Kathy Whitham

Courses

• Summer 2025
• Fall 2025

Personal Statement

FALL Quarter 2025 Classes

11 weeks: Fall quarter begins Sep 29th and ends Dec 17th. 

ENGL098: Integrated Reading & Writing - Hybrid (10 cr) T/Th 10:45 - 12:45

Learning Mode: Hybrid (Meets in person Tues & Thur 10:45 - 12:45)

Prerequisites: ENGL098 eligibility, or higher placement

Description:  This course provides students with opportunities to further develop the reading, writing, discussion, and critical thinking skills needed to write in academic settings. Topics include reading and writing processes, critical thinking strategies, study skills, and grammar instruction. Upon completion, students should be able to apply these skills toward understanding a variety of academic and career-related texts and composing a college-level essay.

Class Format: Assignments are posted on Canvas weekly. Class meets in person 2 days/week when assignments are due. In-person class hours are spent working with the instructor and classmates on skills you can use in ENGL&101 and other college transfer courses. 

Required Texts: Texts provided in Canvas and in classroom

Instructor Contact: For a syllabus or more course information, email instructor at Kathy.whitham@seattlecolleges.edu

ENGL260: Asian American Literature - Fully online, asynchronous (5 cr) 

No zoom meetings. Weekly Canvas discussions only. No essays to write. Instructor available for office hours.

• Everything I Never Told You - novel by Celeste Ng

• I Was Their American Dream - graphic memoir by Malaka Gharib

• Interior Chinatown - novel by Charles Yu

• The Best We Could Do - graphic memoir by Thi Bui

• Unaccustomed Earth - short stories by Jhumpa Lahiri

• Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - novel by Jamie Ford

• Almost American Girl - graphic memoir by Robin Ha

ENGL&236 Creative Writing - Explorations - Hybrid (5 cr) Wed 10:45 - 12:45

Assignments posted on Canvas. Meets in person one day a week when assignments are due. No zoom meetings. 

MY PROFESSIONAL INFORMATION

Words that reflect my approach to teaching:

• Encourage, acknowledge, support, and respect all students.
• Focus on creativity, risk-taking, critical thinking, self-efficacy, and demonstrated progress.
• Adhere to anti-racist pedagogy and equitable assessment practices.
• Emphasize learning; De-emphasize grades.

Education: Western WA University - BA English and MA English Literature

Seattle Colleges District teaching career: 

• PHL English faculty, Seattle Central College, 1995-2004
• FT tenured English faculty, South Seattle College, 2004-present

Courses: English 098; English 099/101; English 098/099/101; English 101; English 102; ENGL116: Graphic Novels; ENGL232: YA Literature; ENGL258: Literature of American Cultures; ENGL260: Asian American Literature; ENGL291: Literature by Women; ENGL240: British Writers; HUM110: American Film; HUM120: Asian Cinema, HUM130: World Cinema; HUM121: Issues in the Humanities; ENGL119/HUM119: Graphic Novels - Art, Identity & Storytelling; ENGL151: Creative Writing; ENGL152: Fiction Writing.

Integrated Studies Courses/Team Teaching experience:

1. The Power of Myth, Seattle Central College
2. Hair, Sex & Symbolism, Seattle Central College
3. Art Marketing: Graphic Arts, Printing, and Apparel Design, Seattle Central College
4. Building Bridges: Mockingbirds, Myths & Magic, South Seattle College

Teaching Workshops:

Facilitator of University of Washington East Asia Resource Center Workshops:

• January 2025: Multigenerational Migrations in All Our Ordinary Stories by Teresa Wong 
• May 2023: Mind, Body & Soul in Shadow Life by Hiromi Goto - an author interview 
• December 2022:  Teaching Peace with The Last Cherry Blossom by Kathleen Burkinshaw - an author interview
• May 2022: *Almost* American: A Book Chat & Zine Making Workshop
• July 2021: Teaching Asian American Representation with Graphic Novels: Immigration, Cultural Identity, and Visual Storytelling as a Form of Activism

Online Courses Developed:

• HUM120: Intro to Asian Film
• HUM130: World Cinema
• ENGL116: Graphic Novels
• ENGL 232: Young Adult Literature
• ENGL119/HUM119 combined course: Graphic Novels - Art, Identity & Storytelling

Online Teaching Experience: 2005 - present

Teaching Recognition: NISOD Award recipient 2020

2024 - 25 Sabbatical Project: Co-author and illustrator of historical non-fiction graphic collection of stories about Japanese war brides, in collaboration with WA Post editor Kathryn Tolbert based on her research and interviews.

Art & Writing Residencies and Workshops 

• August 2025 recipient of Looking Glass Arts Writer's Residency in Upstate New York.
• June 2025 - Visual Storytelling & Mixed Media Poetry with Kelcey Ervick, Shakerag Workshops in Sewanee, TN  

SSC Roles/Committees/Qualifications: 

• SSC Writing Center Coordinator 2011-20
• English Dept. Faculty Coordinator 2012-14
• Canvas-certified, online instructor since 2005
• Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) committee, trained IDI Qualified Administrator (QA)
• 6 faculty search committees
• 1 dean search committee
• 7 tenure committees
• Curriculum & Instruction Committee (CIC)
• Diversity & Retention Committee
• College Council
• VOICES/AANAPISI Team (Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Institution)
• NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) member

Degrees & Certificates

B.A. English M.A. English Literature