1986: Faculty Association Nominating Committee (Chair 1985-1986)
Service to Academic and
Regional Community
2007-2009: President, National Association for Humanities Education
May 16, 2007: Panelist, Preparing Future Faculty Workshop, University of Minnesota
Dec. 2006: Consultant on Accreditation, Hamline University, St. Paul, MN
2005-2007: President-Elect, National Association for Humanities Education
2001-Present: Consultant-Evaluator, North Central Association of Colleges and
School, Commission on Higher Learning
2001-2005: Board of Directors, National Association for Humanities Education
2000-2005: Assist website creation for National Association for Humanities Education
1995-Present: Co-Administrator, SCREEN-L (academic film discussion mail list)
2003: “See You at the Movies,” film column for Applauze magazine, Mankato
1984-Present: Film Reviewer, KMSU radio
1984: Leader for community discussions on George Orwell's 1984
1983: Workshop Leader, "Viewing Better Television," Mankato State University
1982-1986: Founder and Director, South Central Minnesota/MSU Film Society
Presentations and Publications
SELECTED PRESENTATIONS
“The American Religion and All That Mumbo-Jumbo: The Gnostic, the A-Gnostic, and the Pagan in American Literature.” Oxford Round Table. Session on “Allusions to God in Literature and Poetry of Britain and America since 1750: Informing Global Religious Conflict.” Harris Manchester College, Oxford University, UK. July 22-27, 2007.
“Self-Study as Self-Knowledge: Integrating Shared Governance and Planning Structures in the Self-Study Process.” Higher Learning Commission Workshop on Self-Study. Chicago, IL. April 21, 2007.
"Who Will Assess the Assessors?: Learning
Outcomes for the Humanities in Context.: National
Association for Humanities Education Conference. San Francisco, CA. San Francisco, CA.
February 8-March 3, 2007.
"'The World Is Large': Teaching Humanities beyond the 'Western Tradition.'" With William Dyer and Thomas Hagen. The Collaboration for Teaching and Learning Winter Meeting. Bloomington, MN. Febraury 16-17, 2007.
“Comic? Book? Or, Of Maus and Manga: Visualizing Reading, Reading the Visual in the Graphic Novel.” 4th International Conference on the Book. Boston. October 20, 2006.
“A
Competency-Based Approach to the Transfer Curriculum.” Minnesota Council of
Teachers of English.
St. Cloud, MN. April 6, 2003.
Workshop Chair--"Developing Media Literacy and
Outreach Programs." Society for Cinema Studies.
Denver. May 24, 2002.
"Human Stains and Virtual Campuses: How Personal
Narratives Structure the Higher Education 'Crisis.'"
Narrative Matters Conference. University of New Brunswick. May 19, 2002.
“Teaching 'Film' in the Internet Age: How Can High Schools and Colleges Talk to Each Other?” Workshop: Multimedia Literacy, Electronic Pedagogy, and the Virtual/Actual Classroom. Society for Cinema Studies. Washington. May 24-27, 2001.
"Focusing on the Focused Visit: Strategies for Communication and Campus Involvement." With Susan Coultrap-McQuin. North Central Association Commission on Institutions of Higher Education Annual Meeting. Chicago. March 31, 2001.
“’There Is No New Thing under the Sun’: The Permanent Crisis in the Humanities.” National Association for Humanities Education. Portland, OR. March 1-3, 2001.
“Every Picture Tells a Story: Narration and Agency in Film.” Modern Language Association Annual
Conference. Washington, D.C. December 2000.
"Deep Focus in Africa: The Humanist Aesthetic of Idrissa Ouedraogo." Midwest Modern Language Association Annual Conference. St. Louis, Mo. November 1998.
"'Land Has No Limit': Problems in Presenting the Study of Global Cultures in Introductory Classes." The
Integration of Multiple Perspectives to Promote Higher Order Thinking: An Interdisciplinary Approach, Conference: October 24 and 25, 1996, Plymouth, Minnesota. Sponsored by St. Cloud State University.
"'Dreams That Could Never Again Be Entirely Safe: Counterforce and Repression in Three Pynchon Works": Thomas Pynchon: Schizophrenia and Social Control. Conference: University of Warwick,
England, November 1994.
Invited Discussant. Approaches to Teaching Literature, Research, Writing and Criticism: "Meeting Twentieth Century Expectations with Twenty-first Century Solutions." Midwest Modern Language Association. Minneapolis. November 1993.
"The First Wave of Neo-Film Noir: The Paranoid Thriller," Society for Cinema Studies Annual Conference, University of Pittsburgh. April 1992.
"Some Limits to Cross-Cultural Reception: The Case of Yeelen[Brightness]." Society for Cinema Studies Annual Conference. Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles. May 1991.
Panel Convenor and Presenter. "Multi-Cultural Media." Minnesota Council of Teachers of English, Mankato, MN. April 1991.
"Narrative Dissonance, Cultural Dissonance." English Department Faculty Seminar. Mankato StateUniversity. March 1991.
"Seeing, Hearing, Knowing?: Narrative Dissonance in Coppola's The Conversation." Society for Cinema Studies Annual Conference. University of Iowa, Iowa City. April 1989.
