Dr. Gruesser’s teaching and scholarship go hand in hand. Many of his arguments about literary texts in articles and books begin in the classroom. 

Department/Division: English 

Degree Information: B.A. (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) in English and German, University of Notre Dame; M.A. in English, Seton Hall University; Ph.D. in English, University of Wisconsin - Madison.     

Courses Taught:  African American Literature, African American Women Writers, American Autobiography*, American Literature to 1860, American Literature from 1860
Aspects of the Novel, Colonial and Postcolonial Literature and Theory*, Composition, Contemporary Literature, Crime in Fiction and Film*, Critical Approaches to Literature* Detective Fiction*, Hawthorne, Poe, Melville, Honors American Autobiography*, Modern American Novel, Senior English Seminar, World Literature, Writing about Literature. (*Courses Developed)

Primary Area of Expertise: African American Literature, American Literature, Detective Fiction, Edgar Allan Poe. 

Advice for Students Preparing for Your Class: "Love literature and love life."