Faculty Profile

Daniel Pena

Title
Assistant Professor
Department
English
College
College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

    

    

      


                          

            
Curriculum Vitae

            

              Click Here to View Faculty CV
            

          

        
                          

            
Education

            



  

  


  
MFA, Cornell University, 2013. 
Major: Creative Writing
Degree Specialization: Fiction
Dissertation Title: BANG: A Novel
BA, Texas A&M University, 2010. 
Major: English
Degree 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 4100.001, Advanced Fiction Writing, Spring 2024 Syllabus
                    

                    ENGL 6941.730, Directed Research, Spring 2024 
                    

                    ENGL 6950.731, Doctoral Dissertation, Spring 2024 
                    

                    ENGL 4100.002, Advanced Fiction Writing, Fall 2023 Syllabus SPOT
                    

                    ENGL 3140.003, Beginning Fiction Writing, Fall 2023 Syllabus SPOT
                    

                    ENGL 6941.730, Directed Research, Fall 2023 
                    

                    ENGL 5820.001, Creative Writing: Prose Fiction, Spring 2023 Syllabus SPOT
                    

                    ENGL 6941.730, Directed Research, Spring 2023 
                    

                    ENGL 4100.002, Advanced Fiction Writing, Fall 2022 Syllabus SPOT
                    

                    ENGL 3140.002, Beginning Fiction Writing, Fall 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 Publications



  

  
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
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
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. 



	
		
		
	  

	

	

  
    
	

	

	  

		

		   	
		
		
	  

	

	

	
	

  
  
  

  	

		

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					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
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    • The instructor’s contribution to the course was
      • 
					
    • The instructor’s effectiveness in teaching the subject matter was
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    • 
			
  • 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
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    • 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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