Jeremy T.
Mumford
Division:
Humanities
Department:
English/
Developmental
Contact Info:
Phone: (209) 384-6178
mumford.j@mccd.edu
Currently (*) and Previously Taught Courses:
English 80
English 81
English 84
English A*
English 1A Online*
English 1A Online Short
Term*
English 41
English 1B
English 12*
Useful Student Links (includes links to online writing centers, communities, resources, class PowerPoint presentations, and supporting sites for class content and themes)
Useful Teacher Links (includes online composition studies, teaching resources and development, and links to scholarly journals)
Welcome!
Teaching Statement in Brief:
My approach to teaching stems from social constructionists such as Kenneth Bruffee, Patricia Bizzell, and James Berlin, combined with critical pedagogy as defined through Paulo Freire and Henry Giroux. In this regard, I treat my students like fellow scholars, introducing them to the complex texts and ideas that will enable them to develop as a more critical student and citizen. Foundational to this belief is the understanding that reading, writing, and critical thinking are inherently linked to one another, and, although often taught as separate classes, must inform each other at every level of coursework. As such, in my classes we read, write, and talk about texts, written, visual, and oral, that help us understand our diverse cultures and backgrounds. Students enjoy the collaborative assignments and group work which define my teaching style. I also lecture to supplement the reading and writing across the curriculum/disciplines in which we engage. Students learn to employ different strategies using their own communities and activities to elaborate on and construct meaning. As a student in my class, expect to communicate with me and other students on a regular basis, reflecting and analyzing current issues, popular ideas, and texts throughout cultures, and, finally, your own development, history, and future as a critical student and citizen.
Personal
History in Brief:
My own academic "career" started when I left the small high school of rural Tulare, California during the second half of my senior year. I obtained my General Education Degree and found employment delivering pizzas in the larger, to me, city of Fresno, California. After a brief stint in San Francisco as a Dead Head and living in my '64 Volkswagen bus for several months, I headed north to Pelican, Alaska where I worked panning for gold, on the fishing boat Unimak as a deckhand, in a chocolate shop, and a cold storage's deep freezer. After hitchhiking and riding freight trains down the Pacific coast back to California, I moved to Santa Cruz, California where I decided to further my education. While attaining a Bachelor of Arts in English, I worked full time as a janitor, landscaper, aid to persons with disabilities, marketing consultant, and, finally, writing tutor. Upon pursuit of my Master of Arts in English, Composition Theory and Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, Poetry, I began my professional teaching career. After graduation, I became a full time instructor here at Merced College.
Updated 4/04/06 by Jeremy Mumford