I am Professor of English at New York University. I teach students to think critically and write effectively — not only about literature but about the world we live in and the issues that we face. I teach in an English Department, but I’m a historian at heart, with a special passion for primary archival sources. Our understanding (or misunderstanding) of the past profoundly shapes our actions and beliefs in the present, and accordingly, I especially value the opportunity to teach literary history and the history of the production and dissemination of material texts (oral, written, printed, electronic). In my ongoing archival research in special collections libraries and archives throughout North America and Great Britain, I’m especially drawn to untold stories and to unpublished or otherwise overlooked materials. New archival finds allow us to open up traditional fields of study and to energize today’s students by reframing key questions we ask about our past.