Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Greensboro
M.A., Hollins College
M.A., The College of William and Mary
B.A., Emory and Henry College
(Editor) The Ivory Tower, Harry Potter, and Beyond. University of Missouri Press, 2023.
(Author) Murder, In Fact: Disillusionment and Death in the American True Crime Novel. McFarland, 2020.
(Editor) Critical Insights: The Hunger Games Trilogy. Grey House, 2016.
(Co-editor, with M. Katherine Grimes) Critical Insights: The Harry Potter Series. Grey House, 2015.
(Editor) The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter: Perspectives on a Literary Phenomenon. University of Missouri Press, 2002.
(Review) “Fairy Tales of Appalachia” by Stacy Sivinski, Appalachian Journal, Spring/Summer 2023, 295-98.
“Coming of Age in the Opioid Era: Demon Copperfield.” Review of Demon Copperfield by Barbara Kingsolver. Appalachian Journal, Fall 2022/Winter 2023.
“Here Be Dragons and Phoenixes: A Thematic Direction for the Fantastic Beasts Series.” Potterversity: The Book! Edited by Katy McDaniel and Emily Strand. Lexington, 2019.
With Sharon E. Stein. “Arts in the Laboratory: An Inquiry-Based Multidisciplinary Approach to Honors Education,” The Synergistic Classroom: Interdisciplinary Teaching in the Small College Setting. Edited by Corey Campion and Aaron Angello. Rutgers University Press, 2020.
“Saving Ourselves: A Conversation with Beth Macy,” Appalachian Journal, vol. 27, nos. 1-2, Fall-Winter 2020, 38-53.
(editor) “Saving Ourselves: A Symposium on the Opioid Epidemic,” Appalachian Journal, vol. 27, nos. 1-2, Fall-Winter 2020, 54-79.
“A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Greaser.” In Critical Insights: The Outsiders. Edited by M. Katherine Grimes. Gray House, 2018.
“From Sorcerer’s Stone to Deathly Hallows: The Failed Quest for Immortality in the Harry Potter Series.” In Critical Insights: The Harry Potter Series. Edited by Lana A. Whited and M. Katherine Grimes. Hackensack, NJ: Grey House, 2015, 306-25.
“A Survey of the Critical Reception of the Harry Potter Series.” In Critical Insights: The Harry Potter Series. Edited by Lana A. Whited and M. Katherine Grimes. Hackensack, NJ: Grey House, 2015, 49-81.
“From Hogwarts Academy to the Hero’s Journey.” Teaching with Harry Potter: Essays on Classroom Wizardry from Elementary School to College. Edited by Valerie Estelle Frankel. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2013, 4-20.
“The Ballad of Tom Dooley” by Sharyn McCrumb.” Review, Appalachian Journal, 40.1-2 (2013), 125-27.
Frankel, Valerie Estelle. “Lana Whited: Headmistress and Creator of Hogwarts Academy.” Interview. In Harry Potter: Still Recruiting. Zossima, 2012.
“Coal Miner’s Daughter as Reality Show Contestant: A Review of The Hunger Games on Film.” Journal of Appalachian Studies, 18.1-2 (2012), 326-31.
“True Crime Stories.” Masterplots: Critical Survey of Mystery and Detective Fiction. Edited by Carl Rollyson. Salem Press, 2008. Five volumes.
Review of “Never Seen the Moon: The Trials of Edith Maxwell” by Sharon Hatfield. Appalachian Journal 33 (2006), 354-58.
“Blue Ridge Institute and Museum.” Encyclopedia of Appalachia. Edited by Jean Haskell Speer and Rudy Abramson. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2006.
“1492, 1942, 1992: The Theme of Race in the Harry Potter Series.” Through the Looking Glass, 10.1 (2006). http://www.the-looking-glass.net/rabbit/v10i1/alice5.html. Previously presented at conferences of the South Atlantic Modern Language Association and the Popular Culture Association of America/Popular Culture Association of the South.
