Jeffrey Middents studies and teaches film and world literature at American University in Washington, DC, specifically focusing on Latin American narratives from the 1960s to the present. His screen-oriented courses cover a wide range of concepts, including national cinemas, genre, the auteur, stardom, film criticism, Netflix, and short films. His book, Writing National Cinema: Film Journals and Film Culture in Peru (UPNE, 2009) investigates the historical place of cultural writing within a national discourse by tracing how Peruvian cinema was shaped by local film criticism. Professor Middents has also published essays – in print and video versions – on a variety of other topics, including documentary aesthetics in the work of Chilean filmmaker Particio Guzman, Peruvian director Luis Llosa’s films made under producer Roger Corman, the theoretical perspective espoused by Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days, the sense of place in contemporary Latin American cinema, movie stardom and “the indigenous” in the works of Dolores del Rio and Magaly Solier, the pedagogy of teaching “world cinema,” and the racial complexities of the television shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and One Day at a Time. He is currently working on a monograph on transnational auteurism and the work of Alfonso Cuarón

Jamie Wyatt is the Director of the University Honors and Scholars Program.

Amanda Harrison has been a member of the AU community since 2005, when she began her graduate studies in European history. From 2010-2017, she worked at the Academic Support and Access Center, supporting students with disabilities and is a passionate supporter of Universal Design. Amanda continues to work with AU students as the Manager of Undergraduate Scholars programs, fostering intellectual curiosity and the development of research skills in undergraduate students.

Laura Lannan joined the Honors Program after earning her MFA in Creative Writing from AU in 2022. Prior to coming to AU, Laura worked with teens and young adults at the DC Public Library and managed author events for Busboys and Poets. A dedicated reader, Laura is passionate about education and fostering intellectual curiosity. She is currently working on publishing her MFA thesis, a poetry collection that ties together science and imagination in the fabulist tradition.

Elise has worked with the AU Honors program since 2017. Previously, Elise worked at an educational non-profit in DC for four years and before that attended university and worked in Rome, Italy for seven years. In her current position as academic advisor, she loves meeting with students (and finding creative ways to fit study abroad experiences into their schedules). She is always happy to meet about Honors courses, research projects, connecting students across cohorts, or just to hear about your most recent trip home. Elise is also very passionate about food and happy to suggest where to eat for any occasion. Anytime you Zoom with her, you’ll likely see a different pup in the background since she moonlights as a dog sitter around the city.