Michelle Sidler

Department of English
8088 Haley Center
Auburn University, AL 36849
(334) 844-9085
sidlema@auburn.edu

Education
Ph.D. English, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN May 1998
M.A. English, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN August 1993
B.A. English with Honors, Oglethorpe University, Atlanta, GA May 1991

Participant, Intensive Bioethics Course, The Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown

University, Summer 2008

Academic Honors and Grants

Computers and Composition Distinguished Book Award 2008 for Computers in the
Composition Classroom (Co-edited with Richard Morris and Elizabeth Overman Smith)
Co-Principal Investigator: Ethics of the Nanoscale. National Science Foundation Grant
(2006-present)
Sponsor, Auburn University General Fund for Equipment (2007, competitive award of
$130,000 for two wireless notebook classrooms)
Sponsor, Auburn University Breeden Grant for Teaching (2007, competitive award of
$2,000 for composition training)
Graduate Faculty Appreciation Award, English Graduate Organization (2002-3)
Humanities Grant, Auburn University (Summer 2004)
Competitive Research Grant, Auburn University (Summer 2002)
Penn State Research Development Grant (Spring 2000)
Penn State Research Development Grant (Summer 1999)

Teaching Experience

Auburn University, 2007-2009, Associate Professor (2000-2007, Assistant Professor)

Courses Taught
Concepts of Nanoscience (Co-taught along with 10 other faculty as part of an NSF grant)
Studies in Composition: Computers and Composition (graduate level)
Rhetorical Theory and Practice (graduate level)
English Composition: Approaches and Issues (graduate level)
Topics in Technical and Professional Communication: Biotechnology (graduate level)
Technology, Literacy, and Culture
Topics in Language Study: Computers and Writing
Technical Writing
English Composition I and II

Penn State Berks-Lehigh Valley College, 1998-2000, Assistant Professor

Purdue University, 1992-1998, Graduate Instructor and Tutor
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Administration
Auburn University

Director, Program for Writing Studies 2009-present

Oversee the English Composition program including curriculum, assessment,
scheduling, support staff, textbooks, and transfer credits
Coordinate the graduate program in writing studies
Develop research projects and pursue grants related to writing studies
Foster faculty development within writing studies

Interim Department Head, 2008-2009

Managed the English Department, with over 150 faculty, Instructors, GTAs, and staff
Supervised the English Department schedule, with over 400 sections of courses
Acted as liaison between the English Department and the College of Liberal Arts
Hired four professorial faculty members and five office staff

Coordinator of Composition, 2006-2008

Oversaw the registration and training for sequence of two first-year core writing courses
Assessed and updated existing composition curriculum
Evaluated Graduate Teaching Assistants

Publications
Edited Collection

Co-editor. Computers in the Composition Classroom: A Critical Sourcebook. Bedford/St.

Martins, 2007. (with Richard Morris and Betsy Smith)

Journal Articles

“Bio-Pedagogy: Genetic Literacy and Feminist Learning.” Feminist Teacher 19 (2009): 216-
226.

“Genetics Interfaces: Representing Science and Enacting Public Discourse in Online

Spaces.” Technical Communication Quarterly 18 (2009): 28-48. Co-authored with
Natasha Jones.

“Rhetoricians, Facilitators, Models: Interviews with Technology Trainers.” Pedagogy:

Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, Composition, and Culture.
8 (2008): 467-480.

“The Rhetoric of Cells: Understanding Molecular Biology in the Twenty-First Century.”

Rhetoric Review 25 (2006): 58-75.

“Claiming Research: Students as ‘Citizen-Experts’ in WAC-Oriented Composition.” The

WAC Journal 16 (2005): 49-60.

“The Not-So-Distant Future: Composition Studies in the Culture of Biotechnology.”

Computers and Composition 21 (2004): 129-145.
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“English Studies and Biotechnology: Applications Of Language Theory To Genetic

Research.” Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science 75 (2004): 200-213. (Co-
authored with Elizabeth Cater Childs and Jessica Lueders).

“Web Research and Genres in Online Databases: When the Glossy Page
Disappears.” Computers and Composition 19 (2002): 57-70.

“Rhetorical Economy and Public Participation: The Challenges of Webbed Technologies in

Composition.” Composition Forum (Winter 2001): 1-18.

“Writing in a Post-Berlinian Landscape: Cultural Composition in the Classroom.”

JAC: A Journal of Composition Theory 18 (1998): 275-91. (Co-written with Richard
Morris)

“Hyped-Up for Friends: Cultural Studies and Internet Research.” Kairos: A

Journal for Teachers of Writing in Webbed Environments (1996)
<http://english.ttu.edu/kairos/1.3/features/sidler/bridge.html>.

