Ben Saunders, Professor of English at the Unversity of Oregon, specializes in two fields: the literature of the English Renaissance; and the history of British and American comics and cartoons. His first book, Desiring Donne, explored the intersection of spirituality and sexuality in the poetry of John Donne alongside larger questions of literary theory and hermeneutics. Shortlisted by Choice magazine as one of the outstanding academic titles of 2006, Desiring Donne was also nominated as a Finalist for the Oregon Book Award that same year. His second book, Do The Gods Wear Capes?, focused on modern American superhero comics, arguing that the superhero fantasy can tell us a great deal about about our conceptions of the human, the post-human, and the divine. He has also co-edited a collection of essays on popular music (Rock Over The Edge, with Roger Beebe and Denise Fulbrook), and curated several exhibitions of comic art for the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the UO. Professor Saunders has lectured on subjects ranging from Early Modern Poetry to early Elvis Presley at universities in both the United States and the United Kingdom. He co-founded and currently directs the University of Oregon Undergraduate Minor in Comics and Cartoon Studies (the first undergraduate minor of its kind in the country). In 2011 he served as a judge for the Eisner Awards (the comic industry Oscars), and in 2012 he was a Special Guest at the San Diego Comic Con (the largest celebration of comic-book-culture in the country). His other teaching and research interests include contemporary literary theory, Anglo-American poetry and poetics, the history of pornography, and 1950s Rock & Roll. He used to moonlight occasionally as an actor and musician, and he still enjoys making music with friends and family when the opportunity arises.