______ Karen Rossi Schnakenberg
Karen Rossi Schnakenberg
7011 Reynolds StreetPittsburgh, PA 15208
412-731-3046
/ Teaching Professor of Rhetoric & Writing
Department of English
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Education
Ph.D. in Rhetoric
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, May 1996
Concentrations: rhetorical theory & history, pedagogy and curriculum development, history of English studies, writing in special disciplines
Dissertation: Representations of Aristotle’s Rhetoric in American Rhetorical Scholarship: 1950 - 1965. National finalist for the 1996 NCTE Berlin Outstanding Dissertation Award in Rhetoric and Composition.
Committee
Richard L. Enos, Department of English, Texas Christian University, Co-Chair
Richard E. Young, Department of English, Carnegie Mellon University, Co-Chair
John Poulakos, Department of Communications, University of Pittsburgh
Master of Arts in English
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 1969
Woodrow Wilson Fellowship for Graduate Study
Concentrations: 19th and 20th century drama, Shakespeare, poetry
Bachelor of Arts in English
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, 1968
Honors Thesis: Conflicts of Reason and Emotion in The Brothers Karamazov
Academic Positions
Carnegie Mellon University, Department of English
Emeritus Teaching Professor of Rhetoric & Writing, June 2011 to present
Teaching Professor of Rhetoric & Writing, 2005 to 2011
Associate Teaching Professor in Rhetoric and Professional Writing, fall 1995 to 2005
Instructor, Department of English, fall 1994 to spring 1995
Teaching Fellow, fall 1988 to spring 1993
Carlow College
Adjunct Instructor, English Department, fall 1984 to spring 1988
Writing Specialist, Learning Center, fall 1987 to spring 1988
Community College of Allegheny County, South Campus
Adjunct Instructor, Communications Department, 1983 to 1985
Teaching & Curriculum Development
Carnegie Mellon University
Developer and Supervisor for a new MLitt in Investigative Journalism degree, offered as an option within the MA in Professional Writing at Carnegie Mellon, beginning fall 2008. The degree is offered in conjunction with the University of Strathclyde in Scotland.
Primary Developer for revised curriculum for the BA in Professional Writing at Carnegie Mellon.
Primary Developer for a major revision of the curriculum for the BS in Technical Communication at Carnegie Mellon, moving the degree from a 1950’s paradigm to one more consonant with the current profession. The revised degree includes two tracks, one in technical writing, particularly for the software industry, and one in scientific and medical communication.
Primary Developer of revised Minors in Professional and Technical Writing at Carnegie Mellon.
Developer and Seminar Leader for a Ph.D. required core course in the History, Theory, and Practice of Writing Instruction at Carnegie Mellon. The course combines units on the history of writing instruction in the US; relevant theories of learning and instructional design; current research on the teaching of writing; and hands-on experience in developing and defending a specific curriculum for teaching writing at the college level. The design and method model the procedures featured in the course. Fall 1998 - present.
Developer and Seminar Leader for a core course in Professional & Technical Writing required for the MA in Professional Writing degree at Carnegie Mellon. The course features a strongly situational and rhetorical approach to key genres of professional communication, including an administrative report to support decision-making, internal and external correspondence, instructional writing, and explaining expert material to non-experts with a need to understand and/or use it. Fall 1998 to present.
Developer and Seminar Leader for an undergrad/ master’s level course in Instructional Development and Design that combines extended work in theories of learning and instruction with hands-on development of instructional projects for specific situations and audiences. The course differs from conventional ID courses in that it includes substantive work in multiple learning theories and a systematic but flexible method of ID appropriate for both academic majors pursuing teaching interests and writing majors pursuing careers in non-academic settings including technology-intensive organizations and any organizations requiring training or instruction for employees, clients, and customers. Spring 1998 to Spring 2002.
Designer and Instructor for a required foundations course in technical, media, and professional writing designed for majors in both technical and professional writing at Carnegie Mellon. Developed all curriculum and course materials including original units on developing a job-centered writing portfolio, writing about scientific and medical issues for lay audiences, improving consumer product information, and developing and testing user manuals for computer software. I taught and continued to develop original assignments for the course for 9 years, beginning in fall 1995 and then for several years supervised PhD students in Rhetoric teaching the course.
Designer and Instructor for an outreach course in professional writing for students in majors across the university. Designed and developed all course materials and taught the course for 3 years.
Beginning in 1999, I began training and supervising PhD students in Rhetoric teaching 4-6 sections per year. The course has a strong infrastructure of assignments, readings, and class plans, that make it possible for PhD students to teach it successfully on their first attempt and then gain experience adding to and refining the curricular materials. The course is a core requirement for the H&SS Minor in Multimedia Production and was a part of the Communication Design concentration within the H&SS Information Systems major prior to the recent revision of that curriculum. Currently, the course enrolls majors from across the university – most notably from IS, H&SS, and MCS – and provides curricular training and experience for PhD students in Rhetoric.
