Curriculum Vita

pdf version of my vita

Janice Fernheimer

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
110 8th Street, 4403 Sage
Troy, NY 12180

EDUCATION

Ph.D. in English, University of Texas at Austin, May 2006.
Concentrations in Rhetoric, Writing, and American Literature
Dissertation: "The Rhetoric of Black Jewish Identity Construction in America and Israel: 1964-1972."
Committee: Dr. Linda Ferreira-Buckley (co-chair), Dr. Patricia Roberts-Miller (co-chair), Dr. Evan Carton, Dr. Shelley Fisher Fishkin (Stanford University), Dr. Michael Bernard-Donals (University of Wisconsin, Madison)

M.A. in English, University of Texas at Austin, December 2001
Masters Report: "Breaking the Commandments of Holocaust Representation? Conflicting Genre Expectations in Audience Responses to Schindler's List and Life Is Beautiful." Director: Dr. Evan Carton

Jewish Textual Studies, Pardes Institute of Jewish Learning, 2000-2001. Jerusalem, Israel

Hebrew Language Immersion: Intermediate and Advanced Levels (ulpan gimel and dalet),
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mt. Scopus, June 2000-October 2000. Jerusalem, Israel

B.A. in English, University of Maryland, College Park. May 1998. summa cum laude, GPA 4.0.
Phi Beta Kappa, Golden Key, Phi Kappa Phi, Mortar Board, and Omicron Delta Kappa honor societies.
Honors Thesis: "Resistance and Communal Alliances in Women's African-American Slave Narratives and Jewish Holocaust Memoirs." Director: Dr. Shirley Wilson Logan

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

Scholar-in-residence, Brandeis University Hadassah-Brandeis Insitute of Jewish and Gender Studies, Waltham,
MA, August-December 2008.

Assistant Professor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Department of Language, Literature, and
Communication, August 2006-present.

Assistant Director, University of Texas Division of Rhetoric and Writing, 2004-2006.
Worked with faculty and staff in administrating lower division writing courses. Created and implemented curricula. Mediated instructor-student conflicts and adjudicated plagiarism cases.

PUBLICATIONS

Peer-reviewed Articles Published and In-press
“Black Jewish Identity Conflict: A Divided Universal Audience and the Impact of Dissociative Disruption.” Rhetoric Society Quarterly. Forthcoming Spring 2009.  

“Bridging the Divide: Blogs in the Composition Classroom,” with Tom Nelson.  Currents in Electronic Literacy. Volume 9. December 2005.<http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/currents/fall05/fernheimernelson.html>

Peer-reviewed Articles Accepted and In-progress
“Introduction to Special Issue of College English: Rhetoric and Jewish Studies.” College English. Guest Editor. Janice Fernheimer. Forthcoming July 2010.

“From Jew to Israelite: ‘Complicating Communion’ and The New Rhetoric’s Tools for Invention.” Special Issue of Argumentation and Advocacy. Guest Editor. David Frank. Forthcoming Fall 2009.

“Collaborative Convergences in Research and Pedagogy:  An Interdisciplinary Approach to Teaching Writing with Wikis,” with Dr. Lupita Montoya, Dr. Dean Nieusma, Dr. Lei Chi, Thomas Kujala, and Andrew LaPadula. Computers and Composition Online. Forthcoming Spring 2009.

Book Chapters
“Arguing from Difference: Cooper, Emerson, Guizot, and a More Harmonious America.” Speaking Our Minds: Black Women’s Thought in the Nineteenth Century. Ed. Kristin Waters and Carol B. Conaway. Lebanon, New Hampshire: University of Vermont Press, 2007. 287-305.
            *Recipient of The Letitia Woods Brown Memorial Book Prize for best anthology about African American
            women's history for 2007.           

“Breaking the Commandments of Holocaust Representation? Conflicting Genre Expectations in Audience Responses to Schindler’s List and Life is Beautiful.” Beyond Life is Beautiful: Comedy and Tragedy in the Cinema of Roberto Benigni. Ed. Grace Russo Bullaro. Leicester, UK; Troubador Publishing, 2005. 292-321.

