T. Madison Peschock, M.A.

Information:

e-mail:  tvkm@iup.edu

Office:  209

Office phone:  814-938-1169

Office hours:  M/W/F 12:15-1:45

English Instructor - Indiana University of PA - Punxsutawney Campus

Courses Taught:  College Writing, Research Writing, Humanities Literature

IUP - Ph.D. Doctoral Student in Literature & Criticism Program

Favorite Quotes: 

"More tears are shed over ANSWERED prayers than UNANSWERED ones." Truman Capote

"Our Greatest Glory Consists not in NEVER falling, but in Rising Every time we fall!" Joe McGinniss's Blind Faith

"Never Trust anyone who doesn't love a dog!" Unknown

IUP Graduate Work:

Before coming to IUP, Madison studied and received both her B.A. in English and her M.A. in English from California University of Pennsylvania, where her primary area of interests included Modern American Literature and authors Eugene O'Neill and Edith Wharton.  Her Master's Thesis was on Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence under the direction of her mentor/friend, Dr. Madeline Smith.   Directly after graduating with her Master's Degree, Madison worked as a Corporate Trainer for a Fortune 500 company--Teletech.  She was both a project trainer and liaison for several corporate accounts, including J.C. Penney, GMAC and Time Warner Cable, and she became the site's co-chair of the Training Department.  Also, she did technical writing, and held grammar workshops and writing exercises for the entire site, and she served as a board member on the hiring committee for the Training Department.  Her love/enthusiasm for training transferred into the classroom when teaching writing.  She incorporates both her love of teaching and training to help students succeed, and she prides herself in her students' work.  Madison "trains" her students to use the process approach while encouraging them to find their own unique voice as a writer. When teaching, she takes a rhetorical modes approach to teaching composition, and she believes in a process based pedagogy, focusing on both content and grammar issues.  Her classes use the process approach and work in a workshop type fashion on occasion.  Also, she is a supporter of Peter Elbow's Free Writing technique.

Currently, Madison is finishing her Ph.D. in Literature at IUP where her primary areas of interest include: Modern American Drama, the American Short Story, Crime Literature and Southern Literature.  Among her favorite writers are:  Edith Wharton, Henry James, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tennessee Williams, Eugene O'Neill, Edward Albee, Flannery O'Connor, Truman Capote and Nelle Harper Lee.  (Her favorite novels include:  The Age of Innocence, Ethan Frome, The Great Gatsby,  In Cold Blood, We Were the Mulvaneys, and Blind Faith). (Her favorite plays include:  The Glass Menagerie, Streetcar Named Desire, Amadeus, Equus, Long Day's Journey into Night and Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) While working in the Doctoral program, Madison has taken courses in:  Modern Critical Theory, Postmodern Drama, The History of Drama:  Greeks -Postmodern Drama, Shakespeare, Modern American Novel, and Letters as Genre.  Besides studying drama and southern literature, Madison's primary area of interest in theory is Autobiographical Theory and Letter Theory, particularly the idea of telling lies in autobiography.  One of her favorite autobiographical theorists is Timothy Dow Adams.

Professional Experience:

Besides teaching at IUP, Madison has previously taught at California University of Pennsylvania, Alderson & Broaddus College, Fairmont State Community & Technical College, Fairmont State University, West Virginia University, and Westmoreland County Community College where she has taught:  composition 1 (College Writing), composition II (Research Writing), Business Writing, Technical Writing, Intro to Literature:  Prose Narrative, Humanities Literature and Intro to Drama.. She has given papers on Eugene O'Neill, Edith Wharton and Tennessee Williams at the IUP/EGO Graduate Conferences at IUP, and she has given papers on Shakespeare and Truman Capote at the PCEA conferences.  Last year she gave a paper on Nelle Harper Lee at the EAPSU conference.  Recently, she won a $500.00 research grant from IUP and went to the New York Public Library to retrieve all of Capote's and Harper Lee's original notes on In Cold Blood for her doctoral dissertation research.  Her dissertation will focus on Capote and will be under the direction of her mentor/friend, Dr. Ron Emerick.  She is also busy preparing two papers on Truman Capote and Harper Lee for publication.

