VITA
updated 2/12
James Schirmer
326 French Hall
English Department
303 E Kearsley
University of Michigan-Flint
Flint, MI 48502 810-766-7606
http://betajames.net
https://twitter.com/betajames
jschirm@umflint.edu
Academic Appointments
Assistant Professor August 2008 – present
University of Michigan—Flint, Flint, Michigan
Graduate Instructor August 2004 – May 2008
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio
Graduate Instructor August 2003 – May 2004
Texas A&M University—Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas
Education
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, Ohio August 2008
Ph.D., Rhetoric and Writing
Dissertation: “Acquiring Literacy: Techne, Video Games and Composition Pedagogy”
Texas A&M University—Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi, Texas May 2004
Master of Arts, English with a concentration in Rhetoric and Composition
Hope College
Holland, Michigan December 2000
Bachelor of Arts, English with an emphasis in Creative Writing
Research
Book Chapters
Under Review
“Ride Out the Avalanche: On Teaching My First Graduate-Level Course.” Preparing Writing Teachers for the Multimodal Age: Professional Development Models. Edited by Christine M. Denecker and Christine E. Tulley. Computers and Composition Digital Press.
“Techne as/is Play: Three Interstices.” Rhetoric/Composition/Play: How Electronic Games Mediate Composition Theory and Practice (and Vice Versa). Edited by Matthew S.S. Johnson, Rebekah Shultz Colby, and Richard Colby. Palgrave.
Published
“Fostering Meaning and Community in Writing Courses via Social Media.” Teaching Arts and Science with the New Social Media. Edited by Charles Wankel. Emerald Group Publishing Limited. 2011. 15-38.
“‘We All Stray From Our Paths Sometimes’: Morality and Survival in Fallout 3.” Network Apocalypse: Visions of the End in an Age of Internet Media. Edited by Robert G. Howard. Sheffield Phoenix Press. 2011. 183-199.
“The Personal as Public: Identity Construction/Fragmentation Online.” The Computer Culture Reader. Edited by Judd Ruggill, Ken McAllister and Joseph R. Chaney. Cambridge Scholars Press. 2009. 61-72.
Campus Publications
“Social Media in Academia — A Debate.” Pillars. Coordinated by Alaina Wiens. Fall 2011. http://www.umflint.edu/pillars/socialmedia/
“The Personal as Public: Identity Construction/Fragmentation Online.” Reprinted in The Scholarship of Teaching. May 2009 2(2): 20-25.
Conference Presentations
“Full-Screen and Distraction-Free.” Great Lakes THATCamp (The Humanities and Technology Camp). East Lansing, Michigan. 30 April 2011. http://www.2011.greatlakesthatcamp.org/2011/03/full-screen-and-distraction-free/
“Developing a Statewide OpenCourseWare Initiative.” Great Lakes THATCamp (The Humanities And Technology Camp). East Lansing, Michigan. 21 March 2010. http://www.2010.greatlakesthatcamp.org/2010/03/developing-a-statewide-opencourseware-initiative/
“Lost in San Andreas.” Conference on Computers and Writing. Detroit, Michigan. 19 May 2007.
“Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy?: Defining and Differing Identity Online.” 27th Annual Meeting of the Southwest/Texas Popular Culture Association & American Culture Association. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 10 February 2006.
“‘Our Outdoor Playground’: Nikean Ideas of Responsibility Concerning Environment and Community.” 14th Annual Conference on Environment and Community. Saratoga Springs, New York. 20 February 2004.
Campus Presentation
"Seriously Good at This." Keynote address at the 5th Annual Critical and Creative Writing Conference. Flint, Michigan. 1 April 2010. http://betajames.net/seriously-good-at-this-full-text-draft
Book Reviews
Technology and English Studies: Innovative Professional Paths, edited by James A. Inman and Beth L. Hewett. Computers and Composition Online. Spring 2006. http://www.bgsu.edu/cconline/reviews/schirmer1.html
Surveying the Interior, by Rick Van Noy. ISLE 12.2. Summer 2005.
