After graduation from Dartmouth College in 1968, where I majored in English, I spent a year doing graduate work in English at Oxford University. Unable to pursue graduate study because of the draft, I taught and coached for several years at Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, NH. In 1977 I received my Ph.D. in American Civilization from Brown University. During graduate school, I taught in the summer session at Phillips Andover Academy. After teaching English and American Studies at Connecticut College, I moved on to Hofstra University in 1982. There, in addition to being a professor of English, I served as Director of American Studies and Director of Disability Studies, a program I initiated in 2003. I retired from Hofstra in 2011.Since retiring, I have lectured in the US, France, England, Scotland, Germany, Brazil, Australia, and South Africa. I live in Quaker Hill, CT, with my wife, the art historian Barbara Zabel, and our cat Luna. I am on the board of New London Landmarks, a non-profit that seeks to protect and preserve the architectural heritage of New London, CT, which was founded by Puritans in 1646 and burned by British troops during the Revolutionary War.I also enjoy sea kayaking on Long Island Sound and its nearby tributaries and playing ice hockey.