FACULTY - Colin Irvine
Associate Professor
Jobs—
The jobs I have had that don’t appear on my resume likely
say more about where I’ve been and who I am than do all
the other details printed there in those neat, straight columns.
I have in these past twenty years framed houses, nailed up siding,
worked in a factory, buffed floors and cleaned windows, finished
hardwood, welded whatever, driven a forklift (into the side of
truck), operated a backhoe, installed sprinkler systems, trained
to be a vacuum salesperson, taught skiing, coached football, and,
finally, worked as a stay-at-home dad. Except for maybe the last
item on the list, I wasn’t
terribly well suited for any of these occupations. And yet, it
seems to me that all of these experiences seem to find their
way into the classes I teach and the research I do.
Hobbies—
My hobbies include running, skiing, backpacking, buying books I
think I should read because I’m an English professor, fishing,
grilling, grilling students, and—oddly enough—using
dashes.
Hidden talents—
I can juggle, triple jump (though not far), and, on a good day,
I can guess within a few dollars how much a grocery cart full of
stuff will cost. I can also back up a trailer, change a diaper in
the dark, and, depending on whom you ask, teach (again, these are
hidden talents).
Heroes—
My dad (I know it’s trite, but he would be your hero too if
you met him), some of my students (you know who you are), my dog
(you don’t), Walter Payton, and my wife (she continues to
hang out with me even though she knows with certainty—after
more than eleven years of marriage—that the above list of
talents is exhaustive and that I am addicted to nearly all of my
hobbies).
Hopes—
I hope to keep doing what I’m doing. I hope to keep working
on a daily (and nightly) basis here at Augsburg with this uncommon
cross section of extraordinary (and extraordinarily diverse) students,
faculty, and staff. I hope that each morning when I arrive at my
office door I feel as fortunate as I did the first time I pulled
it open, peered past my new/old desk and looked out the window and
onto the quad—I knew then in that moment that I had arrived
right where I wanted to be. I hope to help my students take steps
toward achieving their own dreams, toward arriving at their respective
window on the quad.
Serious stuff—
I received my B.A. from Carroll College in Helena, Montana, my M.A.
in American Studies at Notre Dame (Go Irish!), and my Ph.D. in English
from Marquette University. I have a secondary education teaching
licensure from Carroll and, prior to returning to the ivy tower
to earn my doctorate, I taught history and English at my high school
alma mater for three years.
Here at Augsburg, I teach courses in American literature, English education methods, and composition. My research interests include the intersection of narratology and epistemology (I’m interested in how we can use stories to cultivate ways of knowing), environmental literature (specifically, the work of Aldo Leopold), and issues pertaining to literature and the American West (I’m from Idaho, and I mentally revisit to the mountains on a daily basis). I am also very much interested in writing fiction, though as a writer I am more of a Salieri than I am a Mozart.
Student Writing Samples
ENL 240 Introduction to Literary Study
Syllabus Fall 2006
Intro to Lit Sample Student Hamlet
Paper
Intro to Lit Synthesis Student Essay
ESE 350 5-12 Methods: Literature and
Reading
Syllabus Fall 2006
Sample Student Individualized Reading
Assignment
Student Sample Specialized Reading
Plan
ENG 480 Honors
Honors 480 Research Seminar
Syllabus
Humanities Introduction to ASAC
Social Sciences Introduction
Sr. Keystone Paper
Final Reflection Essay 1
Final Reflection Essay 2