So much to study, so little time! To date, my research has been mostly within the field of nineteenth-century American literature (spilling over into the early twentieth). I've found the writing of the American West and of the early Woman's Movement particularly gripping, and have also delved into topics in Jewish Studies. My approach to literature has generally been of the American Studies type (with feminist and ecocritical principles factoring strongly into the mix), and my passion for interdisciplinary work has led me to serve as President of the Pacific Northwest American Studies Association. In another vein, I am also devoted to the field of instructional design and technology, and to exploring the possibilities of online education.

When I teach, whatever the specific subject, I like to challenge students to move beyond the limits of their preconceived ideas, become fully embroiled in controversy, and embrace the pleasures of heated intellectual debate. Away from campus – and when I can tear myself from my reading – I enjoy gardening, travel, reading, hiking, and, oh . . . did I say reading?

Selected Publications

"The Imperiled Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," published in ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment 16.2 Spring, 2009. 245-63.

"When Geography Matters: Mary Hallock Foote's 'Maverick' and the Mysteries of the Snake River Lava Beds," published in American Literary Realism 38.8 Spring, 2006. 249-58.

"Isaac Raboy's Der Yiddisher Cowboy & My Story by Rachel Calof: The Role of the Western Frontier in Shaping Jewish-American Identity," published in Western American Literature 36.4 Winter, 2002. 359-79.

Abigail Scott Duniway — a compact literary biography. Boise State University Western Writers Series No. 151. Boise: Boise State U, 2002.

Edna and John, A Romance of Idaho Flat by Abigail Scott Duniway, edited with an afterword by Debra Shein — my edition of Duniway's 1876 novel, recovered from microfilm. Pullman: Washington State UP, 2000.

Courses Taught

• Business Writing (3308), Technical Writing (3307)
• Writing About Literature (3301)
• Introduction to American Studies (AMST2200)
• Survey of American Literature (2277, 2278)
• Survey of World Literature (2258)
• Introduction to Literature (1110)
• English Composition (0090, 1101, 1102)

Office: LA 258D
Office Phone: 208-251-1697
sheindeb@isu.edu