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Tena Helton
Assistant Professor of English
Director of Graduate Studies
Ph.D. English (American Literature), Louisiana State University

Email: thelt2@uis.edu
Phone: (217) 206-7441
Office: UHB 3070

Teaching Concentration: Antebellum American literature, genre theory, regional literatures and cultures, and American women’s literature.

Courses: Introduction to Fiction; Southern Women Writers; Major British Writers; Composition and Rhetoric; Composition and Reading; Contemporary Southern Women's Novels.

Biography:
Dr. Helton earned her Ph.D. in English, specializing in American literature, from Louisiana State University. She is a certified public school teacher who also holds a B.A. and M.A. from North Carolina State University in English with a concentration in secondary education. She has also been a trade journalist writing for agricultural publications. She joined the UIS faculty in 2005.  Her primary areas of expertise are: antebellum American literature, genre theory, regional literatures and cultures, and American women’s literature.

Professor Helton has presented papers at the following:

• South Central Modern Language Association (2003)
• Southwest/Texas Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association (2003)
• Souths: Global and Local. University of Florida (2001)
• Women and Gender Studies. Louisiana State University (2000)
• College of Humanities and Social Sciences. North Carolina State University (1999)
• Blacks in the Diaspora. University of North Carolina (1997)

Her publications include:

• "Living in Process: Ivy Rowe's Regional Identification in Fair and Tender Ladies" in South Atlantic Review (2004)
  
• "Indians," "Redneck," "Tobacco," and "Trail of Tears" in The Companion to Southern Literature: Themes, Genres, Places, People, Movements, and Motifs. (2002)
  
• "’What was said and what was left unsaid’: Black Boy as Survival Guide for Black Man and Artist" in College Language Association Journal (1998)
  
• over 50 articles in agricultural trade magazines (1993-2004).

Her current project, The Literary Frontier: Creating an American Nation (1820-1840), is about the cultural importance of genre in antebellum frontier literature.

Research Interests: American literature, including African-American, American Indian, Southern, Appalachian and Women’s literatures; theories of region, identity, gender, and narrative; teacher training; and composition.

Professor Helton is also deeply concerned about mentoring and the professionalization of graduate students. She currently serves on the MLA's committee on the Status of Graduate Students in the Profession. 

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