Reviews
Judaic Perspectives in Rhetoric and Composition Studies. Ed. Andrea Greenbaum and Deborah Holdstein. Rhetoric Society Quarterly. Forthcoming July 2009.

Rhetorical Refusals: Defying Audiences’ Expectations by John Schilb. Rhetoric Society Quarterly. Forthcoming January 2009.

Strategies of Remembrance: The Rhetorical Dimensions of National Identity Construction by M. Lane Bruner. Rhetoric Society Quarterly 14: 4 (2004): 97-101.

Manuscripts in Progress
Steppin’Into Zion: Hatzaad Harishon and Black Jewish Identity from Civil Rights to Black Power. (Book)

“Leading Through Listening: Jewish Women Youth Advisors Bridge Racial Tensions in Jewish Harlem.”
Donna Sudarsky Memorial Working Paper Series. <http://www.brandeis.edu/hbi/pubs/working_papers.html>. Forthcoming August 2009.

“Commandment Keepers of Harlem.”  The Encyclopedia of African American Religious Culture. Ed. Anthony B. Pinn. ABC-Clio, Santa Barbara, CA. Forthcoming July 2009.

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS AND INVITED TALKS

International
“‘Pending Approval’: Identity, Community, and Jewish Social Networks.” Roundtable: “Jews and New Media I: Social Software.”  Association of Jewish Studies, D. C., Dec. 21-23, 2008.

“Black Jewish Identity and Burkean Invention.” Department of English, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel, July 16, 2008.  (invited)

“WAC-Y Wikis: Fostering Collaboration in Group Writing Assignments Across the Curriculum.” Ninth
Biennial 2008 International Writing Across the Curriculum Conference. Austin, May 29, 2008.

“From Jew to Israelite: Complicating ‘Communion’ and The New Rhetoric’s Tools for Invention.” Panel: “Value Hierarchies and Justice in Judaic Rhetoric.” Session Organizer, Chair, and Presenter. The Promise of Reason: The New Rhetoric After Fifty Years. University of Oregon, Eugene, May 19, 2008.

“The Rhetoric of Jewish Identity.” Roundtable: “Rhetoric and Jewish Studies.” Session Organizer and Presenter. Association of Jewish Studies, Toronto, December 16, 2007.

“Confessions of a Technophobe: How I Came to Value and Use Technology in the Writing Classroom.”
Mofet (Forum for English Department Chairs at Israeli Colleges). Tel Aviv, Israel, December 29, 2006. (invited)

“Creating ‘Open-Source’ Classroom Communities: An Introduction to Technology in the Writing Classroom.” Achva College, Jerusalem, Israel and English Teachers’ Association of Israel and Levinsky College, Tel Aviv, Israel, January 1, 2007. (invited)

“You’re Jewish?: Black Jewish Identity as a Challenge to Burkean Theory.” Association of Jewish Studies, San Diego, December 17, 2006.
                       
“Rights and Writes of Holocaust Representation: Benigni and Wilkomirski.” Narrative: An International Conference. Atlanta, April 8, 2000.

National
“Identity and Archival Research in Rhetoric.” Roundtable: “What is Rhetoric Research?” Session Sponsored by the Rhetoric Society of America. Modern Language Association, San Francisco, Dec. 29, 2008. (invited)

“Expanding the Scope of Jewish Identity: Hatzaad Harishon, Black Jews, and Burkean Invention” Panel: “The Rhetorical Turn in Jewish Studies.” Rhetoric Society of America. Seattle, May 26, 2008.

“‘Open Source’ Approaches to Literary Studies: Technology Fosters Collaborative, Productive Reading.” Kean University, Union, April 27, 2007. (invited plenary)

“Keeping the Faith: The Rhetoric and Pedagogy of Medieval Jews.” Rhetoric Society of America. Memphis, May 28, 2006.

“Composing Peace in the Writing Classroom: ‘Listening Rhetoric’ and the Politics of the Middle East.” Panel: “Composition International: Globalism in the Center.” Conference on College Composition and Communication. Chicago, March 23, 2006.

“The Brotha’s Jewish? Hebrew Israelite Identity in America and Israel.” Modern Language Association. Philadelphia, December 28, 2004.

“Meeting Your Audience Through Mediums of Culture: Anna Julia Cooper’s Use of Identification.” Rhetoric Society of America.  Austin, May 30, 2004.           

“Welcome to the Blogosphere: Weblogs and Classroom Community,” with Tom Nelson. Conference of the Popular Culture Association. San Antonio, April 8, 2004. (Also published as a White Paper <http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/?q=node/100>).
           
“Writing Centers: Liberal Arts Imperialism?” Roundtable: “Beyond Our Walls: Writing Centers Across Disciplines.” Conference on College Composition and Communication. San Antonio, March 27, 2004.

Local
“Disrupting Whiteness: Hebrew Israelites and Black Jewish Identity.” New Judaisms Conference at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, February 8-11, 2009. (invited by the Department of Religion)

“Hatzaad Harishon and Black Jewish Identity.” Hadassah Brandeis Institute (HBI). Waltham, October 27, 2008.
(invited by the Hadassah Brandeis Institute Board of Trustees)

“Dancing with Jewish Identity: Hatzaad Harishon and New York’s Black Jews.” Temple Emmanuel. Wakefield, November 17, 2008. (invited by the Sisterhood Committee)

 “Hora-dancing in Harlem: Hatzaad Harishon, Zionism, and the Rhetoric of Black Jewish Identity.” Sociology of American Jews with Dr. Sylvia Fishman. Brandeis University, Waltham, November 19, 2008. (invited)

“Wikis as Collaborative Tools for Writing Across the Curriculum.” Department of Language, Literature, and Communication Colloquiuam at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Troy, October 3, 2007.

“Hatzaad Harishon’s First Steps Explode Racial Expectations for Jewishness.” Department of Language, Literature, and Communication Colloquiuam at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Troy, November 1, 2006.

 “Solving America's Race Problem: Anna Julia Cooper's Contrapuntal Voices and the Riches of Harmony.” Graduate Student Conference:  Visions and Divisions. University of Texas, Austin, October 3, 2003.

WORKSHOPS

National
“Brandeis Summer Institute for Israel Studies.” One of twenty-six internationally selected seminar participants. Brandeis University, Waltham, MA and Israel. June 18-July 11, 2008.

“Rhetoric and Jewish Studies.” Workshop Organizer. Seminar leader with David Metzger and Steven Katz. Rhetoric Society of America Summer Institute, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, June 23-25, 2007.

“Rhetoric and the World.” One of twenty-five nationally selected seminar participants. Rhetoric Society of America Summer Institute. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, June 17-23, 2007.

“Should Teachers Take Sides in Political Controversies?: Justifications, Methods, and Ethical Boundaries.” Workshop Participant. College Conference on Composition and Communication. New York, March 21, 2006

Local
“Introduction to Clearspace: Using Wikis to Foster Collaborative Writing in an Engineering Course.” Guest lecturer and workshop leader with Andrew La Padula. Introduction to Engineering Design with Dr. Lupita Montoya, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, April 3, 2008.

“Introduction to Clearspace: Using Wikis to Foster Collaborative Writing in Group-authored Business Plans.” Guest lecturer and workshop leader. Product, Design, and Innovation (PDI) Studio with Dr. Dean Nieusma, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, March 31, 2008.

“Introduction to Collaborative, Process-Based Writing.” Guest lecturer and workshop leader. Product, Design, and Innovation (PDI) Studio with Dr. Dean Nieusma. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, March 27, 2008.

“Writing Recursively: Tips for Revision and Invention Using the Rhetorical Canon.” Guest lecturer and workshop leader with Dr. Barbara Lewis.  Introduction to Air Quality with Dr. Lupita Montoya, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, November 15, 2007.

 “Introduction to Clearspace: Using Wikis to Foster Collaborative Writing in an Engineering Course.” Guest lecturer and workshop leader with Tom Kujala. Introduction to Air Quality with Dr. Lupita Montoya, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, October 25, 2007.

“Introduction to Collaborative Writing for Air Quality Students.” Guest lecturer and workshop leader with Barbara Lewis. Introduction to Air Quality with Dr. Lupita Montoya, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, October 15, 2007.

“Feminist Cyborgs: Teaching like a Feminist in the Computer Classroom.” Workshop Leader. “The Learning Record Online as Feminist Pedagogy.” Women’s and Gender Studies Conference. University of Texas, Austin, April 1, 2005. (Also published as a White Paper).

TEACHING AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Assistant Professor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Department of Language, Literature, and Communication
Writing in the Digital Age. (2 sections) Spring 2008.  Created and taught this multi-section undergraduate writing course which introduced students to new technologies and their impact on contemporary conceptions of  literacy, culture, and identity. Students produced video and traditional arguments. Coordinated and trained two teaching assistants.

Teaching Communication in Technologically Mediated Contexts. Fall 2007. Created and taught graduate course introducing students to key controversies in rhetoric, composition, and new media writing instruction.

Writing to the World Wide Web. (3 sections) 2006-2007. Innovated and implemented sophomore-level writing course that includes new media as well as traditional writing assignments.

Instructor, University of Texas, 2001-2006. (9 sections).
The Writing Process: Food for Thought and Writing about Food. Division of Rhetoric and Writing, Spring 2006. Developed and taught intermediate expository writing workshop about food.

Rhetoric and Composition. Division of Rhetoric and Writing, Spring 2005, 2001-2002. Developed and implemented first-year writing course about higher education.

Women’s Popular Genres: Romance and Sentimentality. Department of English, 2003-2004. Taught sophomore-level writing course for English majors and non-majors.

Unfulfilled Promises in the Promised Land: The Rhetoric of Peace in the Middle East.
Division of Rhetoric and Writing, 2002-2003. Designed and implemented a sophomore-level writing course about the media representation and rhetoric of the Arab-Israeli Conflict.

Teaching Assistant, University of Texas, 1998-2000. (4 sections).
Masterworks of British Literature, Masterworks of American Literature. Facilitated weekly discussions.

Undergraduate Writing Center Consultant, University of Texas, 2003-2005.
Developed and led class-specific revision workshops for literature and composition students.

Computers, Writing, and Research Lab Developer, University of Texas, 2003-2004.
Served as one of seven developers selected to innovate projects and pedagogy in the lab.
Led initiative on professional development and developed a web node for professionalization.

Computers, Writing, and Research Lab Proctor, University of Texas, 2001-2004.
Assisted undergraduates with a variety of software applications on both MAC and PC platforms.

RESEARCH AND TEACHING INTERESTS

History and theory of Jewish Rhetorical Studies; Rhetoric of identity; Literacy, Technology, and Pedagogy; Rhetorical theory; History of rhetoric; Gender studies; Rhetoric of the Palestinian-Israeli conflicts; Holocaust rhetoric and representation; Nineteenth-century African-American rhetoric; Nineteenth and twentieth century African-American and Jewish literature; Archival research methods

AWARDS, GRANTS, AND FELLOWSHIPS

Hadassah Brandeis Institute for Jewish and Gender Studies, Scholar in Residence Fall 2008 ($12,000 plus housing)
Brandeis Summer Insitute for Israel Studies 2008
Honorable Mention, Dissertation of the Year 2007, Rhetoric Society of America.
The Letitia Woods Brown Memorial Book Prize 2007
Awarded to the best anthology about African American women's history. Speaking Our Minds: Black
Women’s Thought in the Nineteenth Century. Ed. Kristin Waters and Carol B. Conaway.
“Arguing from Difference: Cooper, Emerson, Guizot, and a More Harmonious America.” 287-305.
RAMP-UP Early Career Campaign Award 2007, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, ($5,000).
Tech-mediated Communication: Innovating the User Experience in a Mediated World. Cheryl Geisler,
Audrey Bennett, Jan Fernheimer, Roger Grice, Patricia Search, and James Zappen. Society for Technical Communication Major Grant 2006-2009. ($138,000). Coordinator for Wikis in Collaboration Component.
James L. Kinneavy Prize for Scholarship in Rhetoric and Composition 2006,
      awarded to best graduate essay in Rhetoric at the University of Texas at Austin.
Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship in Jewish Studies 2005-2006 ($10,000).
Modern Language Association Graduate Student Travel Grant 2006.
David Bruton, Jr., Fellowship 2005-2006, University of Texas.
Department of English Assistant Instructor of the Year 2003-2004, University of Texas.
College of Liberal Arts Summer Doctoral Fellowship Recipient 2004, University of Texas.
Department of English Summer Doctoral Fellowship 2003, University of Texas.
Dorot Fellowship in Israel 2000-2001, one of fifteen nationally selected fellows ($14,000 plus tuition).
Omicron Delta Kappa Foundation National Fellowship 1998-1999.
Joyce Tayloe Horrel Scholarship 1998-1999, awarded to most distinguished English major at
     University of Maryland.
College of Arts and Humanities Distinguished Senior Scholar 1997-1998, University of Maryland.
College of Arts and Humanities Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship 1997, University of Maryland.
Ben Zion Outstanding Hebrew Scholar 1997, University of Maryland.

ACADEMIC SERVICE AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
           
Guest Editor, Special Issue of College English: Rhetoric and Jewish Studies, forthcoming July 2010.
Panel Chair, “Rethinking ‘The Other’: Problems in Post-Modern Jewish Thought, Politics, and the Media.”
            Association of Jewish Studies, D.C. Dec. 21-23, 2008.
External Reviewer, National Endowment for the Humanities 2008-2009 Digital Start-up Grant. “Archive 2.0:
            Imagining The Michigan State University Israelite Samaritan Scroll Collection as the Foundation for a
            Thriving Social Network.”
LL & C Department Financial Aid Committee, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2008-2009.
LL & C Department Website Redesign Committee, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2007-2008.
Klal Rhetorica, a community of scholars working in Rhetoric and Jewish Studies.
Founder and moderator of electronic list of more than 100 international scholars. June 26, 2007-present.
Salon Fitfoot (Dorot Alumni monthly Salon for the NY region). Founder and Co-Chair Nov. 2007-present           
Young Adult Division, Leadership Training Program, sponsored by the Albany Jewish Federation, 2007.
Hekdesh, Tzedekah Collective and Charitable Grantmaking, 2006-present.            
LL & C Department Chair’s Cabinet and Advisory Committee, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2006-2007.
Center for Communication Practices Committee, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2006-2007.
Freshman Writing Committee, University of Texas, 2004-2006.
Division of Rhetoric and Writing Textbook Committee, Chair, University of Texas, 2004-2005.
Austin Jewish Education Task Force, Jewish Community Association, 2004-2005.
Sophomore Literature Committee,  University of Texas, 2003-2004.
English Graduate Group Steering Committee,peer-elected representative, University of Texas, 2002-2003.
U.T. Computers, Writing, and Research Lab Steering Committee, peer-elected representative, 2002-2003.
Young Austin Leadership Alliance, Jewish Community Association, 2001-2002.
English Computer Use Committee, University of Texas, 2001-2002.
University of Texas TA/AI Rights and Responsibilities Committee, 1999-2000.
Departmental Delegate, U.T. Graduate Student Assembly, peer-elected representative, 1998-2000.

COMMUNITY INSTRUCTION

Hebrew Instructor, Congregation Beth Israel, Austin, TX February-May 2003.
             Created and implemented curriculum to teach Hebrew reading and writing skills to adult learners.

Hebrew School Instructor,Congregation Beth Israel, Austin, TX, October, 2002-May 2003.
            Created and implemented conversational curriculum for post-Bar and Bat mitzvah students.

Religious School Instructor, Congregation Beth Israel, Austin, TX, 1998-2000, 2001-2002.
             Taught basic Jewish History and Culture seminars for seventh-grade students.

LANGUAGES

Fluent in contemporary Hebrew.

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

Rhetoric Society of America, Association of Jewish Studies, Klal Rhetorica, Coalition of Women Scholars in the History of Rhetoric, Conference on College Composition and Communication, International Society for the History of Rhetoric, Modern Language Association, Kenneth Burke Society, Dorot Fellowship Alumni Association

REFERENCES