Dr. Jennifer L. Miller is Morningside University’s Dimmitt Fellow for the spring of 2023.

Dr. Jennifer L. Miller is Morningside University’s Dimmitt Fellow for the spring of 2023.

Miller’s calendar while in residence will feature a variety of opportunities for interested individuals to learn about her expertise in the field of embodied writing. This approach to writing is a technique that encourages writers to use the knowledge they bring from their own bodies to the discipline of writing, giving them expertise, and therefore confidence, in classes and assignments that can often be daunting.

Planned events include being a guest lecturer in a variety of classes, guiding a workshop for The Writing Center about approaching writing from a mindfulness perspective, leading a local library workshop on relaxation, mindfulness and writing, and hosting evening lectures in the community. Miller’s final residency schedule will be announced at a later date.

Miller earned her doctorate in English at the University of Minnesota, where her dissertation focused on the intersection between multicultural American literature and popular works of fantasy and science fiction. She served as a Lilly Postdoctoral Fellow at Valparaiso University from 2010 to 2012, where she taught in both the English department and the interdisciplinary honors college. Currently, Miller is a faculty member at Normandale Community College in the suburbs of Minneapolis, where she teaches college writing and a variety of literature courses. Miller has published articles on topics ranging from the depiction of 9/11 in the work of Stephen King to the importance of memory in the film Robot and Frank. She has presented at the Modern Language Association, Northeast Modern Language Association, and a variety of other conferences on topics related to both literature and writing. She is an active yogi, as well as an avid hiker, camper, and cyclist.

Named for the late Lillian Dimmitt who taught at Morningside from 1893 until 1916 and served as Dean of Women from 1916 until her retirement in 1940, the Dimmitt Fellowship program brings distinguished scholars from around the world to Morningside University to enrich the cultural and academic life on campus.