Review of “Ghost Riders” by Sharyn McCrumb. Appalachian Journal, 31.3-4 (2004), 416-18.
“‘Based on a True Story’: Using The Ballad of Frankie Silver to Teach the Conventions of Narrative.” From a Race of Storytellers: Essays on The Ballad Novels of Sharyn McCrumb. Edited by Kimberley M. Holloway. Mercer University Press, 2003, 33-50. Available on AppLit: Resources for Teaching Appalachian Literature for Children and Young Adults. Edited by Tina Hanlon. www.ferrum.edu/thanlon/applit.htm
“Naturalism’s Middle Ages: The Nonfiction Homicide Novel 1930-1960.” In Twisted from the Ordinary: Essays on American Literary Naturalism. Edited by Mary Papke. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2003. Also presented at the 1999 South Atlantic Modern Language Association Conference, Atlanta.
“McGonagall’s Prophecy Fulfilled: The Harry Potter Critical Library.” The Lion and Unicorn, 27.3 (2003), 416-25.
“What Would Harry Do? J. K. Rowling and Lawrence Kohlberg’s Theories of Moral Development.” In The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter. University of Missouri Press, 2002, 182-208.
Review of Songcatcher by Sharyn McCrumb. Appalachian Journal, 30 (Spring 2002).
Review of Frankie, a new play by William Gregg and Perry Deane Young. Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre, Mars Hill College, August 2001. http://www.ferrum.edu/lwhited/frankie.htm.
Review of A Tree Accurst: Bobby McMillan and Stories of Frankie Silver, by Daniel Patterson. Appalachian Journal, Spring 2001, 394-97.
Interactive News Reporting Assignment. duPont Instruction Technology Center Faculty Workshop, Ferrum College, Summer 2000. Supported by a duPont Foundation grant. Available upon request (on CD).
Frankie Silver Resources, May 16, 2000. http://www.ferrum.edu/lwhited/silver.htm. Webliography created in conjunction with the Appalachian College Association WebShop at Ferrum College, May 2000. Supported by a grant from the ACA.
“Suicide in Beth Henley’s Crimes of the Heart and Marsha Norman’s ’night, Mother.” The Southern Quarterly, 36.1 (Fall 1997), 65-74.
The Iron Blade: A Handbook for Staff Members. Ferrum College, 1996.
“An American Tragedy” (annotated bibliography). Masterplots: Twentieth Anniversary Revised Second Edition, 1996.
“Torch Song Trilogy” (summary and critical analysis). Masterplots: Twentieth Anniversary Revised Second Edition, 1996.
“Key Chapters in Harry Potter.” Conference panel moderated by me with Melissa Aaron and Lorrie Kim as co-presenters. Chestnut Hill Harry Potter Academic Conference, October 20, 2023.
“The Ivory Tower, Harry Potter, and Beyond: A Sampler of the Forthcoming Anthology.” Conference panel moderator with Madison McLeod, Catherine Olver, and Carsten Kullmann as presenters. Chestnut Hill Harry Potter Academic Conference, October 20, 2023.
“Why You Should Read Hogwarts: A History.” Chestnut Hill Harry Potter Academic Conference, Chestnut Hill, Pa., October 16, 2020.
Featured speaker. “Here Be Dragons and Phoenixes.” Chestnut Hill Harry Potter Academic Conference, Chestnut Hill, Pa., October 19, 2019.
Respondent. “Magic or Mendacity: Harry Potter and Muggle Politics.” South Atlantic Modern Language Association Conference, Atlanta, November 4, 2017.
“Reporting from Oklahoma: John Grisham’s The Innocent Man as Successor to Capote’s In Cold Blood.” Truman Capote Literary Society. South Atlantic Modern Language Association Conference, Atlanta, November 3, 2017.
