Professor of Rhetoric

Assistant Professor of English

Associate Professor of English

Biography

Prof. Thea Gavin has taught writing at Concordia University since 1997. The wild landscapes of Orange County (and beyond) inspire her poetry and creative nonfiction, which have been published in a variety of media.

Degrees Earned

• BA English Concordia University Irvine
• MA English (Rhetoric and Composition Emphasis) Cal State Fullerton
• MFA Writing (Poetry Emphasis) Spalding University Louisville, KY

Courses

• WRT 201: Art of the Essay
• WRT 323: Intro to Genre and Craft in Creative Writing
• WRT 324: Writing for Children and Teenagers
• WRT 329: Creative Nonfiction
• ENG 383: Modern and Contemporary Poetry

Professor of English

Biography

Dr. Kurt Krueger was elected president of Concordia University Irvine in 2010. Prior to his election, Dr. Krueger was the Executive Director of the Board for University Education of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and President of the Concordia University System. From 1986 to 2005, he was a professor of English at Concordia University Irvine and served as provost for nine years. He has also served on the faculty at Concordia University Wisconsin. Dr. Krueger has authored several articles on the life and work of Ernest Hemingway, has written about servant leadership for Concordia Publishing House, and speaks frequently about the characteristics of Christian colleges and universities and the value of Lutheran higher education. Dr. Krueger and his wife Val have two married children and one grandchild.

Degrees Earned

• PhD in English Indiana University of Pennsylvania
• MA in English Marquette University
• MAT in English Studies Lewis and Clark College
• BA in English Valparaiso University

Assistant Professor of English

Biography

Professor Lee currently teaches Postcolonial Literature, Modern Novel, Literary Criticism, Literary Theory and Film as Literature.

He has led over 100 students to 30 countries since 2007. In addition to leading summer mission trips to China, India, East Africa, and Guatemala, he led the first two Around-the-World Semesters and has backpacked in almost 80 countries on six continents.

He lived in Asia for nine years where he trained teachers and taught university English in South Korea, China and Mongolia.

Lee is a founding board member of Fikisha, an NGO working with street boys in Kenya, and has partnered with LCMS World Missions, YWAM, E3, Operational Mobilization, Cup of Cold Water Ministries, the Sisters of Charity and World Mission Prayer League.

Education

• M.A. English Literature - University of St. Thomas (1994)
• B.A. English Literature - Concordia University Irvine (1992)

Associate Professor of English

Education

• Ph. D. - English, Sheffield Hallam University
• M.A. - California State University, Fullerton
• B.A. - Point Loma Nazarene University

Biography

Dr. Norton teaches courses in Shakespearean drama, 18^th-century British literature, and American literature. He also teaches in the English core curriculum. Although primarily a Shakespearean, Norton’s academic interests are wide, and he enjoys uncovering and analyzing the life in Shakespeare and other literature in his classes and in his writing. Norton’s articles have appeared in Shakespeare, Early Modern Literary Studies, and Continuum Renaissance Drama.

Norton is one of the leaders and developers of the Around-the-World Semester. He and his family, wife Erica, son Jack, and daughter Naomi, traveled around the world with the first ATW team in 2010. Norton worked with the 2012 ATW team in India and Bolivia. Through his work with the ATW semester, Norton has helped to design the Global Cultural Studies Minor and the International Studies Major.

Some of Dr. Norton’s fondest memories at Concordia are from his years as head coach of the men’s and women’s tennis teams, 2005-2010.

Teaching

• Shakespeare
• American Literature
• Seminar in English
• Core English
• Writing and Research

Biography

Camelia Raghinaru has recently completed her PhD in English at the University of Florida (May 2012) and teaches literature in the Core Curriculum at Concordia University, Irvine. Her research interests include 20th-century British literature; modernism and imperialism; Judaic studies and utopian studies; and critical theory. Her publications include articles on James Joyce, Joseph Conrad, and D. H. Lawrence. Courses taught in the last five years include Twentieth-Century British Novel, Advanced Argumentative Writing, Surveys of British, American, and World Literature, Technical Writing, and Rhetoric and Academic Research.

Degrees Earned

• Ph.D., English, University of Florida (2012)
• M.A., English, University of Central Arkansas (2005)
• MSE, English Education, Harding University (2002)
• B.A., English Language and Literature / Romanian Language and Literature, University of Transilvania, Romania (1999)

Academic Interests

20th-Century British Literature; Modernism and Imperialism; Judaic studies and Utopian studies; Critical Theory

Languages

• Romanian (native language)
• English (native-like fluency)
• Spanish (advanced reading knowledge and intermediate spoken knowledge)
• French (intermediate reading knowledge)

Publications

• “Molly Bloom and the Comedy of Remarriage.” FORUM: University of Edinburgh Postgraduate Journal of Culture and Arts. Issue 15: Imitation and Repetition, 2012
• “Messianism and the Abject: Reading D. H. Lawrence’s The Plumed Serpent”(forthcoming)
• “History in Ruins: Reading Joseph Conrad’s Nostromo” (forthcoming)

Presentations

• “Subjectivity and the Social Other in Judith Butler’s The Psychic Life of Power,” Home/sickness: Desire, Decay, and the Seduction of Nostalgia, English Graduate Organization Conference, University of Florida, November 2009
• “Writing the ‘Degree Zero of Resentment in Twentieth Century Fiction’: Nationalism and the Rationalization of Violence in Joyce's Ulysses, the ‘Cyclops’,” Metropolis and Colony Conference, University of Florida, March 2009
• “The Modernist European Novel in Crisis,” The National Summer School at Tescani, Romania, August 1999. Awarded the Soros Foundation Scholarship.

Certifications and Memberships

• Teacher Certification for Secondary English, 2002-2007
• National Writing Project Teacher-Consultant, August 2003
• Modern Language Association, Member

Academic Service

English Graduate Student Organization member-at-large, 2007-present, executive-at-large, 2009-2010, University of Florida, 2009-2010

Academic Employment

• Resident Faculty, Department of English, Concordia University, Irvine, CA 2012-present
• Instructor, Department of English, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 2007-2012

Courses

• Core 201 - World Literature to the Renaissance
• Core 202 - World Literature from the Enlightenment
• WRT 333 - Literature and Writing

Professor of English

Biography

Professor Schmidt has over 20 years experience teaching college writing, Romantic and Victorian Literature, and Modern Drama. In addition to teaching, Professor Schmidt serves as Lead Faculty for Freshman Writing and advisor for the literary magazine, The Aerie. She is also the Director for Concordia's Writing Center. Professional memberships include the National Council of Teachers of English, the Conference on College Composition and Communication and The Association of Writers and Writing Programs.

Degrees Earned

• M.F.A. Creative Writing. Chapman University, Orange, CA (2007)
• M.A. English Literature. University of California Irvine (1991)
• B.A. English. Concordia College. River Forest, IL. (1980)

Courses

• Eng 362 English Literature II
• Eng 387 Modern and Contemporary Drama
• Wrt 102 Writing and Research
• Wrt 327 Creative Writing: Fiction
• Wrt 328 Creative Writing: Poetry
• Wrt 427 Advanced Creative Writing

Department Chair, Professor of English