Christina Fisanick
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Education:
Ph.D. in English, Ohio University, August 2003
Major Area of Emphasis: Composition and Rhetoric
 
M.A. in English, Ohio University, June 1998
Major areas of emphasis: Literary Theory and American Literature
Thesis: "'Cal is my baby': The Cold War and John Steinbeck's East of Eden"
Thesis Director: Robert DeMott
 
B.A. in English, West Liberty State College, May 1996
Graduated Magna Cum Laude and Member of College Honors Program
 
Dissertation:
Title: "The Embodied Pedagogue: Teaching and Resarching With the Body"
Committee: Sherry Gradin (director), David Lazar, Albert Rouzie, Judith Lee (outside reader)
 
Awards and Honors:
Philanthropic Pilot Program, Xavier University, 2004
A competitive program for which I was selected to add a philanthropic component to my ENG 326:  Women's Bodies, Writing, and Rhetoric course.  See more about this course in my teaching section.

Summer Fellowship, Xaiver University, 2004

A competitive award that will allow me to revise my dissertation into a book and (hopefully) find a publisher for it.

Outstanding Teaching Associate, Ohio University, 2002

Outstanding Teaching Associate, Ohio University, 2001

Outstanding Teaching Associate, Ohio University, 1998

English Department Scholarship and Teaching Stipend, Ohio University, 1996-2002
 
Teaching Experience:
XAVIER UNIVERSITY, Assistant Professor, 2003-present
Designed, created and taught the following courses:

ENG 115:  Rhetoric--Honors (five sections)
According to the XU course description booklet, the purpose of English 115: Rhetoric is to provide the student with an “intensive theoretical and practical study of discourse.”  Throughout the course of the semester, you, we, will attempt to accomplish both of those goals by studying the theory and application of rhetoric.  You will do so by critically reading, thinking and writing about the topic of your choice both within a group and individually.  The result of this course will be a completed group portfolio due during final’s week. Visit the course website:  http://www.fisanick.com/rhetoric.html

ENG 206: Literature and the Moral Imagination (one section...forthcoming)

ENG 326:  Women's Bodies, Writing and Rhetoric
(one section)
This course seeks to interrogate the rhetorical dimensions of women's bodies. Students taking this course can expect an introduction to body theory and an examination of current body writing by women. The reading assignments will cover a broad range of bodily experience. The writing assignments will require students to investigate their own body rhetorics, to carry out research on historical and contemporary body theory, and to rigorously critique the texts that we will be reading in class.  In addition, we will be implementing a philanthropic component to the course, in which students will be given $4,000 to give to a local charity of their choice that works towards the improvement of the body images of girls and/or women.  Visit the course website: http://www.fisanick.com/body.html

OHIO UNIVERSITY, Teaching Associate, 1996-2003
Designed, created and taught the following courses:

 
ENG 151: Writing and Rhetoric I (five sections)
"From Blues to Rap: The Tragic Deaths and 'Heroic' Mythos of 20th Century American Musicians" (one section)
 

ENG 151: First-Year Learning Communities (six sections)
In these sections, the following courses were paired with ENG 151:
Geology, Social Work, Environmental Geography, Psychology, Political Science (computer-based), Popular Culture (computer-based); Human Geography

ENG 200-Introduction to Literature (one section)

ENG 201-Critical Approaches to Fiction (one sections
"Family Affair: Investigating the Fictional American Family"

ENG 305J: Junior-Level Technical Writing (23 sections; 11 computer-based); Technical Writing in the Computer Classroom

ENG 306J: Junior-Level Women and Writing (eight sections)
"Writing as Re-Vision: Rethinking the Feminist Gaze" (one section)
"Women's Bodies as Rhetorical Spaces: Writing To, From, and Through the Female Body" (seven sections)

ENG 308J: Writing and Rhetoric II (two sections)
"Rewriting History: Research, Revision, and the Historical Self"
"Making the Private Public: Rhetorics of Published Personal Writing"
"Rhetorics of the American Family"

 
Teacher Preparation:
ENG 591 and 591A: Teaching College English
ENG 575: Teaching Technical Writing
ENG 791: Issues in Teaching College English
ENG 777: Issues in the Profession
ENG 792E: Computers and Composition Pedagogy
 
Workshops:
Love Your Body Day! Fall 2002. Facilitated multimedia, hands-on workshops for helping women across the campus rethink the ways in which women's bodies are represented in popular culture. Sponsored by Redefining Education Through Devoted Sisterhood (REDS), a student organization of minority women.

Teaching in the Computer Classroom. Twice each quarter, 1999-2000 and 2002-2003. Assisted new computer classroom teachers in creating pedagogical techniques for teaching in the Mac-based labs, including assignment construction and development of grading criteria for computer-based projects.

Synchronous Communication in the Classroom. Winter 2001. Lead a half-day workshop on using MOOs, chat rooms, and other forms of synchronous communication in classrooms across the campus, including composition, biology, psychology, and chemistry.

