Fara Nizamani, Ph.D.
Department Chair
Program Director (Intensive English Preparation), Associate Professor
Fara Nizamani began her studies at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, majoring in Secondary English Education. She soon began teaching in Dade County Public Schools, where the middle school students captured her heart and taught her as much as she taught them. After obtaining both masters (Barry University) and doctoral degrees (City University) in English literature, a job offer in the Seattle area enticed her family to move to the Pacific Northwest in 1997, where they have lived since.
Nizamani has taught both undergraduate and graduate courses in English, humanities, and education. Her specific areas of interest are graphic novels as literature, epic literature, and mythology, particularly non-European. In her spare time, she reads everything she can get her hands on (including mystery, science fiction, fantasy, and manga), tends to her anemic garden, and practices a traditional style of Japanese martial arts called Shorinryu.
An avid but hopelessly inept gamer, Nizamani can often be found in front of her Nintendo 64 game console, cheering as Yoshi crosses the finish line in Mario Kart or watching a live stream Counter-Strike tournament.
As chair of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Dr. Nizamani oversees all of the courses in her department and coordinates course offerings with other departments and programs. She specifically teaches English courses, such as mythology, speculative fiction, epic literature, and the graphic novel. She strives to help students understand that great games often begin with great stories and the ideas that they give rise to, and seeing the students implement aspects of humanities courses into their games is one of her favorite parts of teaching at DigiPen.
Selected Credits/Publications
- Nizamani, F., “Addressing the Needs of Muslim Students in American Schools,” Phi Delta Kappa Conference, Seattle, August 9, 2002.
- Nizamani, F., “The Portrayal of Islam in Western Media,” Community Awareness Committee, Mountlake Terrace, WA February 7, 2002.
- Nizamani, F., “Accommodating Muslim Students in Higher Education,” City University Leadership Conference, Bellevue, October 13, 2001.
- Nizamani, F., “Addressing the Needs of Muslim Students,” National Conference on Race and Ethnicity, Seattle, June 3, 2001.
- Nizamani, F., “Muslim Students in America- Voices from the Shadows,” ASCD International Conference, Orlando, April 2-4, 2005.
- Nizamani, F., “Muslim Students in America- Voices from the Shadows,” WASAME 11th Annual Fall Conference, Seattle, Sept 30- Oct 1, 2005.
- Nizamani, F., “A Place for Me,” Perspectives on Evil and Human Wickedness, http://www.wickedness.net/ej.htm. Volume 1: No. 2, July 2002.
- Nizamani, F., “In Good Faith,” WSASCD Newsletter. 2006.
- Review of Rural Life and Culture in the Upper Cumberland. The Journal of American Studies of Texas. 2006.
- Nizamani, F., “My Mother’s Beauty,” Crosscurrents, Washington Community College Humanities Association. 2009.