Dr. Heath A. Diehl, Instructor
My name is Heath Diehl and I am an Instructor in the Honors College. I have been a Falcon since 1995 when I came to the University to work on my Ph.D. in the Department of English, after completing a double B.A. in English and communication at Bluffton College. In 2000, I earned my Ph.D. and I began teaching full time for the University Writing Program. Over my career at BGSU, I have taught courses in first-year writing, literature, women’s studies, and lesbian and gay studies. I have been named twice in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, have been nominated for the Distinguished Lecturer/Instructor Award from the College of Arts and Sciences, and was named BGSU’s 2010 Master Teacher Award winner by the Student Alumni Connection.
One of my favorite parts of being a faculty member in the Honors College is that I have the unique opportunity to design classes on a wide variety of unusual subjects and to teach those classes to students from across a range of majors and educational experiences. Over the past several years, I have taught Special Topic Seminars on such topics as: Demystifying Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; (Re-)Visioning Oz (on adaptations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz); Tracking the Vampire: Bloodsuckers in Literature and Film from Carmilla to Edward Cullen; “Happily Ever After”: Adaptations and Retellings of “Sleeping Beauty”; Exhuming the Walking Dead: The Rise of Zombies in Contemporary American Culture; and Deliciously Addictive Dexter: What Jeff Lindsay’s Serial Killer Says About Those Who Watch, Read, and Adore Him.
In addition to Special Topics Seminars, I regularly teach the core curriculum Honors classes (HNRS 2010: Introduction to Critical Thinking and HNRS 2020: Critical Thinking about Great Ideas) and Presidential Honors, as well as advise Honors Projects for students from many different majors.
When I am not teaching, I most enjoy spending time with my partner, Gary, and our three “kids”/cats, Licorice, Ani, and Kit. I am an obsessive fan of The Golden Girls (Blanche is my favorite character!), the Harry Potter series (Hermione is awesome!), and “indie” music (Joshua Radin rocks!). I watch way too much television and will watch pretty much anything from Top Chef to Project Runway to Grey’s Anatomy to Hot in Cleveland to Weeds and Wipeout. And I enjoy reading, especially series mystery fiction by and about women “detectives”. (Some of my favorites are Sue Grafton’s alphabet series, Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, Earlene Fowler’s Bennie Harper series, and Mary Daheim’s Bed & Breakfast series.)
I love working with students both in and outside of the classroom and I welcome the opportunity to sit down and chat with Honors students. So, whether you’re in my classes or not, feel free to stop by my office, introduce yourself, and say “hello.” I can be reached via email at williad@bgsu.edu.
Updated: 09/21/2021 08:06PM