PhD Instructor Spotlight: Jo Mikula
Learn about PhD candidate + instructor Jo Mikula!
Name: Jo Mikula
Year: I'm in my third year of the PhD program
What course are you currently teaching? Lit Core - my class is called "Beyond Borders"
How long have you been teaching at BC? I started teaching at BC in the fall of 2024. Last semester, I taught FWS, and this semester I am teaching Lit Core. Next semester I’m teaching an elective: “The Meaning of Place in 19th-Century Literature.”
Fun fact? I love to knit. I have a knitting project with me almost everywhere I go- just in case.
[Jo Mikula, pictured here in front of the BC seal with E.M. Forster’s Passage to India.]
What is your favorite course to teach? My favorite course to teach is definitely Lit Core. I love talking about books, and I love to talk about what students find interesting, confusing, and emotionally impactful. There's nothing quite like the moment in a classroom when it's clear that a student has found an entry point into the text.
What is your favorite book to teach? I'm teaching Maus by Art Spiegelman right now, and I'm finding that the students do very well with a graphic novel. We live in such a visual culture that I think students can sometimes feel more comfortable analyzing an image. It gives them an easy entry point into the text.
Any advice to students? Most importantly, be in communication with your professor! For close reading/analysis: when something grabs your attention, sit with that for a moment. There's a reason it struck you, and it's probably worth digging into.