Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Kurlinkus
wkurlinkus.com
wkurlinkus@gmail.com
815.978.4628
Academic Positions
Associate Professor, English The University of Oklahoma 2020–Present
Assistant Professor, English The University of Oklahoma 2014–2020
• Director: Technical Writing and Communication 2014–Present
• Director: Rhetoric and Writing Studies 2019–Present
Areas of Specialization: Technical writing and communication, human-centered design, nostalgia/memory
studies, digital media studies, multimodal composition, rhetorical theory
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
Books
1. Nostalgic Design: Rhetoric, Memory, and Democratizing Technology. U of Pittsburgh P, Series in Composition,
Literacy, and Culture, 2018, pp. 260.
Reviewed. Purdy, James. “Circulating Ethical Digital Writing.” College English, vol. 83, no. 4, 2021, pp.
312-322.
Popular Publications
1. “Nostalgia’s Ingenious Potential.” Zocalo Public Square, 22 January 2020.
Teaching Experience
Rhetoric and Social Media University of Oklahoma Fall 2021
• In this course students learn to critically analyze the rhetoric, history, politics, celebrity, and genres
produced on four popular social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube. Across
these four platforms we’ll ask questions like: What turns has celebrity (and particularly social media
“micro-celebrity”) taken in the last two decades? How has social media allowed for the circulation of dark
misinformation (from anti-vaccination info to deepfake videos) but also #activism that has changed the
world? Why are mundane videos and posts (unboxing videos, elevator rides, marble races, etc.) so
popular? How have these digital platforms been designed to encourage and/or restrict certain types of
posts? And, generally, how have social media changed the way we exist in the world? Major assignments
include a digital community ethnography and social media trend analysis. (15 students)
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 a resume, cover letter,
and application to a job or internship; a social media marketing campaign; a well-edited video interview;
qualitative user research documents demonstrating an ability to run interviews, listening sessions, design
probes, etc.; an edited writing sample; and an online portfolio. (12 students)
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.
Material Science and Engineering 581.04 The Ohio State University Fall + Spring 2012
Tech Writing TA to Professor David Phillips
• 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
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writing quality on all lab reports.
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
• 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, resume 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.
Member
Anna Trevino, English PhD The University of Oklahoma 2021
Ryan Rahaal, English MA The University of Oklahoma 2021
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Jason Opheim, English PhD The University of Oklahoma ABD
Kalyn Prince, English PhD The University of Oklahoma ABD
Cindy Ross, English PhD The University of Oklahoma 2021
Anna Barritt, English PhD The University of Oklahoma ABD
Charles Lee, English MA The University of Oklahoma 2019
Mandi 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 2019
Matt Baker, Education MA, PhD The University of Oklahoma ABD
National
Conference Proposal Reviewer Rhetoric Society of American Conference 2021
Manuscript Reviewer University of Pittsburgh Press 2021
Tenure Reviewer R1, Digital Media Focus 2020
Reviewer College Composition and Communication 2020, 2021
Reviewer American Quarterly 2019
Reviewer College English 2019
Reviewer Genre 2019
Table Leader. Research Network. CCCC 2018, 2019
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–Present
Conference Proposal Reviewer Computers and Writing 2013
Pedagogy Coordinator The Digital Media and Composition Institute Summer 2012
Research Assistant The Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives Summer 2012
Assistant Editor Computers and Composition an International Journal 2010–2011
Departmental
Rhetoric and Writing Studies The University of Oklahoma 2014–Present
Director 2019–Present
• As Director of RWS I’ve led course scheduling, monthly meetings, the successful revision of our graduate
exam model (which was used as a model for the literary studies exam as well), the redesign of our
undergraduate capstone to professional writing oriented, and the recruitment of some of RWS’s largest
and most diverse graduate students in decades. I also created a comprehensive list of graduate alumni,
their dissertation titles, and the jobs they received upon graduation. I created RWS recruitment ads as
well as a stand alone RWS website. I advise our graduate students and co-lead the recruitment visits as
well.
• As a member of the rhetoric and writing studies area group, we redesigned both our undergraduate and
graduate programs, change our title (from composition, rhetoric, and literacy to rhetoric and writing
studies), discuss new hires, and discuss graduate applicants. I designed our area group webpage:
http://www.ou.edu/cas/english/academics/graduate/rhetoric-and-writing-studies. I’ve participated in a
total of three faculty hires and have designed 7 new courses: digital culture, science writing, technical
writing for English majors, digital composing (name change), topics in professional writing, graduate level
literacy studies, and graduate level topics in literacy studies.
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Composition Committee The University of Oklahoma 2014–2016
• Duties included classroom observations of graduate instructors, coordinating visiting composition
program directors, and presentations on teaching to graduate students. In 2015–16 I was part of a total
curriculum redesign for our comp sequence, which included attending ~8 meetings a year and a daylong
retreat led by visiting scholar Linda Adler-Kassner, presenting to the dean and provost, and giving
presentations on multimodal grading to graduate student instructors.
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.
“From Flesh-Eating Robots to Better Paid Teachers: Challenging Cultural Commonplaces through
Speculative Design.” College Conference on Composition and Communication. (Milwaukee, WI)—March 2020.
(Conference Cancelled, COVID-19)
“Preparing Students in Composition’s Design Turn.” Composing the Future of English Studies Round Table,
Sponsored by the Forum on History and Theory of Composition. Modern Language Association. (Seattle, WA)—
January 2020.
“Tradition is Not a Rhetorical Fallacy: Being Accountable to the Longings of Coal Miners and Anti-Vaccine
Advocates.” Association of Teachers of Technical Writing. (Pittsburgh, PA)—March 2019.
“Writing with Users in Mind.” Computers and Writing. (George Mason University)—June 2018.
“Rhetorics of Progress.” Presenter and 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. Accepted—did not attend.
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“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.
“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. “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
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.
“Critical Emotion/Pathos/Affect and Digital Technology.” ThatCampOSU: The Humanities and Technology Camp.
(Columbus, OH)— April 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.
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“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.
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 Class Lecture. “Teaching Writing.” (University of Missouri, Dr. Lauren Obermark)—February 2020.
Invited Class Lecture. “Nostalgic Negotiations: Adapting, Adopting, and Refusing Client Expertise.”
(University of Massachusetts, Dr. Katherine DeLuca)—October 2020.
Invited Class Lecture. “Nostalgic Negotiations: Adapting, Adopting, and Refusing Client Expertise.”
(University of Massachusetts, Dr. Katherine DeLuca)—February 2019.
Invited Class Lecture. “Nostalgic Design on Mobile Media.” (Ohio State University, Gavin Johnson)—
November 2018.
“Introduction to Nostalgic Design.” Invited to lead 2-day workshop on nostalgia for Genre Talks, a seminar
sponsored by the journal Genre. (University of Oklahoma)—April 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.
“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.
Invited Speaker. “Roundtable on creating and maintaining an online presence.” English Graduate Organization.
(Columbus, OH)—November 2013.
Invited Speaker. “Interrogating the Ethics of Composition as Remix in the First-Year Writing Classroom”
Literacy Studies Graduate Seminar. (Columbus, OH)—March 2012.
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“Teaching Visual Rhetoric.” Composition Office Brownbag Series. The Pennsylvania State University. (State
College, PA)— February 2010.
Research Methods: Usability testing, ethnography, interviewing, future workshops, cultural probes,
workflow analysis, journey mapping, worksite observation, empathic modeling, speculative
design/provotyping.
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