Reading and Imagination Research Lab

Our Mission

We use interdisciplinary research to make people more aware and in control of their own deep mental engagement and growth.

In our research lab, undergraduate students work alongside faculty and community partners to explore how reading comes powerfully alive in people’s minds. We also want to know how people experience reading in educational settings.

Joining the widespread effort to strengthen literacy in our age when reading is under threat, we listen carefully to what people are experiencing when they read, because we want to help make reading easier, more enjoyable, and more powerfully transformative for everyone.

We conduct two main areas of research:

Our Team

 

Jon Singleton is the Principal Investigator of our research on the inner experience of deep mental engagement and growth, primarily in reading. Currently serving as the Chair of English at Harding University, he teaches British literature, critical theory, writing, and research.

Meredith Armitage researches existing scholarship and methodology at the interdisciplinary intersections of our work, and she helps to define research strategy for our team and to expand our networking. She is a community partner living in Searcy, Arkansas.

Allison Corbitt interviews English Learners about their experience of learning literacy skills during language acquisition. She is an undergraduate studying English and Education at Harding University.

Luke Campbell conducts research on existing scholarship and assists with survey data analysis. He is an undergraduate Interdisciplinary Studies major at Harding University.

Cooper Gary assists in analyzing survey data on students’ experiences of reading, and she also helps liaise with local schools. She is an undergraduate studying English and Education at Harding University.

Diane Hoskins helps to liaise with local schools, analyzing and reporting our findings to make them useful to administrators and teachers. She is an undergraduate studying Elementary Education at Harding University.

Rachel Miller interviews students about their experience of character-building and spiritual-formation programs in educational and religious settings. She is an undergraduate studying English at Harding University.

Holland Oliver is an IPA (Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis) researcher, interviewing people about their experiences with reading. She is an undergraduate studying English at Harding University.

Isabella Parra is an IPA (Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis) researcher, interviewing people about the effect of technology on their experiences with reading. She is an undergraduate studying English at Harding University.

Lillian Reynolds assists with research strategy and workflow planning. She is a 2025-2026 recipient of the Arkansas Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship and an undergraduate Interdisciplinary Studies major at Harding University.

Abby Watkins conducts and analyzes surveys on university students’ experiences of reading at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She is an undergraduate studying Psychology at UALR.

Caleb Williams is an IPA (Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis) researcher, interviewing people about their experiences with reading. He is an undergraduate studying Cognitive Neuroscience at Harding University.

Joshua Williams analyzes and interprets survey data, and he researches mathematical approaches and emerging technological applications for data analysis. He is an undergraduate Health Studies major at Harding University.

 

Contact Information


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At Harding University, you'll have the opportunity to be transformed academically, relationally and spiritually so you're prepared to change the world.