Christina Shea
Professional Title: M.F.A. Creative Writing Faculty
Areas of Academic Focus and Expertise:
Fiction
Representative List of Recent Courses Taught:
Distance-Learning Courses:
· Creative Writing I-IV
· Craft and Reflection I-III
· Graduating Seminar Preparation
· Creative Thesis
Residency Seminars:
· Casting the Spell: Point of View at Work
Education: B.A. in English & Art, Kenyon College, Distinction on Senior Theses
Reed College (One Year Visitor Program)
M.F.A. in Creative Writing, University of Michigan
Representative List of Recent Publications / Exhibitions:
Novels:
Moira's Crossing
Smuggled
Guides:
Frommer’s Guide to Budapest
Frommer’s Guide to Europe
Teaching Philosophy: I don't have a philosophy of teaching, I have a method. It is a conversation between you and me, author and reader, writer to writer. I dedicate myself to this meta-cognitive exchange. Complex communication we are up to: challenging, influential, instructional, transparent. Our work together requires focus, humility, and not a small amount of courage. That smooth sheet of paper you have typed up is now a tactile geological surface, and there are no rules except those to be broken, nor is there a compass. Still there is navigation, you can feel your way, and I can orient you to the star filled dark.
I like to know what you do when you write. I like to examine this process and help you articulate it and foster self-determination in your work. I want to know what you read and why you write. I want to give new definition to what inspires your learning.
Awards: Barnes & Noble Discover New Writers Selection; Mary Ingraham Bunting Institute Fellowship; Soros Foundation Grant.
Past Affiliations: Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering; Attila Jozsef University, Hungary.