Sam McBride, Professor

Ph.D., University of California, Riverside, 1997

Pre-Foundational English Coordinator

Sam McBride specializes in 20th-Century literature, with emphases in the following areas:

• Postmodern literature
• Cross-disciplinary humanities
• The Inklings (C. S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien)

At La Sierra University he also teaches pre-foundational English.

Recent Publications and Presentations:

Book:

• Women Among the Inklings: Feminism, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams (co-authored with Candice Fredrick).  Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2001.

Articles:

• “The Company They Didn’t Keep: C. S. Lewis’s Collaboration with Women.” Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature. Fall 2010“
• “Susan Howe.” A Companion to 20th Century American Poetry. Ed. Burt Kimmilman. New York: Facts on File, 2005.
• “Battling the Woman Warrior: Women and Combat in C. S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien” (co-authored with Candice Fredrick). Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature 25.3/4 (2007): 29-42.
• “Coming of Age in Narnia.” Revisiting Narnia: Fantasy, Myth and Religion in C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles. Ed. Shanna Caughey. Dallas: BenBella, 2005. 59-72.
• “J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.” Encyclopedia of Catholic Literature. Ed. Mary R. Reichardt. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2004.

Presentations:

• “Psyche’s Ugly Sister: The Woman Warrior in C. S. Lewis’s Till We Have Faces.” Sirens (Vail, CO), October 2009.

• “The Company They Didn’t Keep: Women and Collaboration in the Work of C. S. Lewis.” Mythopoeic Society, UCLA, June 2009.

• “God and ‘the Gods’ in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.” Conference on Christianity and Literature, Western Region, Biola University (La Mirada, CA). April 2008.

• “Becoming Aslanian: Religious Conversion in The Chronicles of Narnia.” Children’s Literature Association Annual Convention (Manhattan Beach, CA), June 2006.

• “Why Tolkien Detested Narnia.” Through the Wardrobe Conference. University of California (Riverside), May 2006.
• “Fate, the Gods, and Evil in The Lord of the Rings.” Through the Wardrobe Conference. California Baptist University (Riverside, CA), March 2006.
• “Why I Hate Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings Films.” Faculty Colloquium. DeVry University (Pomona, CA), April 2004.
• “The Future of Feminist Tolkien Studies.” Modern Language Association Conference (San Diego, CA), December 2003.
• “Postmodern Appropriation in the Arts: or, Originality through Plagiarism.” Faculty Colloquium. DeVry University (Pomona, CA), November 2003.
• “Leonard Bernstein, Postmodernism, and Western Civilization.”  Faculty Colloquium. DeVry University (Pomona, CA), March 2003.
• “Where is God in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings?” Faculty Colloquium. DeVry University (Pomona, CA), May 2002.
• “On Forgiveness and a ‘Just’ War: C. S. Lewis, Terrorism, and Care Ethics” (with Candice Fredrick). C. S. Lewis Foundation Western Regional Faculty Forum Conference “The Rediscovery of Evil: A Challenge to the Academy.” Cal Poly University (Pomona, CA), February 2002.

Education

Ph.D., English - University of California, Riverside (1997)

Emphases:

• Twentieth-Century American Poetry, Fiction and Drama
• Interdisciplinary Studies (Literature, Music, Art)
• Theory (Feminist, Postmodern, Performative)

Dissertation:             "Performing Laurie Anderson"

M.A., English - Loma Linda University, Riverside, CA (1987)

B.A., Communications (Music minor) - Southern College, Collegedale, TN (1981)