Shannon Barnsley

Shannon is a writer and folklore buff out of New Hampshire. While at Hampshire (and taking advantage of the Five College system), she studied Creative Writing/Mythology & Religion, with an emphasis on epic/oral traditions, their anthropological implications, and their modern counterparts. She explored these concepts in her Division II concentration (Storytelling & Worldbuilding: A Study in Creative Writing, Mythology, and Religion) and her Division III senior thesis (The Bard Is Dead, Long Live the Bard: Contemporary Fiction as Modern Myth). Since college she has kept busy trying her hand at publishing, museum work, freelance writing, blogging about banned books, and preparing her Division III for publication. Her work can be found in Wolf Warriors: The National Wolfwatcher Coalition Anthology, Wolf Warriors II: The National Wolfwatcher Coalition Charity Anthology, Fabulously Feminist, The Concord Monitor, Redhead Magazine and The Climax. Her first book, Beneath Blair Mountain, was published by 1888/Black Hill Press in Fall 2015. Like her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter for more.

Spring 2011

 * Artists' Books, Meredith Broberg, Final Project - Book Design, Construction, &amp; Content - "The World Tree"
 * Independent Senior Thesis Project, Deb Gorlin, Nell Arnold, Revised full-length novel - Tiger, Brahmin, Jackal: In Wolf's Clothing

January 2011

 * Independent Senior Thesis Project, Deb Gorlin, Nell Arnold, Researched, wrote, and work-shopped full-length novel - Tiger, Brahmin, Jackal: In Wolf's Clothing 
 * Recreating Viking Artifacts (EPEC), Freya Roe, Project - Considerable work on museum exhibit

Fall 2010

 *  Literary Theory , Jeff Wallen, Final Paper - "Brother's Keeper: Repression and Desire in the Rāmāyana"
 * TA - Myth &amp; Myth Theory, Alan Hodder
 * Student-Run Creative Writing Workshop/Concentrator Seminar
 * Independent Senior Thesis Project, Deb Gorlin, Nell Arnold, Researched, wrote, and work-shopped full-length novel - Tiger, Brahmin, Jackal: In Wolf's Clothing

Spring 2010

 * Writing The Fantastic: Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror, David Durham, Final Project - Fantasy or Sci-Fi Piece - "Only Human" (Secondary World Fantasy)


 * 1) Short Stories: "Son of the Rittfahri" (Secondary World Fantasy), "Kalayana" (Historical SF/Alternate History), "Labeling The Dead" (Science Fiction), "Housemates" (Urban Fantasy/Contemporary Fantasy)


 * Great Epics of India (Mt. Holyoke), Indira Peterson, Final Paper - "The Circle Unbroken: How the Rāmāyana Asserts and Subverts Tradition From Within"


 * 1) Notable Papers: "Forbidden Fruit: The Sexuality of the Rāksasas"


 * Literature of Crime &amp; Detection, Jeff Wallen, Final Project - Detective Story - "The Mystery Unraveled"
 * Mysterious Fictions: Writing About Secrets, Nell Arnold, Final Project - Revision of Short Story - "Woman In Red" (Literary Fiction)


 * 1) Short Stories: "The Sins of A Blue Scarf" (Literary Fiction), "Iceland Is For Lovers" (Literary Fiction), "More Sinned Against" (Literary Fiction), "My Roommate Is From Narnia" (Secondary World Fantasy/Urban Fantasy/Contemporary Fantasy)

January 2010

 * A Writer's Workshop (EPEC), David Axel Kurtz, Final Project - First twenty pages &amp; complete outline of a novel - In Wolf's Clothing, Book One ofTiger. Brahmin. Jackal.

Fall 2009

 * Hinduism (Mt. Holyoke), Steve Heim, Final Paper - "Lioness Among Men: How Goddesses Defy and Adapt in Hindu and Norse Traditions"


 * 1) Notable Papers: "Fighting Fire With Fire: On Siva and Linga Worship," "Synthesizing Scripture: On the Bhagavad-Gita"


 * Ancient Epic 2, Bob Meagher, Final Paper - "A Fiery Temper: Problem Women and Problems With Women in the Ramayana"
 * Writing Childhood, Rachel Conrad, L. Brown Kennedy, Final Paper - "Brave New World: Persepolis and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian through the lens of the Heroic Quest Formula"
 * Mythmaking &amp; Religion (Mt. Holyoke), John Grayson, Final Paper (on a 'modern sacred myth') - "The Boy Who Lived: The Life and Lessons of Harry Potter"

Spring 2009

 * Chaos &amp; Catharsis: War and Theater in Ancient Athens, Bob Meagher, Final Paper - "The War At Home: How Greek Drama Reflects Women during the Peloponnesian War"
 * Telling &amp; Retelling (Smith), Pat Skarda, Final Paper - "The Phoenix of Thornfield: On Control and Inner Strength in Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea"
 * Theories of Religion, Alan Hodder, Ryan Joo

January 2009

 * Introduction to Norse Mythology (Independent Study/EPEC), Andy Berquist and Dan Cottle, Bob Meagher, Final Paper - "All's Fair in Love and War: On Freja's importance among the Æsir and Asyniur"

Fall 2008

 * Old Norse (Smith), Craig Davis, Final Project - Translation - "The Greenland Prophetess" from Þorfinns Saga
 * Novel In the United States: 1900-1945, Michelle Hardesty, Final Paper - "Unfurling the Rose: On Sexuality and Independence in Herland and Their Eyes Were Watching God"
 * Shakespeare (Smith), Naomi Miller, Final Paper - "Into the Woods: On the Green World's relation to character development in As You Like It"
 * The Theory &amp; Practice of Therapeutic Writing, Marian MacCurdy, Final Project - Memoir - "Fire and Ice"

Spring 2008

 * Ancient Ireland, Bob Meagher, Final Paper: "Werewolves of Dublin: The Werewolf in Irish Lore"
 * Genocide &amp; Crimes Against Humanity, Flavio Risech-Ozeguera
 * Nuns, Saints, &amp; Mystics, Jutta Sperling, Final Paper - "Demoting Brigid: the transformation from Goddess to Saint"
 * Psychology of Perception, Jay Trudeau

January 2008

 * Contemporary Art &amp; Illustration, Larissa Bates, Final Project - 5 Illustrations of scenes in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Fall 2007

 * Contemporary Ethnic Literature (Tutorial), Rachel Rubinstein
 * Ancient Epic I, Bob Meagher
 * Elementary Spanish II, Luisa Maria Rojas-Rimachi, Final Project - Presentation on the Spanish Inquisition (in Spanish)
 * Agriculture, Ecology, &amp; Society, Brian Schultz

Extra Curricular

 * Hampshire Bellydance Collective
 * BBC &amp; High Tea
 * The Historical Reenactment Society (Signer)
 * Excalibur
 * Historical Events Writers' Group
 * Numerous student films
 * Bondi - Viking Age Nordic Home Museum Exhibit
 * Creative Writing Tutor/Classroom Assistant at Amherst Common School
 * Shake &amp; Bake