Michelle Chihara’s Return to Whittier College
Professor Michelle Chihara walks into the room, textbooks and coffee balanced against each other as she opens the door to Room 213 in Hoover Hall, a building that she now calls home. As she sets her things down, she relaxes into her seat, a half-full bookshelf behind her as a clear indication that she’s still settling in. Her office contains two chairs, a desk, and storage cabinets — though there are books scattered on the floor around her — with a gorgeous view of a vibrant green tree outside. The peeling, creamy white walls and dimly lit room give clear indication this is a humanities building, where Chihara is determined to reintroduce herself as an important part of the Whittier staff.
Her titles currently include Associate Professor of English, as well as the Mellon Mays Program Coordinator. According to the Whittier College website, Chihara teaches Creative Writing, Contemporary American Literature, Media Studies and even Chican/x Studies. She runs her fingers through her thick, wavy hair streaked with white as she dives into the roller-coaster journey to where she is now.
Born and raised in Northern California in the city of Berkeley, Chihara explains the different locations she resided in with a tilt of her head, “I went back East for college. I was on the East Coast for a little while. I sold everything I owned and moved to Rio De Janeiro in Brazil for a year and then I traveled for a few months in South America, in Bolivia, Peru [and]Ecuador.”
To Chihara, her journey was as simple as that, but there are many facets to her movements stemming from opportunity as well as the need for adventure.
Chihara began her educational career at Yale University, where she received a Bachelor’s degree in English, pursuing a Creative Writing discipline though she yearned to tackle various social and economic issues. “I’ve always been a writer,” she alludes, as she explained how she went back and forth between studying Journalism and Writing. When asked about her journalism experience, she regretfully added, “I did not work for the Yale Daily News, which is the biggest, most established newspaper there.” While an undergraduate student, Chihara learned that members of the newspaper could not have another work study job on campus, which meant most writers and editors did not need financial assistance the way other students did. This indicated that the newspaper was written solely by people who came from money, something Chihara spoke to the administration about, “I was really mad about that. I expressed my very apt political frustration by not working for the Yale Daily News which doesn’t help anybody, which was a really dumb decision.” She recalls this with a contrite laugh, reliving that moment in her career. However, her journalism days were not over, as they led her to incredible adventures after college.
“When I got out of college I was a reporter for two different weekly newspapers,” Chihara explains, her bracelets jingling as she moved her hands, illustrating the story. One of those weekly newspapers was the New Haven Advocate where Chihara interned, working for a man named Paul Bass, who became her mentor as she climbed through the newspapers’ ranks. Although it is no longer active, the newspaper was a large part of who she is as a writer. She also worked as the editor for a “dot-com” start-up company where she learned technological skills that allowed her to assist Bass in taking the New Haven Advocate digital. “[Paul] Bass is still a friend and colleague. I’m actually still on the board of his journalism nonprofit,” she informs, tucking her hair behind her ears, exposing large silver hoop earrings.
Continuing with her educational journey, Chihara explains that she “dropped everything” to move to South America, an essential part of the journey. During this time, she was reporting and stringing–freelance journalism often paid by piece–while also partaking in cultural activities that influenced her personal life greatly. “I got really into the Brazilian martial art known as capoeira,” Chihara recalls with a smile painted on her lips. She explains, “It’s like martial arts in dance form. It was created by Brazilian enslaved people on sugar plantations and they were forbidden from practicing martial arts so they disguised what they were doing by playing music at the same time.” Throughout this time, Chihara agreed with a rueful laugh, “I was very brave. Some might say, a little reckless.”
Returning to the Bay Area, Chihara was faced with various decisions for her future. She met her husband, a high point in the year, while also discovering unsavory parts of her field. “When I got back from South America, I just had a really bad boss. I thought I was done with journalism when I left that job. I was unemployed for six months, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. That’s when I applied to graduate school.” She and her husband moved to Southern California in 2003, where she attended University of California, Irvine, to complete her M.F.A and PhD, reviving her affinity for the discipline.
During this time, the nonprofit magazine Mother Jones offered Chihara a working position that would have likely sidetracked her educational journey. Instead, she chose to pursue her masters, doctorate, and a postdoctoral fellowship, which would be an important decision. Looking back, Chihara adds, “For a long time, I wasn’t sure that I made the right decision.” She explains the difficulty of sticking with her craft, “I was in graduate school over the 2008 to 2010 years when the humanities really started to have trouble in higher education. So, it’s been a challenging path all the way along.” Though recalling the struggles brings that feeling of anxiety, she expressing the beauty of not following the beaten path, “When other things work out it seems like I planned it all, which I did not.”
With a Masters and a PhD, Chihara found a unique opportunity at Whittier College with a two-year postdoctoral fellowship that offered a tenure trackline to become a professor in 2015. She delved into her memory for the year she arrived at Whittier for the first time, “[The College] was looking for someone, weirdly exactly like me. They wanted someone who could do creative writing, nonfiction writing –because I was a journalist before I went back to grad school–and also with a PhD in English to teach Literature Studies.” As serendipitous as Chihara describes it, it was her multi-faceted approach to writing and grasp of many disciplines that led her to Whittier the first time.
Like many professors, Chihara went on sabbatical, as many professors did, and attempted to regroup before returning for another year. During this time, she worked specifically with the Whittier Scholars Program stating, “I actually re-organized the program in my last semester as director. Then I went on leave and served a year as the Editor-in-Chief of LA Review of Books and I decided I wanted to work on my own book.”
The book, a continued source of inspiration for Chihara, is still a work in progress, though she has a clear image of what she wants to write. While teaching, she is researching, something her agent keeps in mind as they iron out deadlines. When asked about the subject of her research, her lips turn upward and she clasps her hands together, “A lot of what I’ve done as an academic since grad school is think and write about how we think and understand the economy.” The subject of her book follows a group of economists following the 2008 recession and the cultural shift that resulted. “We had an opportunity in the United States to really change how we think about the economy, and instead we followed this group of behavioral economists. I’m writing a book about why we shouldn’t have done this,” she punctuates with a laugh, clearly showing excitement to talk about the subject.
Chihara brings her own strong political beliefs to her classroom, but says, “I try hard to make space in my classroom for people to disagree with me. I do have a strong political sense of what’s going on in our country. I am committed to some of those ideas but at the end of the day, I’m really passionate about conversation.” Her blog is a clear indication of this, as it is a rather spontaneously written collection that fills the gaps of Chihara’s academic writing. In reference to the writing she does in between, she pulls out a green velvet journal with a pink flower in the middle and opens to random pages all full of her cursive handwriting, “I started blogging because I say that I’m hypographic. I can’t think without writing and I feel like I don’t know what I think about something until I’ve written about it.”
In these journals, Chihara is able to articulate her belief system, one that is greatly defined and not easily shaken. Her determination is pointed at the higher education system, which has its own holes, according to Chihara. “I wish I could make education free for everyone but I’m really proud of Whittier’s goals and aims and the values of the College. We have great social mobility numbers,” she announces proudly, with a clap of her hands. At the core, Chihara’s focus is on providing exceptional education to all students, as she puts the people at the forefront of her mission in Whittier.
“I’ve had a great run with the students at Whittier. The most rewarding part of being a professor here is really connecting with students, helping them, opening their eyes to what’s out there in research and writing. Seeing where they go with it is really wonderful,” she responds with a smile. Professor Chihara is eager to instill her vibrant attitude about the English subject and an excitement she hopes her students feel as they move onto their own adventures.
Photo Courtesy of Whittier College
