Charmion Gustke

Biography

Charmion Gustke brings together writing, reading, and social action through her teaching both on campus and abroad. As Coordinator of the First-Year Seminar program, she collaborates across the university to weave intellectual virtues, character formation, and academic rigor into students' first-year experience. Her scholarship explores the intersections of transnational literature and cultural studies, with a particular focus on the works of Willa Cather and Henry David Thoreau, reflecting her broader commitment to literature as a catalyst for personal transformation. Beyond the classroom, Gustke actively engages with community organizations such as Thistle Farms, The Nashville Food Project, Hope Station, and Equal Chance for an Education, embodying the connection between scholarly inquiry and civic responsibility that defines her pedagogical approach. Her research has been published in Cather Studies, The Willa Cather Review, The Concord Saunterer, The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Urban Literary Studies, and Resources for American Literary Study.