David Lavery (August 27, 1949 – August 30, 2016) was an American linguist and professor of English at

Middle Tennessee State University Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a Public university, public research university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight Undergraduate education, undergraduate colleges as ...

who specialized in studying pop culture, especially television. From 2006 to 2008 he served as Chair in Film & Television at

Brunel University Brunel University of London (BUL) is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It is named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution. It became a university ...

in London. He authored or edited over 20 books on popular culture, including ''Conversations with

Joss Whedon Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon ( ; born June 23, 1964) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, comic book writer, and composer. He is best known as the creator of several television series: the supernatural drama ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer' ...

''. He co-produced (with George Tennyson) ''Owen Barfield: Man and Meaning'' (1994; directed and edited by Ben Levin), a documentary portrait of

Owen Barfield Arthur Owen Barfield (9 November 1898 – 14 December 1997) was an English philosopher, author, poet, critic, and member of the Inklings. Life Barfield was born in London, to Elizabeth (née Shoults; 1860–1940) and Arthur Edward Barfield (186 ...

. Lavery was considered an expert on several television series, including ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...

,'' '' Lost'', and ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film, also written by Whedon, a ...

''.

Partial bibliography

Authored works

* ''Late for the Sky: The Mentality of the Space Age''

Edited works

* ''Conversations with

'' * ''Seinfeld: Master of its Domain'' * ''Deny All Knowledge: Reading

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...

'' * ''Fighting the Forces'' * ''Reading the Sopranos'' * ''Reading Deadwood'' * ''This Thing of Ours: Investigating the Sopranos''

References

1949 births 2016 deaths Middle Tennessee State University faculty Academics of Brunel University London {{US-English-academic-bio-stub