Designing Online Syllabi. Fall 1999. Provided instruction to English faculty in developing effective online syllabi and assignments using Adobe PageMill and DreamWeaver.
Adminstrative Experience:
Assistant Director of Composition, Ohio University, 2003
 
 
Assistant Director, Writing Across the Curriculum and Center for Writing Excellence, Ohio University, 2001
· co-developed necessary materials and agendas for workshops and meetings for the Center for Writing Excellence and Writing Across the Curriculum program
· administered, coordinated, and scheduled Ohio University Linked Course Program
· created, administered and evaluated Ohio University's first-year composition exemption exam
· administered and evaluated Ohio University's junior-level composition exemption exam
· created documents regarding writing and administrative issues
· assisted with workshop presentations and follow-up meetings for the Center for Writing Excellence and Writing Across the Curriculum
· created public relations documents
· collaborated with the director and many other members of the university community concerning the writing-across-the-curriculum initiative
· co-coordinated Ohio University Writing-Enriched Course Program
· researched and presented the effectiveness of First-Year Learning Communities
· co-revised $400,000 budget plan for the Center for Writing Excellence and Writing Across the Curriculum
· edited documents prepared by the director
 
Assistant to the Director of Technical Writing, Ohio University, 2000
· prepared course materials for ENG 575: Teaching of Technical Writing (305J)
· presented projects and concepts in ENG 575
· served as liaison for the ENG 575 students and the director
· assisted ENG 305J instructors in further understanding pedagogical issues
· created the web site for the International Technical Communication Division of the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, located at http://www.ohiou.edu/attw/welcome.html
 
Computer Teaching Lab Consultant, Ohio University, 1999-2000; 2002-2003
· assisted writing teachers with technical and pedagogical computer-related concerns in a Mac-based computer lab
· co-developed and co-directed workshops for teaching in the computer classroom
· revised the Ohio University English department website
· co-directed workshops for on-line syllabus creation
 
Editorial Experience:
Sphere, Ohio University's Literary Magazine, Co-Editor, 1997-98
Quarter After Eight, International Literary Journal, Reader, 1997-98
Ampersand, West Liberty State College Literary Magazine, Editor, 1994-96
Winding Road, West Liberty State College Yearbook, Editor, 1995-96
 
Presentations:
"The Vagina Monologues:  Liberating or Oppressive?"  College English Association; Richmond, VA; April 2004.

 

"Writing in Action: Women's Bodies, Oprah, and the Power of an Online Community," Conference on College Composition and Communication; Chicago, Illinois; March 2002

"PCOS and Women in Appalachia: Revealing the Hidden Epidemic," The Women of Appalachia National Conference; Zanesville, Ohio; October 2001

"Rupturing Discourse, Reconstructing Rhetoric: Women, On-line Discussion Lists, and Community," Conference on College Composition and Communication; Denver, Colorado; March 2001

"The Intersection of Reading and Class: A Brief Qualitative Study," International Reading Association; DeKalb, Illinois; May 2000

"From the Outside In: Entering the Cross Cultural Conversation in the College Composition Classroom," Southern Ohio Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts Conference; Athens, Ohio; April 2000

"From the Cold War to the Old War: Parallels in U.S. Statecraft in the Old and New Star Trek," Dogwood Bloom Literary Symposium; Athens, Ohio; May 1997

"Race, Class, and Gender in the Collaborative Classroom," Ohio Council Teachers of English Association; Columbus, Ohio; March 1997

"The Prostitute and the Mother: Women in John Steinbeck's Fiction," Alphi Chi National Convention; Anderson, Indiana; May 1996

"The Hero as a Woman: Psyche and Antigone," West Virginia Association of College English Teachers; Morgantown, West Virginia; March 1996

 
Publications:
"PCOS and the Women of Appalachia: Revealing the Hidden Epidemic." Selected Conference Proceedings from the Third Annual Women in Appalachia Conference.

The Steineck Encyclopedia, 96 entries on East of Eden, Greenwood Press, Forthcoming.

 
University Service:
Rhetoric Committee, Department of English, Xavier University, 2003
Composition Committee, Ohio University, 2003
Association of Graduate English Students, President, Ohio University, 2001-2002
Committee for Writing Across the Curriculum, Ohio University, 2001
English Department Graduate Studies Committee, Ohio University, 2000-2001
Computers and Composition Committee, Ohio University, 1999-2000
Co-coordinator Graduate Student Symposium, Ohio University, 1997-98
Association of Graduate English Students, President, Ohio University, 1997-98
 
Teaching and Research Interests:
Medical Rhetoric, Feminist Rhetorical Studies, Women's Studies, Writing and the Body, History of Composition and Rhetoric, Technical Writing, Cultural Studies, Popular Culture, Creative Non-fiction, Contemporary American Literature
 
Professinal Memberships:
Modern Language Association
National Council of Teachers of English
 
Academic Memberships:
Alpha Chi, National Honor Society
Sigma Tau Delta, National English Honor Society
Psi Chi, National Psychology Honor Society
 
References:

Dr. Sherrie Gradin, Professor of English and Director of Writing Across the Curriculum and the Center for Writing Excellence and Professor of English; Ohio University; (740) 597-1857; gradin@ohio.edu

Dr. David Lazar, Associate Professor of English and Senior Editor of Hotel Amerika; Ohio University; (740) 593-2803; DavidLazar@aol.comDavidLazar@aol.com

Dr. Albert Rouzie, Associate Professor of English; Ohio University; (740) 593-2784

Dr. Barry Thatcher, Director of Graduate Studies and Assistant Professor of English; New Mexico State University; (505) 646-2239; bathatch@nmsu.edu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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