youmang 2022 New Faculty, 2022 Newsletter

Kiik Araki-Kawaguchi

Where did you live/work before coming to Western? 

I lived in a place called City Heights / Normal Heights in San Diego, CA. I worked as a staff member at UC San Diego for their First Year Experience and Transfer Year Experience programs. 

What is your area of specialty?

There are lots of things I like to talk about with students, including: first-year student transitions, transfer student transitions, first-generation student transitions, creative writing practice, poetry, fiction, speculative fiction, humor writing, standup comedy, submitting work for publication, graduate school preparation, and graduate school survival. I also love talking with other teachers about their work and pedagogical approaches; I find I learn a lot about teaching that way. 

What do you like so far about being at Western?

I find the student body to be very open-minded, compassionate with their peers, and willing to push their creativity. I’ve also found my colleagues to be wonderful, as teachers, writers, leaders and people. 

What stirs joy within you outside of your work?

My two young daughters drawing tattoos on me with markers (so long as it’s not on my face). Creative collaboration. NBA banter. 

What is your secret “superpower”?  Tell us something that others may not know about you. 

I have a pretty poor memory, generally-speaking, but I find my memory for people’s favorite music and snacks to be pretty decent. For example, I remember my sister’s high school boyfriend loved to eat water chestnuts. I think he told me that about 27 years ago. 

youmang 2022 New Faculty, 2022 Newsletter

Jenny Forsythe

Where did you live/work before coming to Western? 

Argentine writer Juan José Saer said that the best biography of a person is a list of the places they’ve lived. Here is mine: Alabama, Iowa, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Alabama, Mexico City, Los Angeles, Paris, Los Angeles, Riverside, Bellingham, Tulsa, Bellingham. 

What is your area of specialty? 

My current research project looks at French and English translations of Peruvian historian Inca Garcilaso de la Vega’s La Florida del Inca (1605), a history of Hernando de Soto’s invasion of Florida in the sixteenth century. For Garcilaso and his translators, translation included acts of writing, spoken interpretation, illustration, collecting, map-making, movement, reenactment, and object transfer. My broader interests include literatures and cultures of the early American hemisphere, transatlantic studies, and early modern histories and cultures of translation.

What do you like so far about being at Western?

Witnessing students in conversation with each other is what I like best so far. Students at Western stand out to me for their deep capacity to care for each other, support each other’s work, and build community together. I’m also very grateful for my colleagues in the English department, the arboretum, the rec center pool, and everyone who keeps the library running. 

What stirs joy within you outside of your work?

The seasons in and around Bellingham are so subtle and so dramatic at the same time. I love the long darkness of winter, the arrival of the first tiny buds in February, and the bursting fir tips in spring. 

What is your secret “superpower”? Tell us something that others may not know about you. 

I lived in the Riverside, California while my wife was finishing her PhD in Geology, and I learned to wash all the dishes with a very small amount of water in her burning hot kitchen. 

baumgal6 2020 New Faculty, 2020 Newsletter

Annmarie Sheahan

Where did you live/work before coming to Western? 

Prior to coming to Western, I taught language arts, history, and service learning at a high school in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I also was an instructor in the College of Education at the University of New Mexico, primarily teaching critical methods-based literacy courses to pre-service and practicing language arts teachers.

What is your area of specialty?

My areas of specialty are English education, young adult literature, and critical pedagogy. Much of my work focuses on the interplay between canonical works, nontraditional texts, young adult literature, and multimodality in diverse classrooms, and looks to examine the daily pedagogical choices practicing teachers make regarding the teaching of literature in the face of neoliberal reforms. My research also explores Critical Praxis Research (CPR) and Participatory Action Research (PAR) as critically conscious research methodologies that bridge the divide between practitioner and scholar.

It’s been an odd year (to say the least!) for teaching, but what do you like so far about being at Western?

This definitely has not been how I imagined my first year as an assistant professor at Western going! That being said, there have been so many bright spots in my first year here. Through advising and teaching methods courses, I have met a passionate group of students who are going to be intelligent, critical, and deeply caring future teachers. In my young adult literature courses, I have had the privilege to work with some of the most creative readers, authors, and artists I have ever met, students who understand the value of diverse, raw, and beautiful texts for adolescents (and adults!). I have had such a strong support group of faculty within our English department and am thankful for them every single day.

What stirs joy within you outside of your work?

I am a firm believer in the necessity of cultivating a life outside of work. Each and every day, I try to make time for the things in my life that bring me joy: dancing, yoga, spending time with friends and family, hiking, and hunting for authentic New Mexican food in the PNW. I always have a book on hand that I am reading simply for the pleasure of reading…and I never feel guilty about it.