Book Chapters

“Playing Scavenger and Gazer with Scientific Discourse: Opportunities and Ethics for
Online Research.” Digital Writing Research: Technologies, Methodologies, and Ethical
Issues. Eds. Dànielle Nicole DeVoss and Heidi McKee. Hampton Press, 2007.

“Living in McJobdom: Third Wave Feminism and the New Economic Inequity.”
Third Wave Agenda. Eds. Jennifer Drake and Leslie Heywood. Minneapolis:
Un. of Minnesota P (1998): 25-39.
(Reprinted in Women’s Voices, Feminist Visions: Classic and Contemporary Readings, 2nd
ed. Eds. Susan Shaw and Janet Lee. New York: MacGraw-Hill, 2004.

Teaching Workshops

“Scaffolding in Three Verses: Remixing Argumentation, Themes, and Information Literacy

in First-Year Writing.” College Composition and Communication Conference. Louisville,
KY. March, 2010. Workshop leader; co-presented with seven others.

“Strengthening Student Writing @ TSU.” Invited workshop leader. Tennessee State

University. Nashville, TN. August, 2009.

Recent Conference Presentations

“Concepts of Nanoscience for Non-Scientists: Teaching Principles of Nanotechnology in a

General Education Course.” International Science in Society Conference. Cambridge,
England. August, 2009.

“Making Scientific Waves: The Rising Tide of Genetics and Online Discourse.” College
Composition and Communication Conference. San Francisco, CA. March, 2009 (Co-
presented with Natasha Jones).
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“Technology and Transition: Changing Methods for Scientific Research.” Alabama

Academy of Science. Livingston, AL. March, 2009.

“From Slide Rules to Simulation: The Old and New Work of Scientists.” Thomas R. Watson
Conference on Rhetoric and Composition. Louisville, KY. October, 2008.

“The Rhetoric of Technology Training: Faculty Development with Open Source and
Commercial Software.” Computers and Writing Conference. Athens, GA. May 2008.

“Visual Literacy and the Emerging Sciences: Composing Reality at the Nanoscale.” College
Composition and Communication. New Orleans, LA. March 2008.

“Nanotechnology and Ethics in a General Education College Course.” Alabama Academy

of Science. Birmingham, AL. March 2008.

“Lemons into Lemonade: Readying Ourselves for CLA, NSSE, and other National
Institutional Assessment Programs.” Writing Program Administrators Conference.
Tempe, AZ. July 2007.

“Representing Science in Film: Fostering Genetic Literacy through Composition.”

College Composition and Communication Conference. New York, NY. March, 2007.

“Molecular Vision: Analogies of Technology in the Bio/Nano Age.” Modern Language

Association. Philadelphia, PA. December 2006.

Academic Service

National
Member, CCCC Committee on Professional Visibility and Databases, 2009-present
Reviewer, National Science Foundation NUE Grant proposals, 2008-present
Reviewer, College Composition and Communication, 2009
Reviewer, Technical Communication Quarterly, 2008-present
Reviewer, Composition Forum, 2002
Proposal Reviewer, Computers and Writing Conference, 2009

State
Section Chair, Section XII: Bioethics and History/Philosophy of Science

University
Core Curriculum Oversight Committee, Co-Chair, 2009-present
Core Curriculum Oversight Committee, Member, 2009
Littleton-Franklin Lecture Committee, 2007-present

Department
Composition Committee, Chair 2006-present
Rhetoric and Composition Faculty Search Committee, Chair, 2007-2008; 2009-2010
Ad Hoc Committee on Promotion and Tenure Guidelines, Member, 2009
Ad Hoc Committee on Writing Studies, Member, 2009
Executive Committee of Program Coordinators, Chair 2008-2009
Undergraduate Academic Advisor, 2001-2009
Composition Committee, Member, 2001-2006
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English Major Task Force, Member, 2001-2002

Rhetoric and Composition Faculty Search Committee, Member, 2002-2003
Professional and Technical Communication Faculty Search Committee, Member,
2001-2002
Lead Teacher and Co-Teaching Workshop Coordinator 2002-present
Best Undergraduate Paper Award Committee, Member Spring 2005
Graduate Teaching Assistant Teaching Award Committee, Member, Spring 2002

Graduate Student Development

Current Committees

Chair, three Ph.D. dissertation committees

Member, one Ph.D. dissertation committee
Chair, one M.A. thesis committee
Member, one M.A. thesis committee

Completed Committees

Member, three Ph.D. dissertation committees

Chair, three M.A. thesis committees
Member, nine M.A. thesis committees
Chair, three MTPC portfolio committees
Member, three MTPC portfolio committees
Proctor, twenty-one M.A. and M.Ed. examinations

Professional Memberships

National Council of Teachers of English

Conference on College Composition and Communication
Council of Writing Program Administrators
Alabama Academy of Science