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Chris Girman, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, English


Pictured is Chris Girman. Submitted photo.Contact Information

Education

  • Bachelor of Arts, International Affairs, The George Washington University
  • Master of Fine Arts, Creative Writing, The University of Texas Pan-American
  • Juris Doctorate and Master of Arts, Law and Latin American Studies, The University of Texas at Austin
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Writing/Nonfiction, University of Illinois at Chicago

Courses Taught

  • Introduction to Creative Writing
  • Creative Nonfiction Workshop
  • The Art of the Short Story
  • LGBTQ Literature & Culture
  • Latinx Literature
  • Sport Literature & Culture
  • James Baldwin

Background

Chris Girman, Ph.D., J.D., is an associate professor specializing in creative nonfiction for the Department of Literature, Culture, and Society at Point Park University. Prior to joining Point Park, Girman was a faculty member in the Department of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Illinois Institute of Technology. In addition to creative nonfiction writing, including sports writing and travel writing, Girman specializes in masculinity studies, Latin American/Latino literature, LGBTQIA studies, and American Realism of the 19th Century. Girman has also worked as a history and bilingual specialist for B.L. Garza Middle School in Edinburg, Texas, and as a pro bono attorney for the South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project in Harlingen, Texas, providing legal support for undocumented children detained at the U.S./Mexico border. For nearly a decade, Girman bartended at TGI Fridays, and he continues to Uber drive, both of which supply an endless amount of material for his writing.

Curriculum Vitae

Research Interests

  • Theory and Craft of the Memoir
  • Theory and Craft of the Personal Essay
  • Literary Journalism
  • Sports Writing
  • Travel Writing
  • Performative Ethnography
  • Cultural Criticism
  • Classroom Pedagogy
  • Masculinity Studies
  • LGBTQIA Studies
  • Latin American Literature
  • Latino Studies
  • 19th Century American Realism

Selected Publications

  • The Chili Papers, Velluminous Press, 2007.
  • Mucho Macho: Seduction, Desire and the Homoerotic Lives of Latin Men, Haworth Press: Gay and Lesbian Studies Series, 2004.
  • "Wrestling Windmills," in What I Didn't Know: True Stories of Becoming a Teacher, October 2016.
  • "Happily Lost," (Review of Sara Einstein's Mot: A Memoir), American Book Review, Spring 2016.
  • "Diaries, Dicks and Desires: How the Leaky Traveler Troubles Dominant Discourse in the Eroticized Caribbean," Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, March 2012.
  • "A Different Kind of Paradise," The Monitor, 2009.
  • "Love Poem to My Son," A Journal of Poetry, 2009.

Selected Presentations

  • “Y no se lo tragó la tierra: The Place of Anti-Oppression Education in South Texas Narratives of Resistance,” College English Association, New Orleans, March 2022. 
  • “(Not-So)Happy Objects: The Work of Sara Ahmed,” Point Park Department of Community Engagement, Pittsburgh, October 2021.
  • “Let’s Get Woke: Critical Consciousness in the CNF Classroom,” College English Association, New Orleans, March 2019.
  • “It’s Not Where You Take Things From, It’s Where You Take Things To: Creating Memorable Real-Life Characters in Unexpected Ways,” CNF Conference, Pittsburgh, 2018.
  • “Telling Sexy Stories: Sex and the Memoir,” HippoCamp, Hippocampus Magazine, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 2017.
  • "The Role of Story and Voice in Central America's Illegal Child Immigrants," UNAM Young Lawyers Summer Program, Chicago, Ill., June 2013.
  • "All About the Kids: Teacher Man Revisited," Region One Educational Forum, Edinburg, Texas, January 2010.
  • "Mucho Macho: Resistance or Reinscription?" Abriendo Brecha Conference, University of Texas at Austin, February 2007.
  • "Historical Representations of Same-Sex Desire in Esteban Echeverría's 'El Matadero' and Reinaldo Arena's 'Comienza el Desfile,'" Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, Caribbean Marginalities Conference, 2005.

Professional Licenses and Memberships

  • College English Association
  • State Bar of Texas
  • Modern Language Association
  • National Council for Teachers of English
  • Midwest Travel Writers Association

In the News

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