Christopher James Bishop (November 9, 1971 – April 16, 2007), known as Jamie Bishop, was an instructor of
German language
German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is als ...
at
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six regi ...
, as well as an artist and craftsman. He was among those shot and killed in the
Virginia Tech shooting
The Virginia Tech shooting was a spree shooting that occurred on April 16, 2007, comprising two attacks on the campus of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. Seung-Hui Cho, an u ...
.
He was the son of
Michael Bishop, an award-winning
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
author.
[
]
Biography
Bishop grew up in Pine Mountain, Georgia, and earned his bachelor's and master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. s in German from the University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
. He was a Fulbright scholar at Christian-Albrechts University
Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...
in Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...
, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. He helped run an exchange program at Darmstadt University of Technology
Darmstadt () is a city in the state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the fourth largest city in the state of Hesse a ...
in Germany. Bishop spent four years living in Germany, where (according to his web site) he "spent most of his time learning the language, teaching English, drinking large quantities of wheat beer and wooing a certain fraulein," Stephanie Hofer, who later became his wife. From 1995 to 1996 he taught at the Zentrales Sprachlabor of Ruprecht-Karls University[SEACOOS website](_blank)
(retrieved November 20, 2007) of Heidelberg, and collected survey data for his Master's Thesis, ''Jugendsprache: a critical study of German "Youth Language."''
Before teaching at Virginia Tech, Bishop worked in the Office of Arts and Sciences Information Services (OASIS) as an academic-technology liaison at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
, where he provided technical support for faculty and staff members and graduate students. While at UNC, in addition to instructing German language classes, he developed a software package for students to digitally record and submit spoken language assignments to professors, a significant improvement over the previously used magnetic tape method. He received an OASIS Director's Choice Award in 2004.
He left UNC in 2004 for Virginia Tech, where he was an instructor in German, and taught information technology for VT's Faculty Development Institute. In addition to being a German teacher, Bishop was a multimedia artist, photographer and graphic designer, who spoke of "changing the world with art". He produced the cover art for Michael Jasper's book ''Gunning for the Buddha'', and for five of Michael Bishop's books; and designed "ingenious pieces of furniture."[Michael Bishop Website](_blank)
(retrieved November 18, 2007) One of Bishop's "haunting" wrap-around book jackets is featured on the anthology ''Passing for Human'', edited by Michael Bishop and Steve Utley.
According to Michael Bishop, Jamie "spoke German like a native, understood computers inside out, played drums in a basement band, bicycled and hiked, followed the fortunes of the Atlanta Braves as obsessively as his mother, grandmothers, and I did, and made friends everywhere. He was a people lover from the get-go, and his energy levels put mine to shame."
Death
Bishop was killed on April 16, 2007, during the Virginia Tech shooting
The Virginia Tech shooting was a spree shooting that occurred on April 16, 2007, comprising two attacks on the campus of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. Seung-Hui Cho, an u ...
, while teaching an Introductory German class with 15 to 20 students. Four students lost their lives: Lauren McCain, Michael Pohle Jr., Maxine Turner and Nicole White. Two more made it out alive without critical or serious injury while six others were injured and helped barricade the door to prevent the shooter entering the classroom a second time.
Memorials
A scholarship fund was established in Jamie Bishop's name for German majors at Virginia Tech.
The annual "Jamie Bishop Memorial Award for an Essay Not in English" was established by th
International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts
as a prize for an essay on the subject of science fiction or speculative fiction not written in English, open to students and scholars presenting papers at the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts
The International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts (IAFA), founded in 1982 is a nonprofit association of scholars, writers, and publishers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in literature, film, and the other arts. Its principal acti ...
.
References
External links
*
Cover art by Jamie Bishop for ''Brighten to Incandescence''
(Golden Gryphon Press
Golden Gryphon Press was an independent publishing company, specializing in science fiction, fantasy, dark fantasy and cross-genre novels. It was founded in 1996 by Jim Turner, former editor at Arkham House, and was operated by his brother Gary ...
, 2003)
Jamie Bishop bio at Virginia Tech
Jamie Bishop on Alex Wilson's blog
*Tribute to Jamie Bishop a
*"Through Virginia Tech death, a life is reborn," Michael Kruse
St. Petersburg Times, April 11, 2008
(article about Michael and Jamie Bishop)
*"Va. Tech families, survivors turn grief into action," Donna Leinwand
(article about Michael Bishop talking about Jamie Bishop)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop, Jamie
1971 births
2007 deaths
Burials in Georgia (U.S. state)
Language teachers
People from Pine Mountain, Harris County, Georgia
People murdered in Virginia
University of Georgia alumni
University of Kiel alumni
Virginia Tech faculty
Mass murder victims