Jason Thompson
English Department
Hoyt Hall 423
University of Wyoming
Dept. 3353. 1000 E. University Ave.
Laramie, WY 82071
307-766-6459 (O)
EDUCATION
2008 PhD Rhetoric, Composition, and the Teaching of English; University of Arizona; Tucson, AZ
2000 MFA Poetry; University of Arizona; Tucson, AZ
1996 BA Classics & English Composition; Pacific Lutheran University; Tacoma, WA
ACADEMIC POSITIONS
2008-present, Assistant Professor, New Media and Rhetoric and Composition; Department of English, University of Wyoming
PUBLICATIONS
Refereed Journal Articles:
Thompson, Jason. “Invention Along Sophistic, Philosophic, and Christian Lines: Implications of Gorgias, Aristotle, and Augustine for Current Composition Instruction.” Louisiana English Journal 12 (2009): 45-51.
Thompson, Jason, Ken McAllister, and Judd Ruggill. “Onward Through the Fog: Computer Game Collection and the Play of Obsolescence.” M/C Journal 12.3 (Jul. 2009). 19 Jul. 2009 <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/155>.
Thompson, Jason, Theresa Enos, Stuart Brown, and David Reamer. “Portrait of the Profession: The 2007 Survey of Doctoral Programs in Rhetoric and Composition” Rhetoric Review 27.4 (Fall 2008): 331-40.
Refereed Chapters in Books:
Thompson, Jason, and Theresa Enos. “The Rhetoric of Obfuscation and Technologies of Hidden Writing: Poets and Palimpsests, Painters and Purposes.” Before the eRevolution: Technology, Teaching, and the Rhetorical Tradition. Ed. Shane Borrowman. West Lafayette, IN: Parlor Press. Forthcoming.
Thompson, Jason, “New Media Texts of WWII: Kenneth Burke’s Intersection with Computer Culture,” in The Computer Culture Reader. Ed. Judd Ruggill, Ken McAllister, and Joseph R. Chaney. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholar’s Press, 2009. 73-89.
Thompson, Jason. “Obama, Oprah, and Yo’ Momma: Jason’s Notes on Rhetorical Analysis,” in A Student’s Guide to 1st Year Composition 26th Edition. Ed. Meg Smith, Jim Bowman, and Jennifer deWinter. Boston: Pearson, 2005. 208-213.
Book Reviews:
Thompson, Jason. “The Birth of Burke’s Dramatism: Review of M. Elizabeth Weiser’s Burke, War, Words: Rhetoricizing Dramatism.” JAC: The Journal of Advanced Composition. Forthcoming (2009).
COURSES TAUGHT
- English 4640, The Rhetoric of Video Games
- English 4010, Technical Writing in the Professions
- English 5900, Practicum in College Teaching
- English 1010, College Composition/Rhetoric
- English 4620, Independent Reading
CONTRACTS & GRANTS
Funded Projects as PI
2008-2009, “LGI-Wyoming creation of the video game DRILL,” Basic Research Grant, College of Arts and Sciences, $2500
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS AND ACTIVITIES
2003-2007, Assistant Editor, Rhetoric Review, Tucson, AZ
2007-present, Peer Reviewer for Community Literacy Journal
2007-present, Peer Book Reviewer for Choice Magazine
International Society for the History of Rhetoric (ISHR)
National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC)
Learning Games Initiative (LGI)
Popular Culture Association (PCA)
Southwest/Texas Popular Culture Association (SW PCA/ACA)
HONORS AND AWARDS
2008, College of Humanities Dean’s Fellowship, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ
2006, “Pass with Distinction” on Comprehensive Examinations, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ
2003, Graduate Assistantship in Teaching & Graduate Fellowship, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ; 2nd Place Winner, 21st Annual Statewide Poetry Contest (Judge: Jorie Graham), Tucson, AZ
2000, Waiter Scholarship to the Breadloaf Writer’s Conference, Middlebury, VT; Bill Waller Prize for Poetry, Tucson, AZ; Finalist in the 18th annual Arizona Statewide Poetry Contest, Tucson, AZ
