Michael Dressman's special research interests are 19th century American literature and the history of the English language. He is also
interested in the application of language in the professions and in
popular culture. He has participated in two Summer Seminars for
University Faculty Members sponsored by the National Endowment for the
Humanities, one in American dialects and the other in Anglo-Saxon
England. He also led a seminar for teachers as part of the Houston
Teachers Institute.
PUBLICATIONS
"Empress of Calvary: Mystical Marriage in the Poems of Emily Dickinson." South Atlantic Bulletin, 42.1 (Jan. 1977): 39-43.
"Walt Whitman's Plans for the Perfect Dictionary." Studies in the American Renaissance. Vol. 3. Ed. Joel Myerson. New York: Twayne, 1979, pp. 457-74.
"Canadian English: Notions of Nationality and Language," College Quarterly, 8.1 (Winter 2005), published online http://www.collegequarterly.ca /2005-vol08-num01-winter/dressman.html.
"Language
and the Law: An Argument for Linguistic Literacy." South Central
American Dialect Society at the South Central Modern Language
Association Convention, New Orleans, October 5, 2013.
"Eats,
Shoots, Leaves, and Sometimes Sells Books: Non-Fiction of the Linguistic
Kind." Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association,
Chicago, April 18, 2014.