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Daniel Pena

Title: Associate Professor

Department: English

College: College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Curriculum Vitae

Curriculum Vitae Link

Education

  • MFA, Cornell University, 2013
    Major: Creative Writing
    Specialization: Fiction
    Dissertation: BANG: A Novel
  • BA, Texas A&M University, 2010
    Major: English
    Specialization: Creative Writing

Current Scheduled Teaching

No current or future courses scheduled.

Texas Education Code 51.974 (HB 2504) requires each institution of higher education to make available to the public, a syllabus for undergraduate lecture courses offered for credit by the institution.

Previous Scheduled Teaching

ENGL 4100.001Advanced Fiction WritingSpring 2026 Syllabus SPOT
ENGL 3140.003Beginning Fiction WritingSpring 2026 Syllabus SPOT
ENGL 6950.731Doctoral DissertationSpring 2026
ENGL 5950.730Master's ThesisSpring 2026
ENGL 4100.002Advanced Fiction WritingFall 2025 Syllabus SPOT
ENGL 6941.730Directed ResearchFall 2025
ENGL 6950.730Doctoral DissertationFall 2025
ENGL 5145.001Form and Theory: ProseFall 2025 SPOT
ENGL 4100.001Advanced Fiction WritingSpring 2025 Syllabus SPOT
ENGL 6950.731Doctoral DissertationSpring 2025
ENGL 4120.001Advanced Creative Nonfiction WritingFall 2024 Syllabus SPOT
ENGL 3140.003Beginning Fiction WritingFall 2024 Syllabus SPOT
ENGL 5820.001Creative Writing: Prose FictionFall 2024 SPOT
ENGL 6950.730Doctoral DissertationFall 2024
ENGL 6950.731Doctoral DissertationSummer 5W1 2024
ENGL 4100.001Advanced Fiction WritingSpring 2024 Syllabus SPOT
ENGL 6941.730Directed ResearchSpring 2024
ENGL 6950.731Doctoral DissertationSpring 2024
ENGL 4100.002Advanced Fiction WritingFall 2023 Syllabus SPOT
ENGL 3140.003Beginning Fiction WritingFall 2023 Syllabus SPOT
ENGL 6941.730Directed ResearchFall 2023
ENGL 5820.001Creative Writing: Prose FictionSpring 2023 SPOT
ENGL 6941.730Directed ResearchSpring 2023
ENGL 4100.002Advanced Fiction WritingFall 2022 Syllabus SPOT
ENGL 3140.002Beginning Fiction WritingFall 2022 Syllabus SPOT
Texas Education Code 51.974 (HB 2504) requires each institution of higher education to make available to the public, a syllabus for undergraduate lecture courses offered for credit by the institution.

Published Intellectual Contributions

    Book Review

  • Peña, D.I. (2020). Set After the Civil War, the ‘Sweetness of Water’ is Eerily Relevant. 4. Austin, TX, Texas Monthly. https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/sweetness-of-water-novel-review/

    • Magazine/Trade Publication

  • Pena, D.I. (2024). How a Dallas-Based Group Wreaks Havoc On Your Favorite Songs. D Magazine. No. February 2025 (February 2025) 3. Dallas, Texas, Noelle LeVeaux, D Magazine. https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2024/june/how-a-dallas-based-group-wreaks-havoc-on-your-favorite-songs/
  • Peña, D.I. (2021). Letter of Recommendation: The Joys of Biking at Night. (3.28.21) 2. New York, NY, New York Times Magazine. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/23/magazine/the-joys-of-biking-at-night.html

    • Newspaper

  • Peña, D. (2022). COVID Killed Normal. But It Gave Us Keith-Wiess Park. The Houston Chronicle. 1. New York, NY, Hearst Newspapers. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/Essay-COVID-killed-normal-But-it-left-us-Keith-17186683.php
  • Peña, D. (2020). In America’s oil country, men losing their jobs are suffering in silence. 15. New York, NY, The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/20/unemployment-men-lose-job-self-esteem

    • Novel

  • Peña, D.I. (2018). Bang: A Novel. (First) 239. Houston, TX, Arte Publico Press.

    • Personal Essay

  • (2025). Why are people so triggered by the Mexican Flag at the LA Protests?.
  • Peña, D.I. (2022). Snapshots of a Life in Flight: An Essay in Cardinal Directions. Ploughshares. How to Look Away: Essays. 1 (153) 129-151. Boston, MA, Ploughshares. https://www.pshares.org/issues/fall-2022
  • Peña, D.I., Johnson, L., Beckett, C. (2022). Climate Dignity: Reading Baldwin after Harvey and in the Near Northside. More City Than Water: A Houston Flood Atlas. (First) 4. Austin, TX, University of Texas Press. https://utpress.utexas.edu/9781477325001/
  • Peña, D., Freeman, J., Smith, T.K. (2021). Let These Protests Bring Light to America. There's a Revolution Outside, My Love: Letters from a Crisis. (1) 80-89. New York, NY, Vintage.
  • Peña, D.I. (2020). Letter From Houston: Let These Protests Bring Light to America. How to Look Away: Essays. New York, NY, Literary Hub/Grove Atlantic. https://lithub.com/letter-from-houston-let-these-protests-bring-light-to-america/
  • Peña, D.I. (2020). Erection Before A Burial. Gulf Coast. 32 (1) 260-262. Houston, TX, Gulf Coast Journal.

    • Translation or Transcription

  • Pena, D. (2025). Roadkill.
,
Overall
Summative Rating		 Challenge and
Engagement Index		 Response Rate

out of 5
out of 7		 %
of
students responded
  • Overall Summative Rating (median):
    This rating represents the combined responses of students to the four global summative items and is presented to provide an overall index of the class’s quality. Overall summative statements include the following (response options include a Likert scale ranging from 5 = Excellent, 3 = Good, and 1= Very poor):
    • The course as a whole was
    • The course content was
    • The instructor’s contribution to the course was
    • The instructor’s effectiveness in teaching the subject matter was
  • Challenge and Engagement Index:
    This rating combines student responses to several SPOT items relating to how academically challenging students found the course to be and how engaged they were. Challenge and Engagement Index items include the following (response options include a Likert scale ranging from 7 = Much higher, 4 = Average, and 1 = Much lower):
    • Do you expect your grade in this course to be
    • The intellectual challenge presented was
    • The amount of effort you put into this course was
    • The amount of effort to succeed in this course was
    • Your involvement in course (doing assignments, attending classes, etc.) was
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