Interviews
by Dillon Collier (2011, May 13). “Twitter changing how we follow sports.” NBC 25. http://www.minbcnews.com/sports/story.aspx?id=617623#.T0kYWHJWqPw
by Beata Mostafavi (2011, January 25). “Twitter talk meets English at the University of Michigan-Flint; writing class enters new world.” Flint Journal. http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2011/01/twitter_talk_meets_english_at.html
Teaching
Courses Taught
ENG 111 College Rhetoric (4 sections)
Description: Focus on equipping students with the ability and knowledge to write college-level essays that are clear, argumentative, and persuasive.
ENG 112 Critical Reading and Writing (5 sections)
Description: Focus on increasing students’ comfort and confidence in writing as well as critical thinking and research skills.
ENG 252 Advanced Composition (3 sections)
Description: Focus on greater understanding and awareness of past, present and future practices of writing through practice.
ENG 298 Analysis and Criticism of Videogames
Description: Focus on videogames as objects of study similar to prior media, including film and literature.
ENG 342 Videogame Studies
Description: Focus on videogames as viable cultural, rhetorical, and textual artifacts worthy of academic study
ENG 345 Technical Writing (5 sections)
Description: Focus on technical communication and the production of clear and concise informative documents, including instruction manuals, user guides and a variety of technical reports.
ENG 513 Digital Rhetorics, Digital Identities (2 sections)
Description: Focus on communicative online technologies as complex rhetorical devices that influence how identities are shaped and presented.
ENG 560 Topics in Rhetoric & Writing Booksprint
Description: Focus on the collaborative writing of an academic text on a topic related to rhetoric and writing studies
ENG 567 Composition Theory
Description: Focus on current and past theories in and of composition pedagogy
UNV 100 Media Mix (2 sections)
Description: Focus on traditional and new media with an eye toward building local and global community.
Guest Lectures
ENG 500 Introduction to English Studies (Foster), Fall 2011: "A Rough, Sprawling Take on Digital Rhetoric"
ENG 500 Introduction to English Studies (Foster), Fall 2008: "On Digital Rhetoric: What It Is, What It Does, And How To Break It"
JRN 350 Online Journalism (Lewis), Fall 2008: "Reddit and Social Bookmarking"
Independent Studies
MA student Roger Austin (2011, Winter.) ENG 591 Directed Study. University of Michigan-Flint.
Description: Focus on place and purpose of the author in the digital realm
MA student Walter Robison (2011, Winter). SSC 591 Capstone Seminar. University of Michigan-Flint.
Description: Focus on impact of the virtual on the real
Undergraduate student Amber Smith (2011, Winter). ENG 399 Directed Writing. University of Michigan-Flint.
Description: Focus on development of children’s games for the iPhone
MA student Roger Austin (2010, Fall). ENG 590 Directed Study. University of Michigan-Flint.
Description: Focus on mainstream media narratives of first-person shooter videogames
Undergraduate student Alger Newberry (2009, Fall). ENG 399 Directed Writing. University of Michigan-Flint
Description: Focus on technical analysis and actual writing of comic books and graphic novels
Service
Department
English department representative for Academic Showcase, Fall 2009 to present
Composition Survival Kit revisions, May 2009
College
Academic Standards Committee, Winter 2012 to present
Mid-Career Writing Assessment, March 27, 2009
Profession
Computers and Composition Online editorial review board, Fall 2011 to present http://www.bgsu.edu/cconline/eds.htm
Enculturation editorial review board, Fall 2011 to present http://www.enculturation.net/editors
Computers & Writing proposal review board, 2011
Games+Learning+Society proposal review board, 2011
Greater Flint Educational Consortium's Writing Committee meeting presentation, February 11, 2011
Greater Flint Educational Consortium's Writing Committee presents Digital Dimensions: Writing in the 21st Century workshop, October 1, 2010
University
Bookstore Advisory Board, Winter 2010 to present
Office of Extended Learning Advisory Board, Fall 2010 to Winter 2011
Guest lecturer for New Student Programs (Orientation), Summer 2009
Qua advisor, Student Publications Board, Fall 2009 to Winter 2011
Panel contributor for Office of Extending Learning’s “Blogs in Education” workshop, October 7, 2009