Designer and Instructor for junior level course on contemporary rhetorical theory and its relationship to public policy. Fall 1994.
Instructor for freshman course in academic writing, 1988-1989.
Designer and Instructor for several outreach courses in The History and Theory of Writing Instruction for high school teachers taught three times as part of the Carnegie Mellon-sponsored “Teachers as Scholars” program.
Carlow College
Designed and taught courses in academic writing (5 terms), survey of English and American literature (2 terms), and literary research techniques. Classes included a mix of traditional, first-generation, and returning adult students.
Community College of Allegheny County
Designed and taught courses in academic (4 sections), expository (2 sections), and two levels of basic writing (5 sections). Developed special materials and assignments for displaced homemakers, former steelworkers, and adult evening students.
Administrative/Curricular Positions, Carnegie Mellon
Department of English
Director of MA Program in Professional Writing, fall 2000 to spring 2011
Director of Undergraduate Programs in Professional & Technical Writing, fall 1995 to spring 2011
Admissions Committee for MAPW, MCPID & PhD in Rhetoric programs, 2000 to spring 2011
Undergraduate Internship Coordinator, fall 1995 to spring 2011
Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, 1995 to spring 2011
Resource Committee, fall 2000 to spring 2011
Director of Undergraduate Studies, fall 1997 to spring 2005
English Department Task Force for the Freshman Program (76-101), 2002-03 academic year
English BA Coordinating Committee, fall 2000 to 2004
Ph.D. in Rhetoric Curriculum Revision Committee, 1996
Voting Member & Student Representative, Graduate Policy Committee, 1990-1992
Student Representative, Development Committee of the Board of Trustees, 1993-94
College of Humanities & Social Sciences
Associates Heads/Undergraduate Study Directors Committee, fall 1995 to spring 2005
Information Systems Coordinating Committee, fall 2000 to 2006
Undergraduate Admissions Office Liaison, fall 1997 to spring 2005
Publications
Schnakenberg, Karen R. “Programs in Context: Past, Present, and Future.” Programmatic Perspectives 1.2, September 2009: 165-194 (forthcoming).
Schnakenberg, Karen R. “Classical Rhetoric in American Writing Textbooks: 1950-65.” In Maureen Daly Goggin (Ed.), Inventing a Discipline: Rhetoric and Composition in Action. Urbana, IL: NCTE, 2000.
Enos, Richard L. and Karen R. Schnakenberg. “Cicero Latinizes Hellenic Ethos.” In J.S. & T.F. Baumlin (Eds.), Ethos: New Essays in Rhetorical and Critical Theory, 191-210. Dallas TX: Southern Methodist University Press, 1994.
Schnakenberg, Karen R. and Marilyn McCracken, Special Report: Children and the Legal Process. University of Pittsburgh Office of Child Development, 1989.
Rossi, Karen M. The Heritage of Carnegie-Mellon University, a history, 1967.
Reviews
Schnakenberg, Karen R. “Review of Rhetoric and Pedagogy: Its history, philosophy & practice.” Winifred B. Horner & Michael Leff (Eds.), Erlbaum 1995. Technical Communication Quarterly 7, summer 98: 107-11.
Papers Presented at National Conferences
2009 Communication Design in the 21st Century: The Evolving Challenges for Academic Programs. Invited talk/featured speaker, annual meeting of ACM-SIGDOC, Bloomington, Indiana, October 2009
2008 Programs in Context: Past, Present, and Future. Invited keynote address (90 minutes) for the 35th anniversary meeting of the Council for Programs in Technical & Scientific Communication, Minneapolis, MN, October 2008.
2004 Textbooks in Technical Communication: The good, the bad, and the ugly. CCCC, San Antonio, TX, March 2004.
2002 Representations of Research in Contemporary Technical Communications Textbooks: What’s There, What’s Missing, and Why it Matters. ATTW: Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, Chicago, IL, March 2002
2002 The Role of Theory in Masters-level Education in Technical Writing. CCCC: Conference on College Composition & Communication, Chicago, IL, March 2002.
2000 Strategic Program Planning for Programs in Technical Communication. CPTSC: Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication. Menomonie, WI, October 2000.
Papers Presented at National Conferences (con.)
2000 Theory & Practice in Relation to the Scholarship of Teaching. ATTW, Minneapolis, MN, March 2000.
1999 Looking to the Future: From Technical Writing to Information Design. CPTSC, Santa Fe, NM, October 1999.
1998 Integrating History into Technical Writing Curriculums. CPTSC, Lewes, DE. October 1998.
1998 Inadequate Histories of Classical Rhetoric. Rhetoric Society of America. Pittsburgh, PA, May 1998.
1998 Inadequate Histories of Classical Rhetoric. CCCC, Chicago, IL. April 1999. (Accepted but not delivered due to surgery that precluded travel.)
