This fall, Lakeland University welcomed a new assistant professor of English and composition, John Ellis-Etchison.  

His courses this semester include British Literature, Composition II and Core I. He often arrives to class wearing casual outfits and saturated colors. Students, he said, would probably describe him as “rather lively.” 

Ellis-Etchison earned a bachelor’s in English and political science from Oklahoma Baptist University, a master’s in folklore studies from the University of Louisiana and a master’s and doctorate in English literature from Rice University. He served as a visiting assistant professor of English at the University of Central Oklahoma. He was also a lecturer of the program of writing and communication at Rice University after graduating. 

His next stop was Lakeland. When Ellis-Etchison first arrived at his house in Sheboygan, late at night, it didn’t have power or internet yet.  

“I was having a rough landing,” he said. The next day, though, he met with a “sassy group” for brunch – his new colleagues in writing, composition, and English.  

At first, he was nervous to join the company of Jodie Mortag, associate professor of writing; Dr. Mark Heimermann, assistant professor of English; Dr. Madeleine Wattenberg, assistant professor of writing and Dr. Alexis Pegram-Piper, assistant professor of composition. “But, sitting down with them was like sitting down with old friends.” 

“That was the perfect way to remedy such a hard night getting here and a great way to start my time here at Lakeland,” he said. 

Based on Ellis-Etchison’s interests, it’s no surprise he fits in so well here – he has already talked with Pegram-Piper about witches in literature, and with Heimermann about comics. Pegram-Piper plans to teach an honors course on witches, and Heimermann teaches an English course on comics. Both topics intrigued Ellis-Etchison even before his arrival at Lakeland.  

“I think that my actual avenue into literature was through comic books,” he said. “Drawing is a form of interpretation, not unlike what we do in our literature classes.”  

Even before comics, Ellis-Etchison craved fairy tales. Around kindergarten, his grandparents would read chapters from fairy tale and monster books to him every day. “My love of stories sort of developed at that point,” he said. 

This semester, Wattenberg is teaching a creative writing course, Rewriting Myth and Fairy Tale. As expected, Ellis-Etchison and her have already delved into the topic of folklore.  

Ellis-Etchison’s grandparents, who raised him, introduced him to the love of folklore and literature. He was the first in his family, though, to seek higher education. Since his grandparents couldn’t provide college advice, he often felt unprepared. “But I had a number of really generous professors who were patient and met me where I was,” he said, “which I think is what the professors here at Lakeland do.” 

Because he attended a liberal arts school with small, student-centered classes, the move to Lakeland made sense.  

Ellis-Etchison now strives to create his own student-centered classroom. He hopes students who take his class will learn “the value of appreciating other people’s perspectives on a really genuine level.” 

Besides teaching, Ellis-Etchison is writing a book, “A Sovereign Menagerie: Political Theology, Charismatic Authority, and the Animal Turn in Early Modern Drama.” In this project, he focuses on four different figures: “the animal, the monster, the beast, the vermin – how they correspond with people who are not already kings or queens, how labor class people are able to find political power outside of this system.” 

Ellis-Etchison researched this topic for his doctoral dissertation. Finishing a dissertation, he said, “feels like this big accomplishment, because you’ve basically written a book, but it is barely the first draft.” Reworking his dissertation topic into a new, polished book proved challenging yet rewarding. “It’s really delightful to have this experience where I feel like my ideas have crystallized since I graduated. I’ve had the time to think and mull over the things that are really important to me from that project.” 

This mindset follows Ellis-Etchison into his teaching philosophy. He hopes to create a classroom “shaped around pushing our ideas further than we think we can go.”