Hi, my name is...

Hi everyone, I'm Erica Haugtvedt and I'm a first year MA student. I'm interested in psychological approaches to narrative. Right now, I'm especially interested in how we build, or imagine, stories--especially in issues of adaptation and "expanding" existing stories. I did my undergraduate honors thesis on fanfiction as a way of expanding the storyworld of Harry Potter. There are a lot of issues implicit in that paper that I'm interested in exploring more, so we'll see where it goes.

I grew up in Westerville, Ohio (and actually did my undergrad at OSU). But, I had the odd experience of having two parents who are from North Dakota and Minnesota--so Ohio was never referred to as "home" in our household. Thus, I feel like I'm an ex-patriot from the plains. I'm Norwegian-American and if you ever want to talk about Garrison Keillor, I'm fair game. My family has been lucky enough to visit Norway semi-frequently for the past ten years, so I'm also into Scandinavian stuff. I only speak elementary Norwegian, and I'm constantly interested in learning more when I can. Someday, I'd like to spend a year living in Norway.

My biggest ambition in life right now is to get a puppy. I desperately want the company of a dog like the one I had growing up: an adorable, loving mutt. But, alas, our living situation right now is not conducive to having a dog. If you need dog sitting, let me know. I'm also thinking about volunteering as a dog walker for the Franklin County humane shelter. If anyone wants to join me, that would be cool.

Otherwise, I'm married to Evan Thomas. And, you know, I like him. We both went to undergrad here, so if you need any help navigating around the city or you need some advice, feel free to ask us and we'll be glad to help!