Pauline J. Reynolds Ph.D.
About Dr. Reynolds
Seeing students develop and make a difference motivates me as a professor. The source of motivation is the mundane and the magnificent. I find it in the everyday moments in class where I can see students "get it", as I witness students' writing improve, and enjoy their increasing facility in critical engagement. I also find motivation through the extraordinary moments where I observe a student achieve personal and professional goals such as: progressing from a silent student to confident graduation speaker; successfully pursuing dreams of a doctoral education; presenting work at conferences; and, leveraging program work into a longed-for career. Rather than me making a difference, it's seeing students make a difference that motivates me.
Education
- Ph.D., Higher Education, Indiana University, Bloomington
- Master of Music, Early Music, Indiana University, Bloomington
- Bachelor of Music (Honors), Royal College of Music, London
Professional Background
Bouncing off the interest in my book, Representing 'U', I co-edited a book with Barbara Tobolowsky for Palgrave MacMillan as part of their Higher Education and Society series titled “Anti-intellectual representations of American colleges and universities: Fictional higher education”. In addition to recent publications focused on specific shows or comic books (Greek and The Jaguar) I have several ongoing major projects examining representations of higher education in a large range of cultural artifacts, including: an international collaboration with Dr. Emily Henderson from the University of Warwick examining the representations of conferences in novels; an in-depth analysis of higher education in comic books; and, representations of faculty in US movies.
- Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE)
- Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE)
Publications
Reynolds, P.J. & Durazo-DeMoss, S.* (2020). Beauty and her b(r)easts: Monstrosity and college women in The Jaguar (1992). In Samantha Langsdale and Elizabeth Coody (Eds.) Monstrous Women in Comics. University Press of Mississippi.
Reynolds, P.J., Mendez, J.P. & Clark-Taylor, A (2019). “Do you want me to become a social piranha?”: Smarts and sexism in college women’s representation in the US TV show Greek. NASPA Journal About Women in Higher Education, 11(3), 313-331.
Reynolds, P.J. (2017). From Superman to Squirrel Girl: Higher education in comic books, 1938-2015. In B.F. Tobolowksy and P.J. Reynolds (eds.), Anti-intellectual representations of American colleges and universities: Fictional higher education (pp. 33-54). New York: NY. Palgrave Macmillan.
Reynolds, P.J. (2017). The symbol of the book: Faculty and social values in American films, 1930-1950. In B. F. Tobolowksy and P.J. Reynolds (eds.), Anti-intellectual representations of American colleges and universities: Fictional higher education (pp. 141-160). New York: NY. Palgrave Macmillan.
Tobolowsky, B. & Reynolds, P.J. (2017). Concluding thoughts on media representations of higher education: Anti-intellectualism and other themes. In B. F. Tobolowksy and P.J. Reynolds (eds.), Anti-intellectual representations of American colleges and universities: Fictional higher education (pp. 179-198). New York: NY. Palgrave Macmillan.
Tobolowsky, B. F., & Reynolds, P. J. (Eds.). (2017). Anti-Intellectual representations of American colleges and universities: Fictional higher education. New York: NY. Palgrave Macmillan.
Awards and service
- Multidisciplinary Seminar Award, University of Redlands, Sept 2014-June 2015.
- Outstanding Faculty Service Award, 2013-2014.
- Raleigh Holmstedt Fellowship, December 2004.
Areas of Expertise
I have broad research interests in the study of higher education that encompass issues of gender, culture, equity and change. I engage in these areas through a variety of research endeavors and I'm particularly intrigued by the changing role and meaning of higher education in social discourse. Analyzing the representation of higher education in popular culture and considering their influence on professional practice is a major focus of my work. As well as watching movies, TV shows and reading comics as part of her work, Pauline is a musician who “glows” through hot power yoga, swims, reads, loves the theatre, has pretensions of foodie-ness, and enjoys playing with her son and husband.