This year, Concord Academy welcomes Sean Spillane, a new member of the English Department. Having grown up in Massachusetts, Spillane feels that coming to Concord is like returning home. He is eager to join the community of passionate learners!
Before coming to CA, Spillane taught English for five years at Fordham University in New York City, where he offered courses including Hobbits/ Heroes/ Hubris, Perilous Lands: Journeys to Otherworlds, and Border Crossings: Monsters, Myths, and Marvels. With a PhD in english language and literature and a master’s degree in medieval studies, Spillane often connects works across different cultures and time periods. In his class Outlaws and Outcasts, for instance, reading often included works from medieval literature as well as contemporary authors like Toni Morrison and Yuri Herrera.
Spillane finds teaching hugely rewarding. “I love to teach because I love to learn, and I find myself learning from my students as much as I learned from my teachers,” he said. For Spillane, literature offers a unique opportunity for connection and compassion, as it allows us to see the world from another person’s perspective with a rare degree of intimacy. Spillane believes that teaching English is a great responsibility. He endeavors to make his classroom a space for students and teachers to collaborate, be honest, and earnestly explore. “I believe that a good English teacher fosters an environment in which students feel comfortable sharing their ideas and exploring new ones together,” said Spillane.
As a child, Spillane was an avid reader of fantasy, but he really fell in love with literature after reading the medieval poem Beowulf in high school. “There was something about the reality of that far-off world filled with icy seas, fire-breathing dragons, and fierce warriors that made me want to dig deeper and try to understand that world that was so different from my own,” Spillane said. He came to cherish the way literature transports readers into new worlds and perspectives, deeply engaging them with ideas and experiences that may seem unfamiliar. Spillane has been inspired by many authors, including Cormac McCarthy, Toni Morrison, Emily Dickinson, Annie Ernaux, and Jón Kalman Stefánsson.
In his free time, Spillane enjoys reading contemporary and translated literature, running, hiking, studying languages like Old English and Old Norse, and spending time with his wife, one-year-old son, and two cats, Freyja and Snorri. His favorite books are Moby-Dick; or, the Whale by Herman Melville and The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.
Spillane joins the CA community with enthusiasm. His expertise and unique voice will undoubtedly make a significant impact on the community, and we all welcome his arrival!