Thom is a film & media studies educator, film critic, film programmer, and part-time playwright based in Ann Arbor, MI, USA, where he has taught at the University of Michigan and the College for Creative Studies (Detroit). He holds an MA in Cinema Studies from New York University-Tisch School of the Arts and an MA in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago. He has developed and taught film & media studies courses at other leading U.S. higher-ed institutions, including the University of Colorado-Boulder and the University of Denver. He has regularly written on film for Cineaste magazine, the Chicago Tribune, AlterNet.org, and the Conversation.com, et al. He awaits the end of the Internet (as we know it) with optimism.
Education
MA Cinema Studies — New York University-Tisch School of the Arts, 1990
MA Social Sciences — University of Chicago
BA Liberal Arts — University of Colorado, 1986
Areas of Expertise
Did Edgar Allan Poe Invent Detective Fiction?
It doesn’t take a Sherlock Holmes to deduce which writer pioneered detective fiction. Edgar Allan Poe also gave life to the horror short story.
Jean Baudrillard, the Postmodernist Philosopher-Provocateur of Hyperreality
The French philosopher-provocateur, Jean Baudrillard, was one of the rare celebrities of late-20th-century Western intellectual life.
Charlotte Brontë’s “Jane Eyre,” the Literary Classic Praised by Queen Victoria
Few vintage British books boast Queen Victoria’s praise, but she called Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre an “intensely interesting novel.”
The Tragic Life and Genius of Edgar Allan Poe, the Poet Who Was Shadowed by His Inner Demons
Edgar Allan Poe was a pioneer of horror and detective fiction. His life reads like a tragic tale of a man shadowed by inner demons.
The Fascinating Story Behind Peter Pan and How It Became So Famous
This article explores J.M. Barrie’s enchanting fairy tale which follows Peter Pan and his adventures with Wendy Darling, the Lost Boys and Captain Hook.
Why Did Baudrillard Claim That “America Is the World Center of the Inauthentic”?
Jean Baudrillard’s America went in search of “astral America,” its deserts, highways, empty spaces, and crowded, lonely streets. What did he find there?
Why H.G. Wells’ “The Time Machine” Is a Timely Warning to the World
Wells’ The Time Machine didn’t only set time traveling as a mainstay of science-fiction. It also reads as a timely warning to the world.
Who Was Friedrich Nietzsche’s “Übermensch”?
What is the concept of “Übermensch” or “overman” developed by German thinker Friedrich Nietzsche? This article explains the importance of “Übermensch” within Nietzsche’s philosophy.
Bikers, Outlaws, and Mobsters: A Brief History of New Hollywood
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, a new generation of filmmakers rescued the Hollywood studios from a financial fade-out. What was this New Hollywood?
A Journey Through Dante’s Inferno: A Brief Guide
Dante’s Inferno is hailed as a medieval masterpiece and a precursor to the Renaissance, with T.S. Eliot having ranked it alongside Shakespeare.
Anne Frank Heroically Lives on Through Her Diaries
Few diaries are as treasured as the one written by Anne Frank, a precocious, gabby girl living in Holland during World War II.
Voltaire’s Candide: Exploring the Philosophy of Optimism
How did Voltaire take the 18th-century Enlightenment’s rose-colored outlook and paint it into a black comedy titled Candide?