“The Odds Are Never in Her Favor: Are Heroines Just YA Fantasy?” Keynote address. Beauxbatons Academy, Queen City Mischief & Magic (a Harry Potter festival), Staunton, Va., September 22, 2017.
“The Life and Legacy of Nicolas Flamel.” Roanoke Harry Potter Festival, Roanoke, Va., May 13, 2017.
“Reporting from Kansas: Capote’s In Cold Blood and the Tradition of American Literary Naturalism.” Truman Capote Literary Society. South Atlantic Modern Language Association Conference, Jacksonville, Fl., November 2016.
“The Ferrum College Honors Capstone.” National Collegiate Honors Council Conference, New Orleans, November 6-10, 2013.
“The Ferrum College Honors Capstone.” National Collegiate Honors Council Conference, New Orleans, November 6-10, 2013.
“Harry Potter and the Postcolonial View.” Children’s Literature Association. Christopher Newport University, June 2007.
Stein, Sharon E., and Lana A. Whited. “A Cognitive-Based Approach to Teaching Media and Violence.” Presentation by Sharon E. Stein at the National Council on Family Relations Conference, Minneapolis, 2007.
“Harry Potter as Hidden Child.” The Holocaust in Literature and Film Session. South Atlantic Modern Language Association, Charlotte, November 2006.
With Susan Virginia Mead. “Region and Herstory: Bringing Women’s Voices into the Teaching Space.” Regional Study and the Liberal Arts: An Appalachian Exemplar. NEH Institute. Ferrum College, June 8, 2006.
“Violence in Entertainment Media and Its Antisocial and Prosocial Effects.” ANIFEST: International Festival of Animated Film. Sponsored by the Permanent Committee for the Media of the Czech Parliament. Trébon, Czech Republic, May 7, 2005.
Fellow. Salzburg Global Seminar. No. 416: “Ethics in News Reporting and Editing.” Salzburg, Austria, February 18-25, 2004.
With M. Katherine Grimes. “The Use of Topics in the Freshman Seminar: A Round-Table Discussion.” The Fifteenth International Conference on The First-Year Experience. Bath, United Kingdom, July 1-5, 2002.
“A Myth of the South: The Coen Brothers’ O Brother, Where Art Thou.” Presented at the annual meeting of the South Atlantic Modern Language Association. Atlanta, November 2001.
“‘Based on a True Story’: Using The Ballad of Frankie Silver to Teach the Conventions of Narrative.” Appalachian Teachers Network. Radford University, September 2000.
With M. Katherine Grimes. “Magic Can Help Make Us Moral: Harry Potter and the Theories of Lawrence Kohlberg.” Children’s Literature Association Conference. Roanoke, Va., June 2000.
With Stephanie Humphries and Camille Wright Miller. “‘Talking 9 to 5’: Communication Tips for Women.” Ferrum College Women’s Leadership Conference, March 2000.
“A Journalism Professor’s Perspective on the News Media and the ‘Copycat’ Effect.” “Scoring Big: Does Media Violence Make Johnny Kill?” Presentation with Dr. M. Katherine Grimes, Dr. Susan Mead, and Dr. Sharon Stein at the Popular Culture Association of American Conference, Roanoke, Va., October 1999.
“America’s Crime and Punishment: Keeping Capote in the Canon and the Classroom.” 1999 meeting of the College English Association. Philadelphia, April 1999.
“Using the Facts to Tell the Truth: Turn-of-the-Century Murder Cases as a Source for Theodore Dreiser.” 1999 Virginia Humanities Conference. Mary Baldwin College, March 19, 1999.
“Well, I Just Don’t Understand It”: Fargo as Morality Tale. 24th Annual Conference on Film and Literature. Florida State University, January 28-30, 1999.
“The Murderer as Savior: Christian Imagery and Ideology in Sling Blade.” 1998 SAMLA Conference, Atlanta, November 6, 1998.
With Tina Hanlon. “The Language of Leadership: What Women Leaders Need to Know About Words.” Ferrum College Women’s Leadership Conference, October 1997.
