Ross Bullen

Ross Bullen (he/him) is Assistant Professor (Teaching Stream) of English at OCAD University, where he teaches classes in American literature, science fiction, children’s literature, and writing studies. Since 2015, he has been the course coordinator for “The Essay and the Argument,” OCAD U’s first-year English and writing class. Ross has been shortlisted for three OCAD U teaching awards and was the recipient of the 2018 Faculty of Arts and Science Teaching Award. His research has been published in American Literature, the Journal of American Studies, English Studies in Canada, The Public Domain Review, and elsewhere. Ross is a member of OCAD U’s Senate and OCADFA’s Board of Directors and has previously served on the Board of Directors for ACCUTE (Association of Canadian College and University Teachers of English) and as President of CAAS (Canadian Association for American Studies). He is currently the Acting Chair of Liberal Studies at OCAD U.

Areas of Expertise:

American Literature; Literary Theory; Science Fiction; First-Year English

Education:

PhD, English, Western University (2010)
MA, English, Western University (2004)
BA, English and Philosophy, Wilfrid Laurier University (2002)

Journal Articles:

“The White Fraud: White Elephants, Siam, and Comparative Racialization.” Journal of American Studies 57.5 (December 2023): 611-636 [peer reviewed]

“It’s Not About Whales: Moby-Dick and Disinformation.” English Studies in Canada 47.1 (March 2021): 7-13

“‘Act Two for America’: Narcissism, Money, and the Death of American Literature in Gary Shteyngart’s Super Sad True Love Story.” Canadian Review of American Studies 48.2 (2018): 231-253 [peer reviewed]

“Transpacific Interpretations.” Canadian Review of American Studies 45.2 (2015): 259-270

“Blood Money: Gresham’s Law, Property, and Race in Faulkner’s Go Down, Moses.” Canadian Review of American Studies 42.2 (2012): 194-215 [peer reviewed]

“‘This Alarming Generosity’: White Elephants and the Logic of the Gift.” American Literature 83.4 (December 2011): 747-773 [peer reviewed]

Journal Issues:

Co-editor. Canadian Review of American Studies 50.3 (2020). Special issue on “Uncertain Futures.”

Selected Public Scholarship:

“Jumbo’s Ghost: Elephants and Machines in Motion.” The Public Domain Review. 20 July 2022

“William Wells Brown, Wildcat Banker.” The Public Domain Review. 24 November 2021

“Race and the White Elephant War of 1884.” The Public Domain Review. 11 October 2017

“George Washington at the Siamese Court.” The Public Domain Review. 21 April 2016

Selected Creative Writing:

How to Succeed in Academia (While Failing at Everything Else). Humorist Books, 2025.

Co-writer. Damnation: The Gothic Game. Blackletter Games, 2023

“Board Games for Adjunct Professors.” Keep On Scrollin’ Don’t Stop: More Favorites from McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, edited by Chris Monks. E-book, McSweeney’s, 2019

“The AdjunctPod.” Word Hoard 1.5 (“Scum & Villainy”): 91-95