Barry Albert Wood

Barry Albert Wood is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of English at the University of Houston's College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. A Canadian-born naturalized American, he has been active in academia since the 1960s, contributing extensively to American literature, environmental discourse, Big History, and narrative theory.

• Education:
  • B.A., University of Toronto
  • M.A., University of British Columbia
  • Ph.D., Stanford University (interdisciplinary in English, Humanities, and Religious Studies)

Wood's research synthesizes four core areas: literature (notably Native American and 19th-century American fiction), environmental humanities (spanning ecological education and technosphere analysis), Big History (as a founding member of IBHA), and narrative theory (examining temporal structures and transdisciplinary synthesis). His 2009-2018 work focused on cosmic narratives and deep time epistemology.

The 15 most recent publications reveal a trajectory from nuclear astrophysics to cosmic consciousness, with recurring themes of temporal frameworks, interdisciplinary storytelling, and the ecological consequences of human systems. His awards include the Ontario Arts Council Award for Malcolm Lowry: The Writer and His Critics (1980).

• Notable Courses:
  • COSMIC NARRATIVES (ILAS 2360/ENGL 2340)
  • Native American Literature (ENGL 3349)
  • History of Narrative/Narrative Theory