With Tina Hanlon. “Ferrum Performers Keep Jack Tales Alive.” alca-lines: Journal of The Assembly on the Literature and Culture of Appalachia. NCTE 5.1 (1997), 20-23.
“An Appointment with Death: Awaiting Execution in An American Tragedy and In Cold Blood.” South Atlantic Modern Language Association, Savannah, Ga., November 1996. Funded by ACA grant.
“The Gospel According to Betts: Religious Attitudes in Two Short Stories.” Society for the Study of Southern Literature. The University of Richmond, April 1996.
“If on a Winter’s Night a Reader: Metaphors for Reading in Italo Calvino’s If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler.” Virginia Humanities Conference. University of Virginia, March 1996.
“Suicide in ‘night, Mother and Crimes of the Heart.” Virginia Humanities Conference. Christopher Newport University, March 1994.
“Piety Perverted: Religion in A Confederacy of Dunces.” Philological Association of the Carolinas. Winthrop College, 1988.
“Carrie’s Sisters: The Other Women in Dreiser’s First Novel.” Philological Association of the Carolinas. University of South Carolina, 1982.
“Teaching with Magic,” hosted by Elise Trudel Cedeño. Season 1, Episode 13: “Mischief Managed with Dr. Lana Whited,” December 11, 2023.
Potterversity (MuggleNet), hosted by Katy McDaniel and Emily Strand. Episode 43: “Live! From the Chestnut Hill Harry Potter Academic Conference 2023,” November 13, 2023. Episode 30: “Calling in from the Harry Potter Academic Conference,” January 9, 2023, with hosts and Laurie Beckoff, Lauren Camacci, and Louise Freeman.
Episode 23: “Secrets of Dumbledore: Outtakes and Conversations,” with hosts and Beatrice Groves, Emma Nicholson, and Louise Freeman, June 13, 2022.
Episode 13: “Don’t Know Much About . . . Arithmancy,” with hosts. Reading, Writing, Rowling (MuggleNet), hosted by Katy McDaniel September 13, 2021.
Episode 44: “The Ickabog: Thoughts in Progress” with John Granger (co-host) and John Patrick Pazdziora, July 20, 2020.
Episode 39: “When in Doubt, Go to the Library: The Books Within the Books.” With Emily Strand (co-host), May 11, 2020.
Episode 38: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Virus” with Emily Strand (co-host), Neil Fredericksen, Jamie Gilbert, and Miranda Veal, May 4, 2020.
Episode 31: “Books! And Cleverness! The Chestnut Hill Harry Potter Academic Conference (Part 2), with host Laurie Beckoff, Elise Trudel Cedeño, Louise Freeman, Patrick McCauley, Kat Sas, Emily Strand, and Karen Wendling, November 11, 2019.
Episode 30: “Books! And Cleverness! The Chestnut Hill Harry Potter Academic Conference” (Part 1), with host, Laurie Beckoff, Elise Trudel Cedeño, Louise Freeman, Patrick McCauley, Kat Sas, Emily Strand, and Karen Wendling, November 11, 2019.
Episode 22: “Transfiguring Adoption,” with host and Margie Fink, April 8, 2019.
Episode 20: “Investigating Crimes of Grindelwald,” with John Granger (co-host), March 11, 2019.
Episode 17: “Harry Potter Festivals Which Must Not Be Named,” with host, Louise Freeman, Elizabeth Baird Hardy, and Amy Sturgis, December 20, 2018.
Episode 1: “Reading, Writing, Rowling, Roanoke!” with host, John Granger(co-host), Louise Freeman, Elizabeth Baird Hardy, and Emily Strand. August 14, 2017.
MuggleNet Academia (MuggleNet), hosted by John Granger and Keith Hawk. Lesson 45: “Harry Potter and The Hunger Games: Critical Insights” with hosts and Elizabeth Baird Hardy and Amy Sturgis, May 30, 2016.
