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Nita Schmidt began her work at Furman as an Assistant Professor of
Education in Fall, 2005, after a successful 15 year teaching career in
rural elementary schools in Iowa. She holds a Ph.D. in Language, Literacy,
and Culture from The University of Iowa (2005), an M.A.T. from Morningside
College (2000) and a B.S. from Iowa State University (1976). Dr. Schmidt
is active in the National Council of Teachers of English, the
International Reading Association, the South Carolina Writing Improvement
Network, and Whole Language Umbrella. Her research interests include the
politics of literacy, critical conversations in children’s literature, and
socio-political issues surrounding teacher education.

At Furman University since 2002, Dr. P. L. Thomas taught high school
English for 18 years. He holds an Ed. D. in Curriculum and Instruction
(1998) from the University of South Carolina. His major publications
include a critique of American education, Numbers Games (2004, Peter
Lang); a text on the teaching of writing, Teaching Writing Primer (2005,
Peter Lang); books in a series edited by Thomas, Confronting the Text,
Confronting the World—his most recent volume being Reading, Learning,
Teaching Ralph Ellison (2008, Peter Lang); and a work with Joe Kincheloe
(McGill University), Reading, Writing, and Thinking: The Postformal Basics
(2006, Sense Publishers). He will be a column editor for English Journal
beginning the fall of 2008. His scholarship and teaching deal primarily
with literacy and empowering people for social justice through education.