RESEARCH & TEACHING INTERESTS 

 

Composition, creative writing and graphic texts; pop culture studies; collaboration and media production; graphic design and new media; film studies and visual literacy

 

 

EDUCATION    

 

MFA Creative Writing, 2014
University of California, San Diego

UC San Diego Literature Summer Research Award, 2013

Barbara and Paul Saltman Excellent Teaching Award for Graduate Students, 2013

UCIRA Open Classroom Challenge Grant, 2012
 

BFA Film & Television Production, 2002
New York University, Tisch School of the Arts

Warner Bros Production Award, 2002

 

 

TEACHING

 

University of California, San Diego

Fall 2011 - present

 

As Lecturer

with the Theater Department

      X-Men and the Superhero Era, Spring 2018

with the Warren Writing Program

      Writing and the Workplace, 2015-present

      Ethics and the Representation of Superheroes, Summer 2015

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As Instructor

with the International Triton Transition Program

      Introduction to College Life & Writing and Learning, Summer 2013

 

As Associate-In

with the Culture, Art and Technology Writing Program

      ComiCraft, Spring 2013/14 (with Prof  K. Wayne Yang)

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As Non-Student Tutor

with the Warren Writing Program

      Ethics and the Representation of Superheroes, Winter-Spring 2015

      Technology, Identity and the Written Word, Fall 2014 (Prof. Karen Gocsik)

 

As Teaching Assistant

with the Literature Department

      Writing Fiction, Winter 2014 (Prof. Cristina Rivera-Garza)

with the CAT Program

      Historical Encounters of Science & Religion, Fall 2013 (Prof. Bob Westman)

      Public Rhetoric and Practical Communication, Summer 2013 (Prof. Joe

      Bigham)

      The Book In The Digital Age, Winter 2013 (Prof. Jessica Pressman) 

      Media Seductions, Fall 2012 (Prof. Elizabeth Losh) 

      Worldmaking, Spring 2012 (Prof. K. Wayne Yang)

      Buildings, Objects, and Stories, Winter 2012 (Prof. David Pederson)

      The Graphics of War, Fall 2011 (Prof. Emily Roxworthy)

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Group Exhibitions

"Reinterpreting Process." ARTifact Gallery, Pepper Canyon Hall, UC San Diego (Winter 2013)

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Departmental Service

Warren Social Committee – Warren Writing Representative, 2015-2017

BEARLS Committee – Warren Writing Representative, 2017-present

 

Recognitions

BEARL of the Month, June 2018 

Warren College BEARL Award for Championing Freedom of Expression, 2017

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​

University of San Diego

Summer 2014

 

As Instructor

with the English Language Academy

      English and Discovering San Diego, Summer 2014

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Guest Lectures

“Getting Graphic with Keith McCleary,” UC Irvine, February 2017

“Rise of the Weird: On the History and Making of Comics, Comix, and Graphic             Novels,” San Diego City College Spring Literary Series, March 2016

"Totally the Only Way to Make Comics Forever," UCSD Comic Book Club,

        Winter 2013

"You Can't Please Nobody: Making Real Comics Digitally," CAT 2, Winter 2013

"The Rise of Independent Comix," CAT 1, Fall 2012

"Character Creation: Constraints and Critiques", CAT 3, Spring 2012

 

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High School Student Workshops

Gompers Preparatory Academy, March 2015

High Tech Middle School, February 2015

UC San Diego Academic Connections, July 2013

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WORK IN PROGRESS    

 

“X-Women: Female Relationships in X-Men, X-Force, and the X-Films,” Can the         Subaltern Be a Superhero? The Politics of Non-Hegemonic Superheroism.            with Hanna Tawater. Rafael Ponce-Cordero and Derek McGrath, ed.

 

REVIEWS AND INTERVIEWS

 

On KILLING TREE QUARTERLY and TOP OF THE HEAP

have appeared in Ain't It Cool News, Indie Spinner Rack, The Pulse, The Duck

 

On writing and pedagogy

Matt E. Lewis, “Lonely, and Occasionally Kind of Spooky: An Interview with Keith McCleary.”     LA Review of Books. (Apr 2019) 

Heather Fowler, “Writers on Craft: Keith McCleary,” Fictionaut. (Nov 2015)

Elizabeth Losh and Jonathan Alexander, "Learning From the Pros" (two parts)

      Bits, Bedford St Martin

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CONFERENCES

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“New Directions in Comics Pedagogy,” CSS 2019, Toronto, CAN. Panelist. 

