Stephanie Vastine specializes in American literature of the long nineteenth century, with particular interest in African American literature, queer theory, temporality, ecocriticism, and gender studies. Dr. Vastine holds a MA degree in Women's and Gender Studies from Texas Woman's University and received her PhD from UNT in 2021. Dr. Vastine currently teaches first year writing and American literature courses at the University of North Texas. She is also the Associate Director of the First Year Writing program. She is committed to her students, her peers, and her scholarship, and hopes to transfer her passion for literature and lifelong learning to everyone in her classes. She also enjoys encouraging other instructors as they find their own pedagogical style. Her approach in the classroom is best summarized by the Jack Halberstam quote: "People must be led to learn rather than taught to follow".