{"id":5,"date":"2012-10-25T22:04:15","date_gmt":"2012-10-26T02:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/template-faculty01\/?page_id=5"},"modified":"2025-07-14T14:30:47","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T18:30:47","slug":"home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/mark-west\/","title":{"rendered":"Home"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Education<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ph.D. Bowling Green State University, 1983<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/mark-west\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/322\/2018\/03\/Mark-West-Seuss-Sm.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1392 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/mark-west\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/322\/2018\/03\/Mark-West-Seuss-Sm.png?resize=234%2C300\" alt=\"\" width=\"234\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/mark-west\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/322\/2018\/03\/Mark-West-Seuss-Sm.jpg?resize=234%2C300&amp;ssl=1 234w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/mark-west\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/322\/2018\/03\/Mark-West-Seuss-Sm.jpg?w=382&amp;ssl=1 382w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 234px) 100vw, 234px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>M.E.A.S. University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, 1980<\/li>\n<li>B.A. Franconia College, 1975<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Areas of Interest<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Children&#8217;s literature; Children&#8217;s popular culture; History of childhood; Writings by American Presidents<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Selected Publications<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Books:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>M. I. West and Kathy Merlock Jackson, eds.\u00a0\u00a0<em>Once Upon a Toy:\u00a0 Essays on the Interplay Between Stories and Playthings.\u00a0<\/em>McFarland, 2025.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West and Frye Gaillard, eds.\u00a0 <em>The Literary Legacy of Jimmy Carter: Essays on the President&#8217;s Books.\u00a0<\/em>Rowman &amp; Littlefield, 2025.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West and Dina Schiff Massachi, eds.\u00a0 <em>The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Broadview Edition.<\/em> Broadview Press, 2024.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West, ed. <em>Liminal Spaces in Children&#8217;s and Young Adult Literature:\u00a0 Stories from the In Between.<\/em> Lexington Books, 2024.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West, Kathy Merlock Jackson, and Carl Sederholm, eds. <em>Forgotten Disney: Essays on the Lesser-Known Productions.<\/em> McFarland, 2023.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West, ed.\u00a0 <em>Theodore Roosevelt on Books and Reading.\u00a0 <\/em>Rowman &amp; Littlefield, 2023.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West. <em>Theodore Roosevelt and His Library at Sagamore Hill.\u00a0 <\/em>Rowman &amp; Littlefield, 2022.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West.\u00a0 <em>The Peeve and the Grudge and Other Preposterous Poems.\u00a0 <\/em>Warren Publishing, 2022.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West and Kathy Merlock Jackson, eds.\u00a0 <em>Storybook Worlds Made Real:\u00a0 Essays on the Places Inspired by Children&#8217;s Narratives.\u00a0 <\/em>McFarland, 2022.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West and Kathy Merlock Jackson, eds.\u00a0 <em>Shapers of American Childhood:\u00a0 Essays on Visionaries from L. Frank Baum to Dr. Spock to J. K. Rowling.\u00a0 <\/em>McFarland, 2018.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West and Kathy Merlock Jackson, eds.<em> Walt Disney, from Reader to Storyteller: Essays on the Literary Inspirations<\/em>. McFarland, 2015.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West and Kathy Merlock Jackson, eds. <em>Disneyland and Culture: Essays on the Parks and Their Influence<\/em>. McFarland, 2011.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West, ed. <em>The Japanification of Children&#8217;s Popular Culture: From Godzilla to Miyazaki<\/em>. Scarecrow Press, 2009.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West. <em>A Children&#8217;s Literature Tour of Great Britain<\/em>. Scarecrow Press, 2003.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West, ed. <em>Helen Hunt Jackson : Selected Colorado Writings<\/em>. Filter Press, 2002.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West, ed.\u00a0 <em>Bits of Colorado:\u00a0 Helen Hunt Jackson&#8217;s Writings for Young Readers.\u00a0 <\/em>Filter Press, 2000.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West and Lucy Rollin. <em>Psychoanalytic Responses to Children&#8217;s Literature<\/em>. McFarland, 1999.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West. <em>Everyone&#8217;s Guide to Children&#8217;s Literature<\/em>. Highsmith Press, 1997.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West, ed. <em>Westward to a High Mountain : The Colorado Writings of Helen Hunt Jackson<\/em>. Colorado Historical Society, 1994.