Professional Bio
Peter B. Olson teaches as a Lecturer in the Department of English at Mississippi State University. His teaching assignments include English Composition 1 & 2 (EN 1103/1113), Writing for the Workplace (EN 3313), and American Literature 1 & 2 (EN 2243/2253).
As a Doctoral Candidate in English Textual Studies at the University of Memphis, Olson specializes in American studies, rhetoric and composition, literary theory, and musicology.
In the spring of 2011 Olson completed the Center for Teaching and Learning's course in distance-learning best practices in preparation to develop the pilot course Writing On The Web (4990/6990), offered Spring 2012 through AOCE. Additionally, Olson's Ph.D. dissertation (University of Memphis) is reaching completion under the working title The Politics of Transatlantic Originality. The dissertation explores the phenomenon of Romantic originality within literary and political contexts in antebellum America through the work of Poe, Hawthorne, and Melville.
In 2007 Olson earned the Certificate in African-American Studies at the University of Memphis. He was also awarded the Scharff Graduate Award in English at the University of Memphis. (2009). He reached ABD status in musicology at the University of Memphis (2003) and served as a research assistant to Charles K. Wolfe at Middle Tennessee State University, Department of English (2001).
He has also taught literature survey courses, persuasive writing, and folk & popular music courses at the University of Memphis as a doctoral teaching assistant. He earned the M.A. in English literature from the University of Memphis (2006) and the M.A. in music theory from the University of Minnesota (1992). Olson earned his B.M. in bass performance at the University of Minnesota (1987) and received a diploma (1981) from Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he was awarded the Faculty Award for Outstanding Performance.
He has also taught at the University of North Alabama, Carleton College, Northfield, MN, and at the MacPhail Center for the Arts in Minneapolis, where he was Coordinator of the Jazz and Popular Music Program, served on the Faculty/Staff Committee, and taught in the Downtown School and Preparatory programs.
Olson has participated in the American Studies Forum series at the University of Memphis, featuring lectures by Louis Menand, Dorothy Hale, and Ben Reiss. His paper "Prairie Home Companion in Nashville: Valentines Day 2003" was presented at the National Communication Association conference (Boston 2004). He has published in the Journal of the Society for American Music, the Encyclopedia of Appalachia, Crossroads: A Journal of Southern Culture, and the Encyclopedia of Alabama.
Recent courses
- Writing for the Workplace
- Writing for the Web (spring 2012 pilot online course)
Publications and Presentations
Olson, Peter. "Edward Albee's Great Society: The Post-War Program to Demystify the American Dream" has been accepted for presentation at The University of North Alabama English Department 3rd Annual Regional Graduate Student Conference, The American Dream. (2011).