Panel Moderator. "War Narratives in the Twentieth Century." International Conference on Narrative Literature. University of Wisconsin-Madison. April 1989.
"Using Reaction Journals in the Film Class." (with Richard Pifer, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire), Minnesota Council of Teachers of English. St. Paul, MN. April 1988.
"Caught in the Crossfire: The Interweaving of Identifications in a Film Noir," and "Stella Dallas and American Motherhood, 1923-1937." 6th Annual Purdue Conference on Film. Purdue University.March 1983.
"Novel into Film: Some Preliminary Reconsiderations." 6th Annual Florida State University Conference on Literature and Film. Tallahassee. January 1981.
"The Formal Structure of Red River and the Hawksian Woman," and "From A to V: The Paranoid Symbol in American Literature." Popular Culture Association Annual Conference. Pittsburgh, PA. April 1979.
"The Camera Eye: 'Cinematic' Narration in U.S.A. and Gravity's Rainbow." 4th Annual Florida State University Conference on Literature and Film. Tallahassee. January 1979.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS--Journal Articles and Solicited Book Reviews
[Forthcoming] Review of A Gravity’s Rainbow Companion, 2nd ed., by Stephen Weisenburger. Pynchon Notes.
[Forthcoming.] Review of Bad: Infamy, Darkness, Evil, and Slime on Screen. Film Quarterly, Fall 2007.
“Comic? Book? Or, Of Maus and Manga: Visualizing Reading, Reading the Visual in the Graphic Novel.” The International Journal of the Book 4 (2007), 43-50. <http://english2.mnsu.edu/larsson/larsson.html>
Review of Marilyn Fabe’s Closely Watched Films: An Introduction to the Art of Narrative Film Technique.
Film Quarterly 59 (Summer 2006), 53-54.
"Rooney and the Rocketman: A Note." Pynchon Notes n. 24-25 (1989) [published fall 1991].
"From the Berkshires to the Brocken: Transformations of a Source in 'The Secret Integration' and
Gravity's Rainbow." Pynchon Notes n. 22-23 (1988) [published fall 1990]: 87-98.
"Partially Understanding Pynchon." Review of Understanding Pynchon by Robert Newman. Pynchon Notes n. 18/19 (1986) [published 1988]: 121-123.
"Caught in the Crossfire: The Interweaving of Identifications in a film noir." Proceedings of the 6th Annual Purdue Conference on Film. West LaFayette, IN: Purdue U. Press, 1983. 273-278.
"Stella Dallas and American Motherhood, 1923-1937." Proceedings of the 6th Annual Purdue Conference
on Film. West LaFayette, IN: Purdue U. Press, 1983. 63-69.
"Novel into Film: Some Preliminary Reconsiderations." Transformations in Literature and Film. Ed. Leon Golden. Tallahassee: Florida State U. Press, 1983. 69-83.
"Approach and Avoid: A Review of Douglas Mackey's The Rainbow Quest of Thomas Pynchon." Pynchon Notes n. 7 (1981): 49-52.
"The Formal Structure of Red River and the 'Hawksian Woman.'" Heritage of the Great Plains 13 (1980), 1-7.
"The Camera Eye: 'Cinematic' Narration in U.S.A. and Gravity's Rainbow." Ideas of Order in Literature and Film. Ed. Peter Ruppert. Tallahassee: Florida State U. Press, 1980. 94-105.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS—Web Sites
“A Companion’s Companion: Illustrated Additions and Corrections to Steven Weisenburger’s A Gravity’s Rainbow Companion.” 20 August 2000. http://english2.mnsu.edu/larsson/grnotes.html.
“Every Picture Tells a Story: Agency and Narration in Film.” 19 December 2000.
http://english2.mnsu.edu/larsson/agency.html.
Various film reviews. http://www.cinescene.com.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS--Reviews, Reference Entries, and Other Articles
“See You at the Movies.” Column. Applauze magazine. December 2002-Present.
"'A History of a Dream': A Tribute to Djibril Diop Mambety." Orange Light [Senegal]. June-July 1999.
"Mysterious Ways." Review of Mysterious Ways by Terry Davis. The Corresponder n. 20 (1987): np.
Masterplots II: The Short Story. 1986 ed. Entries on "The Secret Integration" and "Under the Rose."
"Let's Hear It for the Liberal Arts at MSU." MSU Newsmonthly March 1986: 1.
"Even after Death, Orson Welles Still Offers Magic." Free Press, Mankato, 19 October 1985: 4.
Critical Survey of Long Fiction. 1983 ed. Entry on "Samuel R. Delany."
Encyclopedia USA. Entries on The Best Years of Our Lives, The Big Sleep, The Birds, The Blue Angel, Bonnie and Clyde, Charles Chaplin, The Crying of Lot 49, Dead End, Destry Rides Again, Detour, Dirty Harry.
UNPUBLISHED, SOLICITED MANUSCRIPT REVIEWS
Addison-Wesley (1999)
Allyn & Bacon (2001, 2006)
Mayfield Publishing (1988, 1995)
Mosaic: A Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature (1987)
Oxford University Press (2006)
Prentice-Hall (2007)
Schirmer Books (1995)
Simon and Schuster (1998)
WW Norton (2002, 2003)