| Welcome to |
Gavilan College English Department |
|---|---|
Contact Information |
Cheryl Chaffin (Please note: The best way to reach me is via email.) I'm happy to schedule phone, Skype, or in-person appointments with students. |
| Academic Background | I have an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College. BA from San Jose State University. I have been with Gavilan College since 2001. Currently, I'm a Ph.D. candidate in Humanities with Union Institute & University. My doctoral studies focus on women's memoirs as a means of influencing social and political change. I'm interested in how writers create increasingly just societies through vocality of autobiographical narrative as social critique in the public sphere. |
| Areas of Expertise | Creative writing; memoir & autobiography; contemporary literature; critical thinking and textual analysis; social justice issues and ethics; women's writing; globalization and feminst theory; second language learners; openness to multiplicity of student experiences and backgrounds. |
| Course Information | In Spring 2013 I teach one section of English 1A Composition (Section 40387) online. January 30 - May 24, 2013. Click here for the course home page for English 1A. |
| Teaching Approach | Students in my English 1C courses write rhetorical & critical analysis essays and a longer research essay. We focus on good literature -- primarily critical essays and a memoir, as a means of developing and refining our writing, language, and critical capacities. Emphasis is on clarity of thought and expression and improvement in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Students are encouaged to express and deepen ideas and questions through inquiry and research (in reading and writing). I emphasize learning to speak and share aloud (in online forum discussions) as a means of increasing your intellectual confidence within academic community. My vision is that students leave my courses with developed academic skills of thinking and written expression, and with insights that facilitate compassion and understanding in relation with self and others. I intend to help students feel confident in their writing and thinking skills as they ready for transfer to the university. |