1999, Computers in Composition Scholarship, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ
1998, Graduate Assistantship in Teaching, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ
1996, Fulbright Fellowship, Cheju-do, Republic of Korea
CONFERENCES
2009, “Presenting http://dighumanities.org: A Collaborative Website,” Humanities Matter! Conference, Presenter, Riverton, WY
2009, “Collaboration, Obfuscation, and the Palimpsest,” ReVisioning the (W)hole III, Presenter, Laramie, WY
2009, “Toward a Rhetorical Poetics of New Media,” 17th biennial international congress of the International Society for the History of Rhetoric, Presenter, Montreal, Canada
2009, “The Writing’s on the Wall: Creating the Interactive Wii-Mote Whiteboard,” Wyoming Writer’s Project Summer Institute, Workshop Leader, Laramie, WY
2009, “Effective PowerPoint Presentations: Three Rules, Three Slideshows,” Invited lecture, English 4075 Writing for Nonprofits, Laramie, WY
2009, “Video Game Archiving: A Report from the Front,” 30th Annual Conference of the Southwest/Texas Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association, Presenter, Albuquerque, NM
2008, “Delivering A Professional Conference Presentation: ‘The Dramatism of Video Games,’” Invited lecture, English 4990 Senior Seminar in English Studies, Laramie, WY
2007, “Computers—Not Just a Word Processor: Writing Computer Games in First-year Composition,” Conference on College Composition and Communication, Presenter, New York, NY
2007, “From Rule to Wrath: Articulating a Poetics of New Media in God of War,” 28th Annual Conference of the Southwest/Texas Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association,Presenter, Albuquerque, NM
2007, New Directions in Critical Theory: (Re)Locating Borders: Negotiating & Constructing Identities, Chair, Tucson, AZ
2007, 28th Annual Conference of the Southwest/Texas Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association, Chair, Albuquerque, NM
2006, “Burkean Attitudes in Mein Kampf: A Hermeneutic to Bush’s 9/11 Oratory,” College Composition and Communication, Chicago, IL
2006, “A Dramatism of Videogames: A Burkean Reading of Medal of Honor: Frontline,” 27h Annual Conference of the Southwest/Texas Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association, Presenter, Albuquerque, NM
2005, “Learning to Game/Learning to Build: The Gameplay-Game Development Dialectic,” 26th Annual Conference of the Southwest/Texas Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association, Presenter, Albuquerque, NM
2000, “Bolts and Nuts: Creative Uses of Robots within the MOO,” Learning Technologies Showcase, Tucson, AZ
COMMITTEES
Curriculum Committee, 2009-present
Composition Cohort Committee, 2008-present
OTHER ACTIVITIES
INTERACTIVE MEDIA LAB (IML): 2008-2009
- Partnered with the FarmHouse fraternity to host a retro gaming event for Child’s Play, the gamer’s charity. Local sponsors included Alltel, Hastings, Ace Hardware, Walmart, and the Knothole.
- Collaborated with co-director Aaron Perrell to create dighumanities.org, a collaborative blog-hosting site with tools for educators. The IML created Daedalus: The Interactive Media Lab @UW
- Served as a meeting space for English classes The Rhetoric of Video Games (English 4640/5640), Practicum in College Teaching (English 5900), Writing for Nonprofits (English 4075), Technical Writing in the Professions (English 4010), Independent Reading (English 4620), and College Composition/Rhetoric (English 1010); additionally IML serves as a space for MFA theses defenses and MA examinations.
- Hosted the Wyoming Writer’s Project Summer Institute for a tech presentation titled “The Writing’s on the Wall: Creating the Interactive Wii-Mote Whiteboard.”
Jason Thompson