James I. Wynn
Office AddressHome Address
145M Baker Hall6822 Thomas Blvd.
CarnegieMellonUniversityPittsburgh, PA15208Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890 (202) 413-6117
(412) 268-9765
Education
2006 Ph.D. English literature and language, University of Maryland, CollegePark, Maryland
Dissertation: “Life’s Rich Pattern: The Role of Probability and Statistics in 19th Century Argumentation for Theories of Evolution, Variation, and Heredity,” directed by Jeanne Fahnestock
2000M.A. Literature, CaseWestern ReserveUniversity, Cleveland, Ohio
Thesis: “A Cognitive Approach to Prepositional Usage in English as a Second LanguageAcquisition,” directed by Todd Oakley
1994B.S. English language and literature, 1994, cum laude,EasternMichiganUniversity,
Ypsilanti, Michigan
Employment
2006-2010CarnegieMellonUniversity / Dept. of English / Pittsburgh, PA /Assistant Professor
2002-2005University of Maryland/ Dept. of English / College Park, MD / Lecturer and Teaching Assistant
2003JohnsHopkinsUniversity/ Dept. of Business Communication / WashingtonD.C. / Adjunct
2001-2002MontgomeryCollege/ English as Second Langauge / Rockville, MD / Instructor
1998-2000CaseWestern ReserveUniversity/ Dept. of English / Cleveland, OH / Teaching Assistant
1998-2000CuyahogaCommunity College/ English as Second Langauge / Cleveland, OH / Instructor
1997-1998ELS Language School/ Cleveland, OH / Associate Instructor
1995-1997Peace Corps/ BertoldBrechtLanguageSchool / Pazardjik, Bulgaria / English as
a Second Language Instructor
Publications
Books
Evolution by Numbers: The Origins of Mathematical Argument in Biology. West Lafayette:
Parlor P. (Forthcoming, July 2011)
Refereed Journal Papers
“A New Species of Argument: The Role of Mathematics in Darwin’s The Origin of Species.” 19th
Century Prose 38.1(2011): 59-98.
“Arithmetic of the Species: Darwin and the Role of Mathematics in his Argumentation.”
Rhetorica 27.1 (2009): 76-100.
“Alone in the Garden: How Gregor Mendel’s Inattention to Audience May have Affected the
Reception of His Theory of Inheritance in ‘Experiments in Plant Hybridization’.” Written Communication 24.1 (2007): 3-27.
(Nominated for a NTCE Technical and Scientific Communication Award for 2008 in the category of historical studies.)
Reviews
Review of Alan Gross’ The Scientific Literature: A Guided Tour in Rhetoric Society
Quarterly 38.2 (2008): 234-37.
Review of Alan Gross’ Starring the Text in ISIS 98.2 (2007): 433-34.
Academic Honors, Awards, and Grants
2007Berkman Faculty Development Grant ($3,500) for archival research work in England
2007Falk Grant ($2,657) for archival research work in England
2004University of Maryland Center for Teaching Excellence; Distinguished Teaching
Assistant Award
2000Fulbright research grant, Bulgaria, for field research into the influence of ethnicity and
language on market transactions
Conference Papers
“It’s True but It Won’t Happen,” National Communication Association (NCA), San
Francisco, CA Nov. 12-15, 2010.
“Counted Out: The neutralization of science with probability in the debate over nuclear
Safety,” Rhetoric Society of America Conference (RSA), Minneapolis, MN May 28-31, 2010
“From Analogy to Reality: The Importance of Mathematical Analogy in the Development of Gregor
Mendel’s Plant Hybridization Experiments,” Rhetoric Society of America Conference (RSA),
Seattle, WA, May 23-26, 2008
“The Role of Mathematics in the Study of Heredity and Evolution,” 35th Annual Western Pennsylvania Symposium on World Literatures “In the Footsteps of Darwin,” Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, April, 10 2008
“Glory Days: Maintaining Disciplinary Identity in Mathematics in a Time of Decline,” Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC), New York, New York, March 21-24, 2007
“Persuasion and the Birth of the Mendelian Genetic Paradigm,” Rhetoric Society of America Conference (RSA), Memphis, Tennessee, May 26-29, 2006
“Arguing With Numbers: Mathematics and Scientific Argumentation in
Evolutionary Biology 1865-1965,” International Society for the History of
Rhetoric (ISHR) Conference, Los Angeles, California,July 12-17, 2005
“Science Begotten: H.G. Wells, Evolution, and Fantasia,” MMLA Conference, St. Louis,
Missouri, November 4-7, 2004
“A Cognitive Approach to Rhetorical Theory: Integrating Audience,” 24th Annual
Conference of the Poetics and Linguistics Association (PALA), New York, New York, July 25-28, 2004
“Rhetoric and the 19th-Century African-American Novel: A Discussion of Argumentation
in Frank Webb’s The Garies and Their Friends,” Penn State Conference on Rhetoric and Composition, State College, Pennsylvania, July 6-8, 2003
“Through the Looking Glass: Scientific Progress and Descriptive Adaptation in
Microscopic Observation from 1665 to 1900,” Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) New York, New York, March 19-23, 2003
“Through the Looking Glass: Scientific Progress and Descriptive Adaptation in
Microscopic Observation from 1665 to 1900,” Midwestern Modern Language Association (MMLA) Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 8-10, 2002
“Market Forces and Language: The Effect of Economic Pressure on the Preservation of
the Status of Turkish as a Language of Commerce in the Southern Rhodopies,”
Bulgarian Fulbright Commission Conference, Sofia, Bulgaria, May, 2002
Invited Talks
Featured Guest Speaker“The Science of Stories, the Stories of Science” Washington and
Jefferson University, Washington, PA, March 5, 2010
Panel Participant: Supersession on Rhetoric of Science, Rhetoric Society of America
Conference, Seattle, WA 2008
Seminars and Colloquia
Workshop Director: Rhetoric Society of America, Biannual Summer Institute, “Science and Its
Publics,” State College, PA, June 26-28, 2009
Courses Taught at CMU
- ENG 76-271 Introduction to Professional and Technical Writing (Fall/Spring 2006-present)
- ENG 76-476/876 Rhetoric of Science (Fall 2006, ‘07, ‘08, ‘09)
- ENG 76-492/892 Rhetoric of Public Policy in the 19th Century (Spring 2007)
- ENG 76-492/892 Rhetoric of Public Policy and Nuclear Power (Spring 2009, ‘10)
- ENG 76-425/825 Rhetoric, Science, and the Public Sphere (Fall 2010)
Students Supervised
Ph.D. Committees (Chair)
- Daniel Dickson-Laprade (estimated date of graduation 2015)
Ph.D. Committees (Committee Member)
- Tom Mitchell
- Dan Baumgartner
Professional Service
University and College Service
Director of the Pittsburgh Consortium for Rhetoric and Discourse Studies 2010
Faculty Senate 2007-2009
Department Service
Graduate Committee 2007-2010
M.A. Admissions Committee 2010
Literary and Cultural Studies Search Committee 2008-09
Professional Activities
Participant: RSA biennial conference weekend workshop “The Rhetoric of Scientific
Revolutions,” 2005
Participant: International Fulbright Conference, Frankfurt, Germany, 2001
Session Moderator: Lowell, Jarrell, and Bishop Conference, Case Western Reserve
University, Cleveland, Ohio, 2000
Professional Memberships
- Rhetoric Society of America
- National Communication Association
- Association for the Rhetoric of Science and Technology
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