Background Information/Hobbies:

When not studying and reading, Madison enjoys spending time with her scottish terrier, Murphy, and her miniature schnauzer, Wyatt.  She is an avid supporter of canine causes, and is a member of Four Footed Friends in Indiana.  Besides her passion and love for animals, Madison loves watching /collecting movies, and old nostalgia television.  Among her favorite shows are:  "Growing Pains", "Dallas", "ER", "Sunday Night football", "Survivor", "The Amazing Race", ""Designing Women", Desperate Housewives", "Roseanne", "Coach", "Evening Shade","Who's the Boss" and Donald Trump's "The Apprentice".  Also, she loves collecting and receiving Hoops & Yoyo cards/gifts, and she is an avid NFL football fan.  Among her favorite NFL teams are The Pittsburgh Steelers and The Dallas Cowboys.  Other hobbies include:  reading, attending plays (both Broadway productions and Pittsburgh Public Theater productions), and movies, antiquing, playing the piano, playing tennis, photography, shopping, furthering the rights of animals and spending time with friends/family.  She is an avid film fanatic and she enjoys movies of every genre, but her favorite movies are psychological thrillers.  Her all time favorite television actors are:  Joanna Kerns and Alan Thicke, but she also enjoys performances by and highly respects the following performers and what they have accomplished in their roles:  Delta Burke, Dixie Carter, Blythe Danner, Judith Light, Kirstie Alley. Mercedes Ruehl, and Elizabeth Ashley.  Favorite film actors include:  Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Al Pacino, Robert Di Nero, Sir Anthony Hopkins, and Dianne Keaton.  Among her favorite films are:  Capote, The Age of Innocence, The Saw films, The Bone Collector, Seven, Untraceable, Disturbia, Psycho, Silence of the Lambs, Meet the Parents, For Richer or for Poorer, National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, We Were the Mulvaneys and Blind Faith.  Besides film, Madison also is an avid music lover; she has taken seven years of piano lessons and has played piano for various public functions.  Among her favorite musicians are:  Billy Joel, Elton John, Sting, Alexa Ray Joel (Billy Joel's daughter), Bruce Springsteen, and Eric Clapton.

Web Resources and Favorite Pages:

• Indiana University of Pennsylvania  http://www.iup.edu/

• Indiana University of PA Punxsutawney campus http://www.iup.edu/punxsutawney/

• Indiana University of PA English Dept.:  http://www.english.iup.edu/index.html

• California University of Pennsylvania http://www.cup.edu/index.jsp

• California University of Pennsylvania English Dept.:  http://www.cup.edu/liberalarts/english/index.jsp

• PAL - Perspectives in American Literature: http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/HOME.HTM

• PCEA - Pennsylvania College English Association:  http://www.english.iup.edu/pcea/

• EAPSU - English Association of Pennsylvania State Universities:  http://www.eapsu.org/

• The Edith Wharton Society: The Edith Wharton Society

• Tennessee Williams info:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_Williams

• Truman Capote info:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truman_Capote

• Nelle Harper Lee info:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harper_Lee

• MLA citations help: http://www.virtualsalt.com/mla.htm

• Hoops and Yoyo: http://www.hallmark.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/article|10001|10051|/HallmarkSite/hoops&yoyohome/HOOPS_YOYO_HOME_PAGE

• The Pittsburgh Steelers' Homepage: http://www.steelers.com/

• The Dallas Cowboy's Homepage:  http://www.dallascowboys.com/

• Growing Pains info:  http://www.geocities.com/televisioncity/3781/GP3.html

• Joanna Kerns (actress info):  http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005088/

• Alan Thicke (actor info): http://www.alanthicke.com/biography/

• Schnauzer Rescue info:  http://www.schnauzerrescue.net/

• AKC mini schnauzer info:  http://www.akc.org/breeds/miniature_schnauzer/

• AKC scottish terrier info:  http://www.akc.org/breeds/scottish_terrier/

• Scottish Terrier Rescue:  http://clubs.akc.org/stca/rescue.htm

• Four Footed Friends Animal Rescue shelter (Indiana, PA):  http://www.fourfootedfriends.org/

• Indiana, PA Humane Society http://www.incohumanesociety.com/

Let's Go Steelers!!!

Have a Wonderful, Exhilarating and Intellectually Stimulating Semester!