What is your secret “super power”?  Tell us something that others may not know about you. 

I’m a rhythm tap dancer, choreographer, and performer. I’ve been dancing since I was five years old and it is one of my life’s passions. On long weekends and vacations, I’m typically back in Albuquerque performing with the New Mexico-based Alley Kats Tap Company or teaching choreography for the amazing middle and high school students that make up the Rio Rancho Youth Choir.

baumgal6 2020 New Faculty, 2020 Newsletter

Justin Lewis

Where did you live/work before coming to Western?

Most recently I lived in a small town called Floyd, VA. while working as an Assistant Professor of Technical Communication & Rhetoric at Virginia Tech. Before VA, I taught at universities in Nevada, Oregon and New York. I was born in southeastern Kentucky and grew up just south of the Tennessee border in Ringgold, GA.

What is your area of specialty?

My recently work considers the ways that technical/professional communication intersects with User Experience Design (UXD). I’m specifically interested in exploring and developing mixed-method research methodologies for tracing digital tool design and development vis-a-vis interfaces, interactions, navigational structures and database architectures. My research is heavily influenced by Activity Theory and Rhetorical Genre Studies. I also have an abiding interest in digital intellectual property, copyleft discourses, and digital piracy.

It’s been an odd year (to say the least!) for teaching, but what do you like so far about being at Western?

I’ve very much enjoyed the warmth and easy-going nature of many of the Western students. I’ve also very much appreciated the kindness shown to me by the faculty and English Department leadership. I’ve taught in English Departments at a few different institutions, and this one exhibits a high degree of collegiality, collaboration, and goodwill. That’s wonderful!

What stirs joy within you outside of your work?

I love rural places. The farther away from the hustle and bustle, the better. I also love working with my hands—plumbing is my favorite trade but I also enjoy carpentry and woodcarving. At present my family and I live on Orcas Island, but we’re looking for a spot east of Bellingham where we can purchase a home, raise our son, repair or build a house, and raise some plants & animals. Ideally, we’ll find a fixer-upper that needs a lot of love—we’re naturally homebodies that enjoy renovating, gardening and farming. Securing a “fixer-upper” in the country would certainly stir joy in my heart. Also: the Cascades stir joy in my very being. I want to be there all the time.

What is your secret “super power”? Tell us something that others may not know about you. 

Super Power: If you can’t find a digital copy of some piece of media (book, movie, etc.), I can probably find one for you.

Something People Don’t Know: In my other life away from Western, I’m the Facilities and Maintenance Manager at Doe Bay Resort on Orcas Island. I manage a team of workers, plan lots of really interesting construction projects, and build things like yurts, domes, cob ovens, and outdoor hot tubs.

baumgal6 2020 New Faculty, 2020 Newsletter

Jean Lee

Where did you live/work before coming to Western? 

I worked at a small liberal arts college, The College of Wooster, in Wooster, OH for two years before starting at WWU. Wooster is one of the top schools for undergraduate research and taught me a lot about mentoring students’ research and academic journeys. At Wooster, I taught courses on Caribbean literature, Asian American literature, multicultural literature, and gender and sexuality studies.

What is your area of specialty?

My areas of specialty are Caribbean and Asian American literature, with a focus on diaspora and gender, women, and sexuality studies. I’m on expert on Indo-Caribbean literature and feminism which helps me think about Afro-Asian solidarities, identity-based and coalition feminisms, and how people of color engage critically with national and supranational discourses that are celebrated as inclusive but actually maintain a problematic status quo.

It’s been an odd year (to say the least!) for teaching, but what do you like so far about being at Western?

WWU’s students are the most incredible I’ve worked with. They are open-minded, hard-working, and care deeply about social justice. I’ve had to teach about race, ethnicity, and queerness for years, and it’s such a relief to be able to say “white supremacy” or “white heteropatriarchy” to a large class without having to be afraid that someone will misinterpret my critique of racism as a direct attack on them as a white person! Rather, my students seem to be willing to take on difficult topics with a refreshing desire for profound and incisive engagement and transformation. I’ve also noticed that a large number of them also work while studying, and I find their discipline admirable. Student organization on campus, like Shred the Contract and WWU’s SUPER, is also really heartening. In terms of my colleagues, I’m blown away by the hospitality and teamwork of the faculty and staff. And lastly, I feel really confident as a junior faculty knowing that the incredible Faculty Union has got my back.

What stirs joy within you outside of your work?