“Developments in Comics Pedagogy,” MLA 2016, Austin TX. Co-Chair.

“Comedy and Comics: Parody, Satire, and Humor in Superhero Narratives,”             NeMLA 2015, Toronto, CAN. Chair.

“Digital Citizenship, Global Englishes, and Multimodal Composition,” UC Writing       Conference 2015, UC San Diego. Panelist.

“The CAT Initiative: Comics and Comedians,” High Impact Practices Experiential       Learning Conference 2014, UC San Diego. Panelist.

“The Teaching Initiative: A High Impact Practices Roundtable,” High Impact             Practices Experiential Learning Conference 2014, UC San Diego. Panelist.

“1913’s Victory Over the Sun,” &Now 2013, Boulder, CO. Performer.

“Show and Tell: A Roundtable of Comic Book and Graphic Novel Creators,”             NeMLA 2013, Boston, MA. Co-chair.

“Comic Book Club: Creating and Publishing.” UCSD Animefest 2013. Panelist.

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PAPERS

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“Feeling the Puma Blues: The Dilution of Science Fiction and the Decline of the       Creator Within Independent Comics’ Golden Age.” MLA 2017, Philadelphia,       PA.

“Learning from the Heckler: The Comic and Comedic Innovations of Keith             Giffen.” NeMLA 2015, Toronto, CAN

 

 

SELECTED SHOWCASES & READINGS 

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In Conversation, Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego, July 6th, 2019

Shades & Shadows, The Bearded Lady’s Mystic Museum, Los Angeles, CA, March 23, 2019 

Local Authors Reading, Whistle Stop Bar, San Diego, April 19, 2017

Now That’s What I Call Birds, The Hideout, San Diego, September 13, 2015

AREWEALONE, Arthur C Clarke Center, UC San Diego, June 3, 2015

Springfest: IMMERSION at Birch Aquarium, San Diego, CA April 19, 2015

Lit Crawl LA: NoHo, Los Angeles, CA October 22, 2014

Non-Standard Lit Reading Series, San Diego, CA, May 4, 2014

Juliet Escoria’s Black Cloud release party, San Diego, CA April 27, 2014

Starve Theater (featured reader) San Diego, CA, April 26, 2014

Vermin on the Mount, San Diego, CA, February 15, 2013

Say We All's Hidden Gems Showcase, San Diego, CA, November 16, 2013

SD Fringe Fest: Best of VAMP, San Diego, CA, July 5, 2013

theNewerYork Presents: A Literary Carnival, Los Angeles, CA, August 24, 2012

The Final Performance, San Diego, CA, June 12, 2012

MFA First Year Showcase, UCSD, La Jolla, CA, May 9, 2012

X-Genre, San Diego, CA, March 22, 2012

Gelato Poetry Series (featured reader) San Diego, CA November 11, 2012

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ADDITIONAL PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

 

Layout Editor - So Say We All  

San Diego, CA, 2015-present

·       Design and layout for The Radvocate, literary journal of local arts nonprofit

 

Assistant Editor and Staff Writer - Terminal Press

Long Beach, NY, 2008-2012

·        Editing and layout duties on all projects for small press comic book

         publisher

·        Wrote and distributed PR and review materials

·        Attended conventions as staff representative

 

Administrative Assistant

Muir Writing Department, Summer 2012

UCSD Immunogenetics and Transplant Lab, 2010-2011

University of California, San Diego

·        Catalogued department materials in accordance with online databases

·        Managed interoffice communication and correspondence

 

Design Assistant - AmazingSuperPowers

Topatoco, Summer 2012

·        Text and layout editing for webcomic print collection, A Catalog of Regret
 

Proofreader - Kill Screen magazine

Issues 3-5, 2010-2011

·        Text and layout editing for a critical journal on the societal reach of                        gaming culture

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Video Editor and Graphic Designer - Sachs Insights

New York, NY, 2004-2009

·        Non-profit and corporate client assessment via qualitative multimedia

         research

·        Extensive professional experience with Photoshop, Avid, Finalcut Pro