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West, ed. <em>A Wondrous Menagerie: Animal Fantasy Stories from American Children&#8217;s Literature<\/em>. Archon Books, 1994<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West. <em>Wellsprings of Imagination: The Homes of Children&#8217;s Authors<\/em>. Neal-Schuman, 1992.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West. <em>Roald Dahl<\/em>. Twayne Publishers, 1992.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West, ed. <em>Before Oz: Juvenile Fantasy Stories from Nineteenth-Century America<\/em>. Archon Books, 1989.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West. <em>Trust Your Children: Voices Against Censorship in Children&#8217;s Literature<\/em>. Neal-Schuman, 1988. Expanded second edition published in 1997.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West. <em>Children, Culture, and Controversy<\/em>. Archon Books, 1988.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Recent Articles:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>M. I. West.\u00a0 &#8220;The Negative Representations of Mothers in Beatrix Potter&#8217;s Picture Books.&#8221;\u00a0\u00a0<em>Clio\u2019s Psyche <\/em>32.2 (2025):\u00a0 212-222.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West.\u00a0 &#8220;Theodore Roosevelt&#8217;s Life-Long Interest in Children&#8217;s Literature.&#8221; <em>Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal\u00a0<\/em>45.4 (2024): 24-29.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West.\u00a0 &#8220;Dealing with Childhood Anxieties through Play.\u201d\u00a0 <em>Clio\u2019s Psyche <\/em>30.2 (2024):\u00a0 247-249.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West.\u00a0 &#8220;Recuperative Spaces in African American Children\u2019s Literature.\u201d\u00a0 <em>Clio\u2019s Psyche <\/em>28.2 (2022): \u00a0176-181.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West.\u00a0 &#8220;Cultivating Empathy through the Reading of Literature.&#8221;\u00a0 <em>Clio&#8217;s Psyche <\/em>27.3 (2021):\u00a0 312-315.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West.\u00a0 \u201cA Place to Play in Astrid Lindgren\u2019s Stories.\u201d\u00a0 <em>Bookbird:\u00a0 A Journal of International Children\u2019s Literature <\/em>58.4 (2020):\u00a0 74-78.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West. &#8220;Infant Depravity in Children&#8217;s Literature in Puritan America.&#8221;\u00a0 <em>Clio&#8217;s Psyche <\/em>24.3 (2018):\u00a0 339-345.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West.\u00a0 &#8220;Childhood in the New South as Reflected in Children&#8217;s Literature.&#8221;\u00a0 <em>The Southern Quarterly <\/em>54.3\/4 (2017):\u00a0 126-150.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West.\u00a0 &#8220;John S. C. Abbott&#8217;s Views on Female Education in Antebellum America.&#8221;\u00a0 <em>The Journal of American Culture <\/em>39.2 (2016):\u00a0 228-232.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West.\u00a0 \u201cPreserving a Presidential Persona:\u00a0 A Bibliophile President Created a Well-Traveled Library.\u201d <em>New York Archives <\/em>15.4 (2016):\u00a0 36-37.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West. &#8220;The Globalism of Dr. Seuss.&#8221;\u00a0 <em>The Dragon Lode <\/em>32.2 (2014): 53-55.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West.\u00a0 &#8220;Playing in the Worlds of Beatrix Potter and Charles Dickens.&#8221;\u00a0 <em>The Dragon Lode <\/em>31.2 (2013):\u00a0 54-58.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West.\u00a0 \u201cMartin Gardner and His Contributions to the History of Oz.\u201d <em>The Baum Bugle:\u00a0 A Journal of Oz<\/em> 56.2 (2012):\u00a0 20-21.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West.\u00a0 &#8220;The Intersection of Fantasy and Social Commentary in Roald Dahl&#8217;s <em>Fantastic Mr. Fox.&#8221;\u00a0 Moon City Review <\/em>(2012):\u00a0 87-93.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West.\u00a0 &#8220;Dorothy and the Heroine&#8217;s Quest.&#8221;\u00a0 <em>The Baum Bugle:\u00a0 A Journal of Oz <\/em>54.2 (2010):\u00a0 7-15.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West.\u00a0 &#8220;Mark Twain, Walt Disney, and the Playful Response to Pirate Stories.&#8221;\u00a0 <em>American Journal of Play <\/em>2.4 (2010): 429-435.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West.\u00a0 &#8220;Theodore Roosevelt and the Golden Age of Children&#8217;s Literature.&#8221;\u00a0 <em>Journal of American Culture\u00a0 <\/em>33.2 (2010):\u00a0 121-125.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West.\u00a0 \u201cReflections on Rereading <em>The Wind in the Willows<\/em>.\u201d <em>The Dragon Lode<\/em> 25.1 (2006): 24-25.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West. \u201cMaking Hogwartian Dreams Come True: Reflections on Running a Harry Potter Summer Camp.\u201d <em>The Dragon Lode<\/em> 23.1 (2004): 49-51.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West. \u201cGodzilla and His Progeny: Why American Children Like Japanese Monsters.\u201d <em>South Carolina Review<\/em> 36.2 (2004): 154-158.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West. &#8220;Helen Hunt Jackson &#8216;s <em>Nelly&#8217;s Silver Mine<\/em>: A Lost Treasure Reclaimed.