Dr. Sharon Pajka
Sharon Pajka is a Professor in the Department of English. She holds a Ph.D. in English Education from the University of Virginia. Her recent publications focus on deaf characters and dead (e.g. vampire) characters in adolescent literature.
Her doctoral research focused on the portrayals and perceptions of Deaf Characters in Adolescent Literature. She currently keeps a research blog on the topic: http://pajka.blogspot.com/.
She enjoys teaching courses in adolescent literature and literary studies along with teaching interdisciplinary courses, including “Vampires: Their Historical Significance in Literature, Film, and Pop Culture,” which made The Washington Post's list of "The 15 Oddest College Courses in the D.C. Region".
In 2018, Dr. Pajka completed a graduate program in Public History at the University of Richmond while developing a course focused on dark tourism.
On the weekends, you can find her in the cemetery giving history tours, and running River City Cemetarians; or, you can find her in the blogosphere at http://Goth-Gardening.blogspot.com/ where she uses “gardening” as a metaphor for living a more gothy life.
Episode 145 - The Souls Close to Edgar Allan Poe: Graves of his Famil…
Jennie and Dianne are joined this week by a favorite returning guest, Dr. Sharon Pajka, to discuss her new book being released on August 21st, The Souls Close to Edgar Allan Poe: Graves of his Family, Friends and Foes. In …
Episode 128 - Ordinary Extraordinary Women: Uncovering the Hidden Sto…
Jennie and Dianne celebrate the last week of Women's History Month by revisiting some past interviews with women who have researched the Ordinary Extraordinary women of the past who fascinated them. Join them as they chat with authors Jan MacKell …
Episode 100 - Celebrating 100 Episodes of The Ordinary Extraordinary …
Jennie and Dianne look back through the first 99 episodes of The Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery podcast. They discuss some of their favorite episodes, highlight clips from memorable moments with guests, and share comments and reviews from listeners. Many thanks to …
Episode 74 - Women Writers Buried in Virginia Part 2
Jennie and Dianne continue their discussion with Sharon Pajka, PhD about the 44 ordinary extraordinary women writers covered in her book 'Women Writers Buried in Virginia'. In this episode we are introduced to Ella Howard Bryan who wrote westerns under …
Episode 73 - Women Writers Buried in Virginia
Jennie and Dianne welcome writer and professor of English Sharon Pajka, PhD back to the show to discuss her latest book, "Women Writers Buried in Virginia". What started out as a summer visit to the grave of acclaimed Gothic horror …
Episode 53 - Happy One Year Anniversary Ordinary Extraordinary Cemete…
In this very special episode Jennie and Dianne celebrate the one year anniversary of the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery podcast! This episode is slightly longer than normal as they recap the first year of the podcast and then have a wonderful …