Life is made up of little joys, and mine is full of them. I love the night sky in Bellingham! I also love watching hummingbirds, and I’m quite devoted to minimizing my harm to them by cleaning their feeders regularly. As a result, my duty of care sometimes veers into a burden, but they are so cute! I also am grateful for lovely walks nearby for my dogs, my wee wildflower garden coming up, and as always, cooking and eating delicious food.

What is your secret “super power”?  Tell us something that others may not know about you. 

My secret power is being able to become invisible. When I’m not teaching, and I’m on campus just to research or do yoga, I tend to blend into the crowd. It’s a superpower because I disrupt assumptions about professorial authority (yes, I love wearing tweed, but I’m not white nor male) and can be accessible to students while also having the means to aid them in my role as faculty.

coolm 2018 New Faculty, 2018 Newsletter

Jane Wong

Jane Wong holds an MFA in Poetry from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a PhD in English from the University of Washington. She is a former U.S. Fulbright Fellow and Kundiman Fellow, and received scholarships from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Squaw Valley, and the Fine Arts Work Center. The recipient of The American Poetry Review’s 2016 Stanley Kunitz Memorial Prize, Jane’s poems have appeared in journals such as Pleiades, The Volta, and Third Coast, as well as the anthologies Best American Poetry 2015 from Scribner, Best New Poets 2012 from The University of Virginia Press and The Arcadia Project: North American Postmodern Pastoral from Ahsahta Press. Jane is also the author of OVERPOUR from Action Books and is currently an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Western.

coolm 2018 New Faculty, 2018 Newsletter

Ely Shipley

Ely Shipley graduated from Purdue University with an MFA and holds a PhD from the University of Utah. He taught for many years Baruch College and CUNY in New York City before becoming a professor at Western. Ely is the author of Some Animal from Nightboat Books, Boy with Flowers, winner of the Barrow Street Press book prize judged by Carl Phillips, the Thom Gunn Award, and a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award, and On Beards: A Memoir of Passing, a letterpress chapbook from speCt! Books. His poems and cross-genre work also appear in the Seneca Review, Western Humanities Review, Crazyhorse, Prairie Schooner, Interim, Greensboro Review, Painted Bride Quarterly, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Witness, DIAGRAM, Gulf Coast, Fugue, Third Coast, and elsewhere.

coolm 2018 New Faculty, 2018 Newsletter

Kate Anderson

A specialist in nineteenth-century British literature and culture, Anderson has published on torture, military trauma, and martyrdom in relation to Victorian studies, and is currently at work on a book manuscript entitled Twisted Words: Torture and Liberalism in Imperial Britain. The project argues for the centrality of torture to Victorian history and culture, and consequently, the importance of Victorian history and culture to a global and historical understanding of torture. Tracing acts and rhetorics of torture in India, Jamaica, South Africa, the South Pacific, and Britain itself, Anderson situates state-sanctioned exceptional violence in relation to nineteenth-century liberalism and changing narratives of citizenship and human rights. Twisted Words thus helps us better understand the global implications of contemporary state violence by establishing a longer historical genealogy of torture and terrorism sanctioned explicitly by liberal Western governments. Her research and teaching interests include empire, postcolonial, and global studies; gender and sexuality studies; critical terrorism studies; political theory and philosophy; human rights; moral philosophy; phenomenology; Anglophone literature.

 

coolm 2018 New Faculty, 2018 Newsletter

Eren Odabasi

His research and teaching interests include global cinema, media policy and governance, diasporic filmmakers and audiences, and auteur theory. He has presented and published several articles on film festivals, transnational film production, and the cinemas of India. As a film critic, he has written extensively for Altyazi, the oldest and most widely read print film monthly in Turkey. In recognition of his work in film criticism, he was invited to the Talents Program of the Berlin International Film Festival twice and served as a jury member in the Semaine de la Critique section of the Cannes Film Festival in 2013.

coolm 2018 New Faculty, 2018 Newsletter

Stefania Heim

Stefania Heim is a scholar, poet, translator, editor and educator dedicated to the intersections between those pursuits. Her essays on 20th-century and contemporary American poetry, women, war, and experimental practice have appeared in The Journal of Narrative Theory, Textual Practice, Jacket2, and through Lost & Found: The CUNY Poetics Document Initiative. An essay on Walt Whitman, amputation, and archives is forthcoming in the edited collection 21 | 19: Essays in Proximity. She is author of the poetry collections A Table That Goes On for Miles (Switchback Books 2014) and HOUR BOOK, chosen by Jennifer Moxley as winner of the Sawtooth Prize and forthcoming in early 2019 by Ahsahta Press. Geometry of Shadows, her book of translations of metaphysical artist Giorgio de Chirico’s Italian poems, is forthcoming from APS Books. She is the recipient of a 2019 Translation Fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts.