William C.

Kurlinkus
wkurlinkus.com
wkurlinkus@gmail.com
815.978.4628
Academic Positions
Assistant Professor, English The University of Oklahoma 2014–Present
• Director: Technical Writing and Communication
• Assistant Director: Rhetoric and Writing Studies
Areas of Specialization: Technical writing and communication, digital media studies, multimodal
composition/production, design studies, nostalgia/memory studies, rhetorical theory, qualitative research
methods

Education
The Ohio State University 2010–2014
• PhD English: Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy; Digital Media Studies
Dissertation: “Nostalgia and New Media: Designing Difference into Rhetoric, Composition,
and Technology.”
Committee: Cynthia L. Selfe (chair), Nan Johnson, Beverly Moss, Susan Delagrange,
H. Lewis Ulman

The Pennsylvania State University 2008–2010

• MA English: Rhetoric and Composition
Thesis: “The Politics of Paint: Racking Cans and DIY Lasers: How Channel of Access
Politicizes Graffiti Technology.”

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 2004–2008

• BA English (summa cum laude): Honors English; Honors Creative Writing
Thesis: “The Dialectic of the Gothic and the Enlightenment in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.”

Books
1. Nostalgic Design: Rhetoric, Memory, and Democratizing Technology. U of Pittsburgh P, Series in Composition,
Literacy, and Culture, 2019.

Peer-Reviewed Articles and Chapters

1. “‘Coal Keeps the Lights On’: Rhetorics of Nostalgia for and in Appalachia.” College English, vol. 81, no. 2,
2018, pp. 87–109. with Krista Kurlinkus
2. “Memorial Interactivity: Planning for Nostalgic User Experiences.” Rhetoric and Experience Architecture. Ed.
Liza Potts and Michael J. Salvo. Parlor Press, 2017.
3. “Crafting Designs: An Archaeology of ‘Craft’ as God Term.” Computers and Composition, vol. 33, 2014, pp.
50–67.
4. “An Ethics of Attentions: Three Continuums of Classical and Contemporary Stylistic Manipulation for
the 21st Century Composition Classroom.” The Centrality of Style. Ed. Michael Duncan and Star
Medzerian. Parlor Press and WAC Clearinghouse, 2013.
5. “The Watson Symposium: What Might Be Missing and Why?” Journal of Advanced Composition, vol. 32, no.
3, 2012, Accompanying blog at: <http://watsonresponse.blogspot.com/>. with Cynthia L. Selfe.

Reviews
1. “Track Changes: A Literary History of Word Processing. By Matthew G. Kirschenbaum.” Technology and
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 Culture (January 2019)

Teaching Experience
English 5443, Technology Studies in CRL University of Oklahoma Fall 2018
• This graduate course introduced students to the breadth of ways technology has been studied in the
field of composition, rhetoric, and literacy. From the philosophy of technology, to computers and
writing, to the rhetoric of science and technology, to technical writing, to the digital humanities—we
focused on the complex dynamics between CRL and rapidly advancing technologies by looking at the
cultural and social impacts of the digitization of the world. Course themes included digital rhetoric
and democracy, visual rhetoric and argument, media ecology, new media composition, and theories
of cyberculture.

English 3183, Digital Media Design University of Oklahoma Spring 2018

• A new version of authoring in the information age focused on teaching students to become user-
centered digital designers using Photoshop, Premiere, Canva, and HTML/CSS. Assignments
included a website redesign, video essay, speculative design, and final researched user-centered
design.

English 3163, Analyzing YouTube Celebrity University of Oklahoma Fall 2017

• This course, formally titled Writing, Rhetoric, and Histories of Technology, focused on the rhetorical
analysis and production of YouTube videos. We read a combination of theoretical readings on
YouTube, media, and culture and watched YouTube videos from Miranda Sings and microcelebrity,
to Epic Mealtime and carnivalesque eating, to ASMR and affect theory. In doing so, students learned
about the meaning of digital celebrity, virality, and popularity in the YouTube age. Final projects
were ethnographies of YouTube microcultures.

English 3143, Marketing the English Major University of Oklahoma Spring 2017
• What does an English major do after s/he graduates? What do professional writers do on the job?
How do I get a job as an English major? In this course students learned to market themselves as
English majors while also learning to market (through social media, video portraits, and qualitative
research) the English major as a valuable path for other students across the university. Students
created social media marketing campaigns and videos, press releases, design briefs, and personal
portfolios.

English 5133, Teaching Technical Writing, University of Oklahoma 2016, ’18

• A graduate level course in which students were introduced to 3 aspects of technical writing: teaching
technical writing to undergraduate STEM majors, researching technical writing as academics in a
university, and training to become professional technical writers themselves. The course specifically
focused on user-centered design and developing a usability research project.

English 6103, Research Methods in Composition, University of Oklahoma Spring 2015

Rhetoric, and Literacy
• A graduate-level methods course in which students were introduced to and practiced several of the
qualitative research methods used by scholars in the humanities; social sciences; and writing, rhetoric,
and literacy studies, including: 1. classroom data collection, 2. ethnography, 3. spatial research, 4.
archival research, and 5. digital methods.

English 3183, Authoring in the Information Age University of Oklahoma 2 Sections

• A digital media production course in which students learned to write using digital tools (web design,
Photoshop, and film and audio editing software) while simultaneously learning how those digital tools
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 transform the ways they write. We challenged what technical literacy means (from using a
photocopier to make punk zines to tweeting) and constantly explored the idea that technology is a set
of things, a set of skills, and a set of values. Students left the course with a working vocabulary of,
among other topics, web design, graphic design, social media marketing, participatory design, the
philosophy of technology, and UX (user experience) architecture.

English 3153, Technical Writing University of Oklahoma 6 Sections

In person and on-line
• From the most basic lab report to medical aftercare instructions, from museum displays to airplane
safety guides—in English 3153, students learned to analyze and produce technical documents across
a variety of settings. In particular this course will take a user-centered design research approach to
writing for science, workplace, and consumer settings. By the end of the course, students have
experience with resumes and cover letters, instruction sets, outreach grants, popular science
communication, usability testing, and info-graphics.

English 1113, Introduction to College Writing University of Oklahoma Fall 2014

• A rhetoric-centric freshmen writing course; of particular note in the course were a remix assignment
in which students learned about interactivity, visual rhetoric, and other concepts of delivery as well as
a final ethnographic research report in which students studied (through primary interviews, site
observations, and secondary research) how technology changed a community they were familiar with.

English 3304, Business Writing The Ohio State University Spring 2013
• A business writing course with a special emphasis on new capitalist business practices,
including social media marketing, multi-member projects, web design, non-profit organizations,
and contemporary business presentation tactics.

English 2269, Digital Media Composing The Ohio State University Fall 2012
• A rhetorically focused digital media composition class that featured HTML, CSS,
Wordpress, Photoshop, iMovie, and GarageBand. A special emphasis was given to the
politics of technology (access, fair use, remix, cultural appropriation, viral marketing, tracking
software, etc.) and techno-epistemological pluralism.

English Language Instructor The Columbus Literacy Council 2012

• Led a bi-weekly introductory English language class (reading, speaking, and writing)
for a group of 4-10 adults of varying experience levels.

Material Science and Engineering 581.04 The Ohio State University Fall 2012
Tech Writing TA to Professor David Phillips
Winter 2012
• Lectured on lab observation, note taking, and report writing—focused on ethos
and audience analysis in the field of engineering. Held regular office hours. Graded
writing quality on all lab reports. (2 Sections)

English 277, Introduction to Rhetorical Analysis The Ohio State University Spring 2012
Teaching Assistant to Dr. Nan Johnson
• Lectured on the rhetorical analysis of social media and the Internet and helped facilitate
day-to-day group work.

English 269 Digital Media Composing, The Ohio State University Fall 2011
Teaching Assistant to Dr. Cynthia Selfe
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• Lectured on visual rhetoric, taught iMovie, and generally facilitated daily discussion
and digital media composing workshops.

English 202 B, Writing in the Humanities The Pennsylvania State University 2 Sections
• A second-level writing course for juniors and seniors studying in the humanities.
Assignments included a professional journal review, résumé and cover letter, cultural/
literary analysis, and philosophically-oriented career analysis.

LEAP 18, Philosophy, Art, and Film The Pennsylvania State University Summer 2009
• A specially-designed session of freshman writing for incoming
freshmen that I coordinated with a member of the philosophy department (who taught a
partner course). My portion had a focus on rhetorically depicting reality,
simulacra, and visual rhetoric.

English 015, Rhetoric and Composition The Pennsylvania State University 3 Sections
• Introductory writing course consisting of memoir, cause-and-effect arguments,
critical analyses, arguments through definition, and visual rhetoric. My main goals were to
teach a balance of audience awareness (analysis, acceptance, and refusal of the rhetorical
situation) and purposeful, personal stylistic choice. (3 Sections)

Directed Readings and Honors Projects

Matthew Jacobson. Directed Reading: “Technology, Literacy, and Design” Fall 2017
Haeyoung Lee. Directed Reading: “Technology and Food Ecologies” Spring 2017
Brittany McDaniel. Directed Reading: “Technical Writing and Design Methods” Spring 2016
Adriana Valtinson. Directed Reading: “Social Media and Feminist Rhetorics” Spring 2016
Danielle Snynder. Honors Research Project: “Public Intimacy and Social Media Marketing” Fall 2015
Lauren Bretnell. Directed Reading: “Rhetoric, Digital Media, and Memory Studies” Spring 2015

Exam and Dissertation Committees

Director
Matthew Jacobson, English PhD The University of Oklahoma Ongoing
Haeyoung Lee, English MA The University of Oklahoma 2017
Brittany McDaniel, English MA The University of Oklahoma 2016

Member
Jason Opheim, English PhD The University of Oklahoma Ongoing
Mandy McCray, English MA The University of Oklahoma 2018
Jordan Woodward, English MA The University of Oklahoma 2017
Adriana Valtinson, English MA The University of Oklahoma 2016
Lauren Brentnell, English MA The University of Oklahoma 2015

Outside Member
Gul Nahar, Education PhD The University of Oklahoma Ongoing
Matt Baker, Education MA, PhD The University of Oklahoma Ongoing

Administrative and Service

National
Judge. Cheryl Geisler Award for Outstanding Mentor, Rhetoric Society of America 2018
Composition AP Test Grader Tampa, Florida 2017

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Conference Proposal Reviewer Digital Humanities 2016, 2017
Conference Proposal Reviewer Computers and Writing 2013

Pedagogy Coordinator The Digital Media and Composition Institute Summer 2012
• Selected readings, organized schedule, presented on design in the composition classroom,
taught Photoshop, and generally facilitated day-to-day activities at a 2-week summer
institute attended by a group of 30 visiting graduate students and professors.

Research Assistant The Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives Summer 2012

• Used audio and video recording equipment to record literacy narratives at official Columbus Bicentennial
events for the Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives. Gathered narratives about
literacy practices and values at events from art museum workshops to live action role playing gatherings.
Used captioning and video editing software to make narratives accessible.

Assistant Editor Computers and Composition an International Journal 2010-2011

• Proofed journal manuscripts (content, copy, and style) for three issues of Computers and
Composition. Collaborated with authors to resolve problems and clarify meaning. Learned
the journal’s house style and worked on a team of three editors to prepare documents for
publication by Elsevier.

University
Director of Technical Writing The University of Oklahoma 2014–Present
• Created and direct a technical writing curriculum taken by ~200 STEM students annually. Focuses on
user-centered design through usability testing and of other qualitative methods. Also includes
resumes/cover letters, instruction set, grant writing, and popular science communiqués. Supervise syllabi,
course observations, hold weekly meetings for first-time instructors, hold conflict mediations, etc.

Departmental
Social Media Internship Coordinator The University of Oklahoma 2017–2018
• Select, coordinate projects for, and weekly meet with and oversee the English Department Digital
Communication and Marketing Intern on projects including revitalizing all social media accounts,
creating alumni profiles,

Undergraduate Committee The University of Oklahoma 2014–Present

• Currently working on professionalizing English majors through an internship program and instruction in
design. Previously helped propose a reformat undergraduate curriculum: including rethinking
prerequisites and renumbering courses with an eye towards recruiting new majors. Helped propose a
Texts and Technologies undergraduate specialization.

CRL Hiring Committee The University of Oklahoma 2015–2016

• Helped write the job ad, vet applications, and perform interviews and campus visits for a successful
advanced assistant/associate professor search in RCL, specializing in Race, Ethnicity, and/or Identity.

Composition Committee The University of Oklahoma 2014–2016

• Duties included classroom observations of graduate instructors, coordinating visiting composition
program directors, curriculum changes to first-year writing, and presentations on teaching to graduate
students.

Website Committee The University of Oklahoma 2014–2015

• Aided in the redesign of the English Department website.

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English Building Redesign The University of Oklahoma 2014–2016
Committee
• Was asked to help plan for the future technological interests (computer labs, technology classrooms, etc.)
of the Department of English as we moved to a new English building.

RCL Administrative Associate The Ohio State University 2013–2014

• Met regularly with the Vice Chair of the Rhetoric, Composition and Literacy program.
Attend writing program directors meetings. Complete administrative, research, assessment,
and curricular assignments for the Vice Chair of RCL and the directors of the First-Year
Writing, Second-Year Writing, and Professional and Technical Writing Programs.

Digital Media Project Assistant The Ohio State University Summer 2013
• Supported teaching and research in Digital Media Studies through interactive classroom
workshops on iMovie, Photoshop, Garageband, and other multimedia platforms.
Aided instructors in reimagining their courses (from composition to literature) as digital media
production courses including digital cameras, audio recorders, video recorders, green screens, lighting,
microphones, and ipads.

Fellowship Coordinator The Ohio State University Spring 2013

• Organized a committee of faculty and graduate student judges that wrote a call for and
refereed applications to the new Genevieve Critel Leadership Fellowship, a one-year
fully-paid fellowship, funded by the Digital Media and Composition Institute, that recognizes
post-candidacy graduate students in the department of English for their service and mentorship.

Composition Assistant The Pennsylvania State University 2009–2010

• Composed Penn Statements, a reader used by all first-year composition students at Penn
State, which consisted of 40 guided student essays, introductions to essay assignments,
and solutions to problems commonly encountered by first-year composition students.
Helped run grad student orientation; gave composition brown bag talks; reviewed all syllabi
submissions for composition classes; managed the composition library; assisted in cases of
plagiarism; and gave general pedagogical advice to comp instructors.

Awards and Fellowships

The University of Oklahoma
• University of Oklahoma Alternative Textbook Grant 2017
• College of Arts and Sciences Junior Faculty Summer Fellowship 2015

The Ohio State University

• Susan L. Huntington Dean’s Distinguished University Fellow 2010–2014
• Department of English Digital Media Prize for Outstanding Graduate Work 2013
• Department of English Digital Media Prize for Outstanding Graduate Work 2012
• Kitty O. Locker Travel Award for Research in Professional Communication 2012
• Department of English Award for Outstanding Graduate Scholarship in Digital Media 2011

The Pennsylvania State University

• Wilma R. Ebbitt Graduate Fellowship in Rhetoric in the College of the Liberal Arts 2010

Student Awards and Achievements

The University of Oklahoma
• Dr. Betty Evans Scholarship for Superior Critical Essay: Danielle Snyder 2016
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• NASA Technical Writing Internship: Rachel Gaal 2015

The Ohio State University

• Digital Media Prize for Outstanding Undergraduate Work: Jacob Hollar 2013

Conference Presentations, Workshops, Invited Lectures, and Institutes

“Writing with Users in Mind.” Computers and Writing, (George Mason University), June 2018.

Table Leader. Research Network Forum. College Conference on Composition and Communication, (Kansas City, MO)
April 2018.

Invited Speaker. “Nostalgic Design in Appalachia.” Universal Design Today: Live and Learn. (Charleston, WV)—
May 2017.

“Making as Research: Adopting Design Methods in First-Year Composition.” College Conference on Composition
and Communication. (Portland, OR)—March 2017.

“OVAL: A Virtual Ecosystem for Immersive Scholarship and Teaching.” Digital Humanities 2016 (Krakow,
Poland)—July 2016.

“Nostalgia and New Media: Invention, Delivery, and a Digital Dissertation.” Rhetoric Society of America.
(Atlanta, Georgia)—June 2016.

“Building Bases for Action: Re/Mapping a Mandated Writing Program Redesign.” College Conference on
Composition and Communication. (San Antonio, TX)—April 2016.

Attendee and Presenter. Rhetoric Society of America Summer Institute. Workshop. Presentation: “Crafting
Multimodal Research.” (University of Wisconsin, Madison) Led by Jason Palmeri and Ben McCorkle— June
2015.

“Memorial Interactivity: Scaffolding Nostalgic User Experiences.” Computers and Writing. University of
Wisconsin, Stout—June 2015.

“Usability is Dead: Plying Mobile Tech to Micro-Contextualize Medicine, Campaigning, and Marketing”
College Conference on Composition and Communication. (Tampa, FL)—March 2015.

Invited Speaker on Professional Websites. “The Academic Job Market.” Led by Patrick Berry and Quinn
Warnick. Computers and Writing. (Pullman, WA)—June 2014.

“Epideictic Technologies and Democratic Designs.” Rhetoric Society of America. (San Antonio, TX)—May 2014.

“Handcrafting Difference into Composition” College Conference on Composition and Communication. (Indianapolis,
IN)—March 2014.

Invited Speaker. “Roundtable on creating and maintaining an online presence” English Graduate Organization.
(Columbus, OH)—November 2013.

Invited Speaker. “Navigating the Commons: Remix, Creative Commons, and Fair Multimodal Data
Presentation.” The Digital Media and Composition Institute. (Columbus, OH)—May 2013

“Institutionalizing Guilt: Plagiarism and Corporate Time Use Policies.” College Conference on Composition and

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Communication. (Las Vegas, NV)—March 2013

Invited Speaker. “Nostalgia and Digital Publication.” Writing Matters in a Changing World. (Columbus, OH)—
February 2013.

