Courses Taught
EDN 340 Reading Foundations K-6
EDN 541 Role of Literature in Learning and the Curriculum
Education
Ph.D., Teaching and Learning: Language, Literacy and Culture, The Ohio State University, 2010
M.A., Teaching and Learning: Language, Literacy and Culture, The Ohio State University, 2007
B. A. with Honors, Linguistics (Minor: African American Studies), University of Virginia, 2001
Research Interests
LGBTQ-inclusive children’s literature; LGBTQ-inclusive teaching in K-5; teaching for equity with children’s literature; district- and school-level ELA curriculum design
Recent Publications
Monographs:
- Hermann-Wilmarth, J. M., and Ryan, C. L. (Eds.) (2019). LGBTQ Topics in Elementary Education, Research, and Practice. Special Themed Issue of Theory Into Practice, 58(1).
- Ryan, C. L., and Hermann-Wilmarth, J. M. (2018). Reading the Rainbow: LGBTQ-Inclusive Literacy Instruction in the Elementary Classroom. New York, NY: Teachers College Press and GLSEN. [Recipient of the Literacy Research Association’s Edward B. Fry award]
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles and Book Chapters:
- Hermann-Wilmarth, J. M., and Ryan, C. L. (accepted). Answerability in children’s literature: Learning from Melissa in Alex Gino’s George. Journal of Children’s Literature.
- Hermann-Wilmarth, J. M., and Ryan, C. L. (2019). Navigating parental resistance: Learning from responses of LGBTQ-inclusive elementary school teachers. Theory Into Practice, 58(1), 89-98.
- Ticknor, A., Tschida, C., and Ryan, C. L. (2017). Reimagining pedagogy in online teacher education: (Re)shaping participation in literacy and social studies methods courses. Teacher Education and Practice, 30(4), 565-580.
- Howard, C. M., and Ryan, C. L. (2017). Black tween girls with Black girl power: Reading models of agency in Rita Williams-Garcia’s One Crazy Summer. Language Arts, 94(3), 170-179.
- Hermann-Wilmarth, J. M., Lannen, R., and Ryan, C. L. (2017). Critical literacy and transgender topics in an upper elementary classroom: A portrait of possibility. JoLLE: Journal of Language and Literacy Education, 13(1), 15-27. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1141491.pdf
- Hermann-Wilmarth, J. M., and Ryan, C. L. (2016). Queering chapter books with LGBT characters for young readers: Recognizing and complicating representations of homonormativity. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 37(6),856-866.
- Ryan, C. L. (2016). Kissing brides and loving hot vampires: Children’s construction and perpetuation of heteronormativity in elementary school classrooms. Sex Education: Sexuality, Society, and Learning, 16(1), 77-90.
- Kelly, S., Wild, T., Ryan, C. L., and Blackburn, M. V. (2015). Looking back at the service delivery models of sex education: Adults with visual impairments report on their experiences. British Journal of Visual Impairment, 33(2), 138-145.
- Hermann-Wilmarth, J. M., and Ryan, C. L. (2015). Destabilizing the homonormative for young readers: Exploring Tash’s queerness in Jacqueline Woodson’s After Tupac and D Foster. In D. Linville and D. Carlson (Eds.), Beyond Borders: Queer Eros and Ethos (Ethics) in LGBTQ Young Adult Literature (85-99). New York: Peter Lang.
- Tschida, C., Ryan, C. L., and Ticknor, A. (2014). Building on windows and mirrors: Encouraging the disruption of “Single Stories” through children’s literature. Journal of Children’s Literature, 40(1), 28-39.
- Ryan, C. L., and Hermann-Wilmarth, J. M. (2013). Already on the shelf: Queering award-winning children’s literature. Journal of Literacy Research, 45(2), 142-172.
- Ryan, C. L., Patraw, J., and Bednar, M. (2013). Discussing princess boys and pregnant men: Teaching about gender nonconformity and transgender experiences within an elementary school curriculum. Journal of LGBT Youth, 10(1-2), 83-105.
Invited Journal Articles:
- Hermann-Wilmarth, J. M., & Ryan, C. L. (2019). Reframing and reclaiming risk in queer literacy research. Research in the Teaching of English, 53(4), 390-393.
- Ryan, C. L., and Hermann-Wilmarth, J. M. (2019). Putting read-alouds to work for LGBTQ-inclusive, critically literate classrooms. Language Arts, 96(5), 312-317.
- Hermann-Wilmarth, J. M., and Ryan, C. L. (2019). Reading and teaching the rainbow: Why and how to make elementary school classrooms LGBTQ-inclusive. The American Educator 43(1), 17-21.
- Ryan, C. L., and Hermann-Wilmarth, J. M. (2019). This Issue: LGBTQ Topics in Elementary Education, Research, and Practice. Theory Into Practice, 58(1), 1-5.
- Ryan, C. L. (2018). First opinion: Art, metaphor, and more questions than answers. First Opinions, Second Reactions, 11(1), 24-26. https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/fosr/vol11/iss1/9/
- Hermann-Wilmarth, J. M., and Ryan, C. L. (2015). Doing what you can: Considering ways to address LGBT topics in K–8 ELA curricula. Language Arts, 92(6), 436-443.
- Hermann-Wilmarth, J. M., and Ryan, C. L. (2013). Interrupting the single story: LGBT issues in language arts classrooms. Language Arts, 90(3), 226-231.
- Ryan, C. L. (2012). Queerspawn speak out: Encouraging community and activism among youth with LGBTQ parents. Journal of LGBT Youth, 9(4), 397-401. [Book Review]
Honors and Awards
Edward B. Fry Book Award, Literacy Research Association, 2018
Profile in Diversity Award, College of Education, East Carolina University, 2017
East Carolina Board of Governors Distinguished Professor for Teaching Award, 2015
Article of the Year Award, Queer Studies special interest group of the American Educational Research Association, 2013
Professional Service
Editorial Review Board Member for Language Arts, The Reading Teacher, English Journal, and Journal of Children’s Literature
Build Your Stack Committee of the National Council of Teachers of English
P. David Pearson Scholarly Influence Award Committee, Literacy Research Association