Curriculum Vitae
Toni A.H. McNaron
Distinguished Teaching Professor Emerita
Department of English
Education
Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison English 1964
M.A. Vanderbilt University English 1959
B.A. University of Alabama English 1958
Employment
All Saints’ Episcopal Junior College, Vicksburg, MS, 1959-1961
University of Minnesota, 1964-67 Assistant Professor; 1967-83 Associate Professor;
1983-2001 Full Professor; 2001—Professor Emerita
Honors
Phi Beta Kappa, University of Alabama, 1958
Woodrow Wilson Fellow, Vanderbilt University, 1959-60
National Endowment for Humanities Summer Grant, U of M, 1967
Graduate School Research Grants, U of M, 1966, 1983, 1984, 1994
Recipient of 8 Educational Development Grants, U of M, 1971-1979
Minority Graduate Student Program Research Grant, U of M, 1989, 1990, 1992
Center for Research in Interdisciplinary Writing Grants, U of M, 1991, 1998
College of Liberal Arts Outstanding Teacher Award, U of M, 1967
Horace Morse Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education, U of
M, 1968
Ruth Christie Award for Outstanding Teaching, Department of English, U of M, 1990
Continuing Education and Extension Award for Outstanding Teaching, U of M, 1991
Scholar of the College, College of Liberal Arts, U of M, 1994-1997
Teachers Hall of Fame, Minnesota Alumni Magazine, U of M, 1994
Women’s Leadership Award, U of M, 1998Academy of Distinguished Teachers, U of M, 1998
President’s Outstanding Achievement Award, 1998
President’s Outstanding Community Service, 2000
Administrative Offices Held
English Department: Director of Honors, 1966-69, 1986-88; Director of Undergraduate
Studies, 1970-72, 1986-88
Women’s Studies Department: Chair, 1973-76; Director of Graduate Studies 1980-84;
Director, Center for Advanced Feminist Studies, 1982-84
University: Coordinator, Bush Faculty Development Program on Excellence and
Diversity in Teaching, 1991-99
Co-director, Center for Teaching and Learning Services, 1997-99
Member, GLBT Studies Endowment Committee 1997-2000
Coordinator, College in the Schools Literature, 1995-2020
Publications
Books
Voices in the Night: Women Speaking About Incest, Cleis Press, Mpls, MN, 1982,
1984, 1987, 1988
The Sister Bond: A Feminist View of a Timeless Connection, Pergamon Press, New
York, 1983
I Dwell in Possibility: A Memoir, Feminist Press, New York, 1992
Lesbian Theory and Practice, special issue of Signs: a journal of feminist scholarship,
Mpls., 1987
New Lesbian Studies: Into the 21st Century, Feminist Press, 1996
Poisoned Ivy: Lesbian and Gay Academics Confronting Homophobia, Temple
University Press, 1996
I Dwell in Possibility, revised & expanded edition, Feminist Press, New York, 2002
Into the Paradox: Conservative Spirit, Radical Politics, Hurley Press, Minneapolis, 2014
Live and Deal with Others Better, Hurley Press, Minneapolis, 2023
Recent Articles
“’Raked with Wonder’: A White Teaches Sula,” in Approaches to Teaching Toni
Morrison’s Sula, ed. Nellie Mackay and Kathrun Earle, Modern Language
Association, New York, 1998, 38-50.
“Look Again: Reading To the Lighthouse from an Aesthetic of Sameness,” in Virginia
Woolf: Lesbian Readings, ed. Eileen Barrett and Patricia Cramer, New York
University Press, 1997, 10-20.
“The Uneasy Solace of Art: The Effect of Sexual Abuse on Virginia Woolf’s Aesthetic,”
Women’s Studies International Forum, Spring 1992, 132-146.
In addition to these listed items, I have published numerous articles on Toni Morrison, Virginia Woolf, feminist pedagogy, multi-cultural education, and TA development.
Conferences
The listed appearances represent a few of the scores of presentations since 1990; before that, the number exceeds 100.
“Shakespeare and Prejudice: The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet, Othello, The Tempest,”
Servetus Unitarian Church, Fridley, MN, March 1994
“See Dick Run: Undoing Gender Bias in the Classroom,” Lilly Foundation Faculty
Seminar Series, Michigan State University, April 1999
“No Retreat: Keeping the Faith in a Reactionary Time,” Keynote presentation (with
Carol Miller), Prizing Diversity: Practical Approaches to Engagement in a
Multicultural World. Collaboration for the Advancement of College Teaching and
Learning, Bloomington, MN, November 2002
“Teaching Multi-cultural Literature in High School,” NACEP Conference, University
of Minnesota, Spring 2008.
“Gardens and Gardeners in Shakespeare,” Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Spring 2010.
“Reading Kate Millet: Her Words and Her Influence,” College of Liberal Arts Journal,
University of Minnesota, Fall 2012.
Life Since Retirement
Since my retirement twenty-five years ago, I have thought about which teaching venues have been especially rewarding and why. Of course, the hundreds of students I taught at the University showed me how excited they could become over a Milton sonnet or a Shakespeare play—and, later, over a Morrison novel or a Rich poem.
But I have felt the most useful and happy when doing what I affectionately call “gig teaching”: going to the Minnesota Arboretum to talk about gardens, birds, trees, and bees; Zooming four discussions early winter and springtime with an amazing assortment of women who will tackle whatever text I ask them to tackle; starting a group called “Shakespeare in the Living Room” almost 20 years ago that will not stop wanting to read with each other and me.
I have decided to post these ruminations as a blog post to which I direct you in order to learn why teaching in non-conventional settings has enriched my own learning process over the decades.