Dr. Steven Sherwood Q&A

Teaching in the MLA since:				2007
Specialty/Area of Research:				Writing (Fiction and Nonfiction)
MLA Courses Taught:				Literature of Survival Novel Writing Autobiography as Creative Nonfiction Reading and Writing Nature Humor in Theory and Practice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How many years have you been teaching in the MLA program and what class or classes have you taught?

I’ve taught for the MLA program since 2007.   My courses, both in-person and online, include the following: Literature of Survival, Novel Writing, Autobiography as Creative Nonfiction, Reading and Writing Nature, and Humor in Theory and Practice (which I haven’t taught in about ten years).  I normally teach two or three MLA courses a year. 

Tell us a little bit about your specialty or area of research?

My main specialty is writing (fiction and nonfiction). I have an MFA in creative writing from the University of Montana and a Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Composition from TCU.  I wrote my dissertation on the rhetorical and pedagogical uses of humor.  Now that I’m retired from my full-time job as the director of the TCU Center for Writing, I’m working on a novel, spending time with my three granddaughters, and backpacking and exploring the Rockies and the canyonlands of Utah and Arizona as often as I can. 

How does your background inform your teaching and scholarship?

I created all of the courses I teach based on my interests (which I hope students will share).  I went through a survival experience as a college student (hiking in Copper Canyon, Mexico) and have been interested in survival ever since.  Since I’ve written and published two novels and works of nonfiction (including nature writing), I also drew on these experiences to create my courses.

 

 

How do you try to make the material in your class engaging considering most students complete their MLA degree 100% online?

 I try to design assignments to allow students to explore and write about aspects of their own experience (and life events).  I also try to choose topics I hope most people can relate to and find inherently interesting.

What is an interesting fact about yourself that you like to share with your students?

As a college student, I spent three summers as a National Park Service trash collector in Rocky Mountain National Park, which made me more aware of environmental issues.  I met one of my best friends there, and fifty years later we still get together for two or three backpack or canoe trips each year.

What advantages do you think there are to getting a Master’s Degree in the Liberal Arts? How can it be helpful in the “real world”?

That’s a tough question since the MLA degree doesn’t necessarily prepare someone for a specific job or career.  But like all college degrees, the MLA offers a wide-ranging education that, depending on how much a student puts into it, can prove useful in whatever career they pursue.  I think the degree is probably most useful to people who simply want to know more about themselves and the world (including those who already have a career going and want to learn for learning’s sake).

What do you hope students walk away from your class having learned or gained?  

I’m mostly a writing teacher, so my fondest hope is that they refine their writing skills.  At the same time, I hope they learn lessons about nature, survival, uses of humor, and how other people view the world.

Tell us about your most recent publication and/or any upcoming publications you are working on.

My most recent publication is an article about how much I learned by spending a career in the writing center.  It was published in the Writing Center Journal in 2021. I’m submitting a short story I finished recently (about coaching a women’s softball team in Riverton, Wyoming, in 1978).  I’m also working on a prequel to a novel I published in 2005.  It’s a sort of literary mystery story.

Why would you encourage students to pursue an MLA degree?

I would not encourage someone whose primary goal is a specific professional career to pursue an MLA degree unless they simply want to learn more for the sake of learning.  If they want to become teachers in public schools, for instance, I would urge them to pursue a master’s degree in education.  That said, I would not discourage someone who wanted to do an MLA degree since they have the chance to learn a lot about a number of interesting ideas.