Professional Appointments and Training
I'm an assistant professor of writing, rhetoric and technical communication at James Madison University. I also teach courses that are part of the interdisciplinary minor in Science, Techology and Society and Environmental Studies.
From 2004-06, I was an instructor in Writing and Rhetoric Studies, a precursor to the School of WRTC.
For the 2006-07 academic year, I was a lecturer of professional writing in the Department of English at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. I taught the courses "Introduction to Technical Writing," "Theory and Practice of Editing," "Writing for Business," and "Writing about Science."
Before I began teaching at JMU, I was an adjunct instructor in the Department of English at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. I taught the courses "Writing and Rhetoric Workshop I and II" and "Writing in the Workplace." I was also an adjunct instructor in the Department of History at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA, where I taught "History of the Modern World."
I hold the following degrees:
- Ph.D., Science and Technology Studies, Virginia Tech (2007);
Dissertation: The Rhetoric of Repugnance: Popular Culture and Unpopular Notions in the Human Cloning Debate; - M.S., Technical Communication, Rensselaer (1997);
- M.A., Rhetoric, Composition, and the Teaching of English, Arizona (1993);
- B.A., Biology and Creative Writing, Arizona (1991).
You can contact me at kleinmj@jmu.edu
Scholarship and Teaching
My research focuses on the use of science fiction in the classroom as a learning tool, and the way science fiction film depicts science and scientists. In a larger sense, I am interested in the interaction between technology and culture.
My publications include the following:
Articles and Chapters
"Modern Myths: Science Fiction in the Age of Technology." Frontiers of Cyberspace. Ed. Daniel Riha. Amsterdam and New York: Rodopi, 2012: 259-83. Print.
"'Hey Sammy, We’re not in Kansas Anymor'’: The Frontier Motif in Supernatural." Undead in the West: Vampires, Zombies, Mummies, and Ghosts on the Cinematic Frontier. Eds. Cynthia Miller and A. Bowdoin Van Riper. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2012: 19-31. Print.
"IP Caucus Roundtable: Students’ Rights to Their Writing and the Writing of Others." NCTE Inbox. August 23, 2011. Web.
"Beyond Black on White: Combining Document Design with MLA Style in the Writing Classroom." (with Kristi Shackelford). Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, volume 2. Eds. Charlie Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky. Anderson, SC: Parlor Press, 2011: 333-49. Print.
"Incorporating Science Fiction Into A Scientific Rhetoric Course." Practicing Science Fiction: Critical Essays on Writing, Reading, and Teaching the Genre. Eds. Karen Hellekson, Craig Jacobsen, Patrick Sharp, and Lisa Yaszek. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, 2010. 24-36. Print.
"Beholding the Uncanny: Replicants, Cyborgs and Clones in SF." Humanity in Cybernetic Environments. Ed. Daniel Riha. Oxford, United Kingdom: Inter-Disciplinary Press, 2009. 137-145. Print.
"Reconsidering the Lay-Expert Audience Divide." Handbook of Research on Virtual Workplaces and the New Nature of Business Practices. Eds. Kirk St. Amant and Pavel Zemliansky. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2008. 692-701. Print.
Reviews
- Rev. of The Philosophy of Science Fiction Film edited by Steven M. Sanders. Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts 20.2 (2009): 280-2. Print.
- Rev. of Stories and Their Limits: Narrative Approaches to Bioethics, ed. Hilde Lindemann Nelson and The Fiction of Bioethics: Cases as Literary Texts, Tod Chambers. Journal of Medical Humanities 23.2 (2002): 159-61. Print.
- Rev. of The Triple Helix: Gene, Organism and Environment, Richard Lewontin. Journal of the History of Biology 33.3 (2000): 611-12. Print.
These are some of the courses I have taught at James Madison University:
- Medical Writing (graduate course taught Spring 2010)
- Research Methods (graduate course taught Fall 2011, 2012)
- Scientific Rhetoric (graduate course taught Fall 2009)
- Science Writing (graduate course taught Spring 2009)
- Rhetoric of Science and Science Fiction (Honors Course)
- Rhetoric of Plague
- Rhetoric of Environmental Science and Technology
- Medical Writing
- Visual Rhetoric
- Visual Rhetoric Online
- Science and Technology in Literature
- Technology and Writing
- Technology and Writing Online
- Research Methods in TSC
- Introduction to Technical and Scientific Communication
- Critical Reading and Writing
- Reading and Writing Workshop
- Technology, Science and Society (ISAT course)