“Questioning Collection: The Ethics of Composition as Collection in the First Year Writing Classroom.”
Thomas R. Watson Conference. (University of Louisville)—October 2012.

“Re-thinking Technological Determinism: ‘Place’-Making Rhetoric at Sites of Technological Transition.”

Computers and Writing. (North Carolina State University)— May 2012.

“Critical Emotion/Pathos/Affect and Digital Technology.” ThatCampOSU: The Humanities and Technology Camp.
(Columbus, OH)— April 2012.

Invited Speaker. “Interrogating the Ethics of Composition as Remix in the First-Year Writing Classroom”
Literacy Studies Graduate Seminar. (Columbus, OH)—March 2012.

“Digital Loss, Techno Magic, and Nostalgic Re-embodiment: The Emotionally Grounding Role of Craft
Aesthetics.” Think Art: Memory: An Interdisciplinary Conference on the Arts, Humanities, and Science (Boston
University).—October 2011.

“Everybody has a (literacy) story!: Recording and Preserving Digital Literacy Narratives of Our
Communities.” TransOhio Transgender and Ally Symposium. Workshop. With Deb Kuzawa and Katie DeLuca
(Columbus, OH)—August 2011.

“Everybody has a Literacy Story: Literacy Narrative Collection Digital Media, and the Digital Archive of
Literacy Narratives.” Half-Day Workshop. With Deborah Kuzawa, Katherine DeLuca, Melanie Yergeau,
Krista Bryson, Chase Bollig, Lauren Obermark, and Jennifer Michaels. Computers and Writing (University of
Michigan)— May 2011.

“Nostalgia and New Media: The Rhetorical Affect of the Typewriter in the Twenty-First Century.” Conference
on College Composition and Communication (Atlanta, GA)— April 2011.

“Racking Cans and DIY Lasers: How Channel of Access Politicizes Graffiti Technology,” Conference on College
Composition and Communication (Louisville, KY)— March 2010.

“Teaching Visual Rhetoric,” Composition Office Brownbag Series. The Pennsylvania State University. (State
College, PA)— February 2010.

Attendee. Rhetoric Society of America Summer Institute. Workshop. “Toward a Rhetoric of Multilingual Writing.”
(Pennsylvania State University) Led by A. Suresh Canagarajah— June 2009.

University Presentations
Invited Lecture. “Nostalgic Design on Social Media.” (Ohio State University)—November 2018.

Invited Speaker. “Between Innovation and Tradition: Using Nostalgia as a Tool for Inclusive Design.” Digital
Humanities Symposium. (University of Oklahoma)—September 2017.

“Grading Multimodal Compositions.” Mini-Workshop. University of Oklahoma. Ran 3 different sections for
graduate students and lecturers teaching in the first-year composition program at the University of
Oklahoma—November 2015.

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“Writing as Design: Introduction to 1213.” Introduction to new curriculum for returning teachers—August
2015.

“Writing as Design: Introduction to 1213.” Introduction to new curriculum for new teachers—August 2015.

Teaching Technical Writing. Semester Long Workshop Series: 7 meetings. University of Oklahoma—Spring 2015.

“Blueprint for Remodeling First-Year Composition.” With Drs. Sandra Tarabochia and Susan Kates.
Presentation to Dean and Provost—January 2015.

“Teaching Technical Writing.” Pre-Semester Workshop. University of Oklahoma—January 2015.

“Graduate Student Writing.” Invited Presentation. Pre-Semester Composition Workshop—August 2014.

Older Relevant Service

Coordinator Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy Reading Group 2013–2014
Core Committee Member Digital Arts and Humanities Working Group 2012–2014
Media Representative English Graduate Association 2012–2013
Graduate Member RCL Curriculum Committee 2011–2012
Co-Coordinator Centre Crest Nursing Home Writing Program 2009–2010
Judge Penn State Graduate Student Exhibition 2009
Steering Committee Penn State’s Rhetoric Society of America Chapter 2009
Peer Consultant University of Illinois Writers’ Workshop 2007–2008

Professional Memberships and Affiliations

Rhetoric Society of America
Association for Teachers of Technical Writing
National Council of Teachers of English

Technical Skills and Research Methods

Skills: HTML5, CSS3, Oxygen, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Premiere, Adobe Audition,
Audacity, GarageBand, iMovie, MovieCaptioner, ComicLife, Wordpress, Blogger, easel.ly, Microsoft Office,
Mac OS.

Research Methods: Usability testing, ethnography, interviewing, archival research, future workshops,
cultural probes, workflow analysis, worksite observation, empathic design, critical/speculative design.