Mary Ellen Lennon
Clinical Assistant Professor of English Education; Coordinator, English Education
English Education,
Curriculum and Instruction
Email:
lennon6@purdue.edu
Address:
Steven C. Beering Hall of
Liberal Arts and Education
100 N. University Street
West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-2098
BRNG 3156
About
Mary Ellen Lennon is a clinical assistant professor of Literacy and Language Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. She grew up in Queens, New York City, and has taught English and Social Studies in high school and middle school as well as History and Gender Studies at the university-level. The first in her family to graduate college, she did not step on a plane until graduate school (the bus will get you a lot of places!) but has not looked back since. She believes the study of literature for all K-12 students should be a place of interdisciplinary curiosity, intellectual joy, culturally relevant pedagogy, and meaningful conversations about finding one’s place (and using one’s talents for service) in an interconnected, global world.
Education
- Ph.D. — American Studies, Harvard University
- M.A. — English and American Literature, Harvard University
- B.A. — History, State University of New York at Binghamton
Career Experience
- Middle School English Teacher, Franklin Community Schools
- High School English Teacher, Columbus North Higher School
- High School English and Social Studies Teacher, Bard High School Early College
- Assistant Professor of History, Marian University
Awards & Honors
- Fulbright Fellowship Award, University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
- Girls, Inc. of Johnson County Woman of the Year
- Grants for study abroad and community outreach programs: Indiana Humanities Quantum Leap Grant, Partners of America Grant for Student Study Abroad, Goethe-Institut Transatlantic Outreach Program for Study Abroad, Korean Society Korean Studies Fellowship for Study and Research, American Forum for Global Education Scholarship, Fulbright-Hays Fellowship
Research & Publications
Research interests include teacher education and professional identity development, the teaching of composition and literature in secondary schools, critical pedagogy, young adult literature, and qualitative and narrative inquiry.
Courses Typically Taught
- ENGL 39100 — Composition for Teachers
- EDCI 42200 — Teaching English in the Secondary School
- EDCI 43400 — Teaching English in the Junior High/Middle School
- ENGL 49200 — Teaching Literature in the Secondary School
- EDCI 49800F — Seminar for English Education Student Teachers
- EDCI 55100 — Young Adult Literature
- EDCI 61300 — Seminar in English Education