1997 Thinking about Technical Writers’ Connections (and Obligations) to the Public Sphere. CPTSC, Austin TX, October 1997.
1997 Aristotle’s Rhetoric in American Writing Textbooks, 1950-1970. ISHR: International Society for the History of Rhetoric. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, July 1997
1996 Theory, Practice, and Pedagogy. CPTSC Annual Meeting, Oxford, OH
1996 Curriculum Design as Intellectual Work. Council of Writing Program Administrators, Oxford, OH
1995 Integrating Rhetorical Theory and Advanced Writing Instruction. Conference on College Composition & Communication. Washington DC
1993 Narrative as a Suasive Tactic: A Case Study of Contemporary Introductions to Aristotle’s Rhetoric. Penn State Conference on Rhetoric & Composition. University Park, PA
1992 Kairos and Exigence: Contrasts and Conjunctions in Current Discourse. Rhetoric Society of America. Minneapolis, MN. Revised version presented at Penn State Conference on Rhetoric & Composition. University Park, PA
1991 Walter Ong’s Orality and Literacy: An Invitation to Extrapolation. International Society for the History of Rhetoric. Baltimore, MD
1991 The Doctoral Dissertation: An Ill-structured Problem Space. Conference on College Composition and Communication. Boston, MA
1990 Computers and Cognition: The Lure of Techno-centric Assumptions. Penn State Conference on Rhetoric & Composition. University Park, PA
1989 When Science and Religion Meet: Rhetorical Features of Scientific and General Audience
Reporting on the Carbon 14 Dating of the Shroud of Turin. Penn State Conference on
Rhetoric & Composition. University Park, PA
Seminars and Workshops
2010 Workshop on Writing User-Centered Instructions. Carnegie Mellon Hunt Library.
2008 Seminar in Instructional Design. One-week program developed for instructional staff at
InfoSys in India. Due to a passport snafu that prevented my travel, the workshop was
delivered by my colleagues, David Kaufer and Necia Werner, based on my materials.
2007 Workshop in Teaching Technical Writing for Novice Instructors. Half day. CCCC, New
York, March 2007
2006 Workshop in Teaching Technical Writing, Half day. ATTW, Chicago, March 2006
2005 Workshop in Teaching Technical Writing, Half day. ATTW, San Francisco, March 2005
2005 Roundtable Session on Teaching Technical Communication. CCCC, San Francisco, 2005
2004 Workshop in Teaching Technical Writing, ATTW, San Antonio, TX, March 2003
2002 Workshop in Teaching Technical Communication. ATTW, Chicago, IL, March 2002
2001 History & Theory of Writing Instruction.
Carnegie Mellon / H&SS Teachers as Scholars program, spring 2001
1989 Knowledge and the Teaching of Writing: Plato, Aristotle, and the Sophists
H&SS Teachers as Scholars Program, fall 1999
1999 Why We Teach Writing the Way We do: History, Theory, and Practice
H&SS Teachers as Scholars Program, spring 1999
1998 Strategies for Effective External Reports
NASA IV&V Facility, Fairmont, WV
A two-day customized workshop for program managers
1993 Effective Technical and Business Writing Workshop
Westinghouse Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory, West Mifflin, PA
A 12-hour workshop on using rhetorical analysis, document design, and reader-centered prose in technical and business writing.
1993 Technical Writing for Engineers, a 12-session workshop on writing engineering reports for
industrial and government clients for Eichleay Engineering, Pittsburgh.
1992 Writing Effective Petitions and Proposals, CMU English Department
Workshop on writing exam petitions and dissertation prospectuses
1989 Teaching Proposals, CMU English Department
Workshop for composition instructors on teaching proposal writing
Professional & Editorial Service Beyond Carnegie Mellon
University of Chicago Press
Consultant and proposal reviewer for a new series in Technical Writing, fall 2008 to 2011
IEEE Transactions in Professional Communication
Reviewer, 2008 to spring 2011
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Member, Board of Reviewers, 1998 to spring 2011
Technical Communication
Reviewer, 2010 to 2011
Wadsworth/Thompson Learning.
Invited Reviewer for 6th ed. Of Paul Anderson’s Technical Communication, one of the leading textbooks in the field, 2005
Bedford / St. Martin’s and Longman / Pearson
Invited technical communication textbook proposal reviewer, 2005 & 2006
CPTSC: Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication
· Executive Board Member & Treasurer, October 1998 to 2010
· Chair, Distinguished Service Award Selection Committee, 2007 & 2010; member 2008
· Research Grants Selection Committee, 2005 to 2007
· Conference & Local Arrangements Chair, October 2001
ATTW: Association of Teachers of Technical Writing
· Program Selection Committee for 2008 and 2009 Conferences
· Chair, Committee on Teaching Practices, 2004 -2007. Member 1999-2007