Dr. John Sanders joined the Appalachian State English Department in the fall of 2024 as a tenure-track professor in the film concentration. He, his fianceé, and three dogs currently live in Lenoir but are moving to Boone this summer. John grew up in Eagle River, Alaska, and really likes being in the mountains; the views and weather are some of his favorite aspects of Boone. He enjoys the cooler climate and the snow. In his spare time, he enjoys going on hikes with his fianceé and hopes to do more of them when his first year is over and they have more time to explore Boone.
John obtained his PhD from Syracuse University in New York. He decided to write his dissertation about literary game adaptations. He looked at digital and analog games that were based on pieces of literature. Focusing on what happens to our understanding of literature and game adaptations when they change forms. John has always loved the feelings of creation and agency that games gave him and the stories they told. Starting his undergraduate degree with comparative literature and a little education studies he didn’t really get into film until he got to Syracuse, but loves it just the same.
John is currently turning his dissertation into a book project. The book includes pulling adaptation studies and game studies into fields that don’t usually communicate into one theory. Thus trying to look at adaptations through the lens of games rather than literature or film, beginning to see that adaptations and games are both systems and not individual texts. A few chapters will include analyzing a choose-your-own-adventure book based on Hamlet, a board game based on Arabian Nights, and many others. John’s book is aimed towards literary scholars and gaming scholars.
This semester John is teaching an introduction to film class and a television studies class. In the upcoming fall, he will be teaching a class on genre, specifically focusing on the Western genre, which is his favorite. John says his teaching style is high energy, but he isn’t there just to entertain. He enjoys giving the students the chance to engage and chat with one another. John loves the students at App State and the diversity that each student brings to the classroom. John also enjoys the way our English department brings together all things that constitute texts, media, and culture.
Written by Jacey Widner
Headshot of John Sanders
Headshot of John Sanders