&#8221; <em>The Lion and the Unicorn<\/em> 28.1 (2004): 70-76.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West. \u201cThe Home of Beatrix Potter and the Potential of Geographical Criticism.\u201d <em>South Carolina Review<\/em> 35.2 (2003): 157-163.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West. &#8220;Martin Gardner: North Carolina &#8216;s Annotator of Alice and Historian of Oz.&#8221; <em>North Carolina Literary Review <\/em>10 (2001): 92-96.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West. &#8220;Fantasy Literature for Children: Past, Present, and Future Tensions.&#8221; <em>Journal of Children&#8217;s Literature<\/em> 26.2 (2000): 35-39.<\/li>\n<li>M. I. West. &#8220;The Dakota Fairy Tales of L. Frank Baum.&#8221; <em>South Dakota History<\/em> 30.1 (2000): 134-154.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Courses Taught<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Undergraduate:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>English 3103 Children&#8217;s Literature<\/li>\n<li>English 3104 Literature for Adolescents<\/li>\n<li>English 3102 Literature for Young Children<\/li>\n<li>English 4102 Classics in British Children&#8217;s Literature<\/li>\n<li>English 4103 Classics in American Children&#8217;s Literature<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Graduate:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>English 6103 Introduction to Children&#8217;s Literature and Culture<\/li>\n<li>English 6104 Major Figures in Children&#8217;s Literature<\/li>\n<li>English 6090 Children&#8217;s Literature Award Winners<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Professional Appointments<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Faculty appointments:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>UNC\u00a0Charlotte since 1984<\/li>\n<li>Washburn University of Topeka, 1983-84<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Administrative appointments:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Chair of the Department of English, UNC Charlotte, 2014-2019<\/li>\n<li>Interim Chair of the Department of English, UNC Charlotte, 2012-2013<\/li>\n<li>Interim Associate Dean for Student Services, UNC Charlotte, 2010-2011<\/li>\n<li>Director of M. A. Program in Liberal Studies, UNC Charlotte, 2009-2013<\/li>\n<li>Interim Chair of the Department of Art and Art History, UNC Charlotte, 2007<\/li>\n<li>Associate Dean for General Education, UNC Charlotte, 2002-07<\/li>\n<li>Director of the American Studies Program, UNC Charlotte, 1992-2002<\/li>\n<li>Graduate Coordinator of English M.A. Program, UNC\u00a0Charlotte, 1990-92<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Professional Service <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Editor, <em>RISE:\u00a0 A Children&#8217;s Literacy Journal<\/em>, 2014-present<\/li>\n<li>Book Review Editor, <em>Children&#8217;s Literature Association Quarterly<\/em>, 2000-present<\/li>\n<li>Editor, <em>The Five Owls<\/em>, 1999-2006<\/li>\n<li>President, Children&#8217;s Literature Association, 2000-2001<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Recent Awards<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Advocate Award for Supporting, Uplifting, and Advocating for Writers and the Literary Arts, Charlotte Writers Club, 2025.<\/li>\n<li>Finalist for Bank of America Award for Teaching Excellence, UNC Charlotte, 2024.<\/li>\n<li>Distinguished Faculty Award, UNC Charlotte Alumni Association, 2021.<\/li>\n<li>Governor James E. Holshouser, Jr. Award for Excellence in Public Service, 2019.<\/li>\n<li>Bonnie E. Cone Professorship in Civic Engagement Award, UNC Charlotte, 2019.<\/li>\n<li>Anne Devereaux Jordan Award for Outstanding Achievement in Children\u2019s Literature, Children\u2019s Literature Association, 2016.<\/li>\n<li>Finalist for Bank of America Award for Teaching Excellence, UNC Charlotte, 2013.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Education Ph.D. Bowling Green State University, 1983 M.E.A.S. University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, 1980 B.A. Franconia College, 1975 Areas of Interest Children&#8217;s literature; Children&#8217;s popular culture; History of childhood; Writings by American Presidents Selected Publications Books: M. I. West and Kathy Merlock Jackson, eds.\u00a0\u00a0Once Upon a Toy:\u00a0 Essays on the Interplay Between Stories and Playthings.\u00a0McFarland, 2025. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":202,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/mark-west\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/mark-west\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/mark-west\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/mark-west\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/202"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/mark-west\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/mark-west\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4606,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/mark-west\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5\/revisions\/4606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/mark-west\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}