James B. Mitchell
email: jbmitche@umich.edu

Education

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

2007                        Ph.D. English Language and Literature
Dissertation: "Estranging Places: The Small Town,
Suburb, and Megalopolis in Post-War California Science Fiction"
Supervisors: Anne Herrmann (chair), Eric S. Rabkin
Victor Rosenberg (cognate), and John Whittier-Ferguson
Preliminary Examination Fields: Anglo-American Modernist Fiction,
Postmodern Fiction, Theories of Literature and Technology

2000                            M.A. in English Language and Literature

University of California , Riverside

1996     California Single Subject Professional Clear Teaching
Credential in English, School of Education (expires 2011)

1995 B.A. in English, minor in History, Summa Cum Laude
Upper Division Honors Thesis (Creative Writing): Projecting the Self

Teaching Experience

2006-2007 Fullerton College, Fullerton California: Taught English 100 Composition (transfer level)
and English 39 (basic) Composition as adjunct instructor

2006-present Riverside Community College, Riverside, California: Taught
English 50 (Basic Composition) and English 1A as adjunct instructor

2004-present Public High School Teacher (tenured): Glendora Unified
School District, Glendora California
Taught Advanced Placement Senior English 
                                    Taught ESL, Shakespeare, and Science Fiction courses.
                                    English Department Grade Level Chair for 11^th grade.
Coached academic decathlon.

Courses Designed and Taught Independently at the University of Michigan

2003                English 230: Short Story and Novel: "Twentieth
            Century Fiction: Narratives of Identity and Place"

2002/2001    English 124: College Writing : "Writing About
Literature and Technology"

Graduate Student Instructorships at the Unsiversity of Michigan
(Led two discussion sections of large lecture courses. Responsibilities included generating topics for discussion,
grading papers, and advising students).

2001                    English 313 Literary Topics: Science Fiction

2000                 English 415/516: Research and Technology in the Humanities

Public High School Teaching in Addition to Current Positions

2000                            High school summer school instructor for remedial
English students in Alvord Unified School District
(Riverside, CA).

1996-1999                   Public High School English Teacher (tenured): La Sierra High School,
Alvord Unified School District, Riverside, California
                                    Taught, evaluated, and supervised approximately 150 high school students each year.
Taught students at all academic levels, from sheltered English (ESL) and remedial
English to advanced/honors English.

1999          Co-wrote a successful California Schools Academy
Grant (Eagle Academy of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences) guaranteeing $80K
annual funding, in perpetuity.

1997-1999     Co-Created a team-taught History/English course at the secondary sophomore level.

Teaching Interests
20^th and 21^st Century British and American Literature         Cultural Studies
Application of Technologies in Humanities Teaching              Science Fiction    
Composition                                                                        Biography/Life Writing
Popular Literature                                                                History of the Novel
Environmental Literature                                                   

Consulting

2000-2004               Web site consultant for The Eighteenth-Century England
Web Site at the University of Michigan.
(http://www.umich.edu/~ece). Provided research,
compositional, and technical support assisting students
designing multimedia term projects for Professor David
Porter’s English courses.

2003-2004             Research assistant for Professor Julian Levinson.
Conducted research for book project on Jewish-American
modernist identity.

 2002-2003               Created and conducted a three-hour seminar entitled 
                        " Introduction to Computing Resources at the University of
Michigan" for incoming English Department doctoral students.
Awards and Honors

2005 University of California, San Diego Teacher Award:
Nominated by incoming UCSD student as most influential high
school teacher
2003                            Rackham Humanities Research Dissertation Fellowship,
University of Michigan. A competitive, internal fellowship
offering 12 months of support.

 2002                  Rackham Humanities Research Candidacy Fellowship,
University of Michigan. A competitive, internal fellowship
offering 8 months of support.

 2001                     Rackham Spring/Summer Research Grant, University of
Michigan .       
1999       Department of English Graduate Fellowship, University of
Michigan .

1995-1996                   Vivian Eyman Award for Excellence in Student Teaching
School of Education, University of California, Riverside. Selected
by supervisors as finest secondary teacher in the School of
Education.

1995                     Outstanding Student, College of Humanities and Social
Sciences, University of California, Riverside. Selected by faculty
as the most outstanding student in the college.

1995     English Department Award for Major with the finest
research or creative project, University of California,
Riverside.

Refereed Publications

1.  " Who Really Shaped American Science Fiction?" (with Eric S. Rabkin and Carl P. Simon), Prospects: An Annual of American Cultural Studies, Jack Salzman, ed., Cambridge University Press, Dec 2005, pp. 45-72.

2. " Popular Autobiography as Historiography: The Reality Effect of Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes" Biography: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly. Center for Biographical Research, University of Hawaii, Fall 2003 26.4, pp. 607-624.

3."Cul-de-Sac Nightmares: Representations of California Suburbia in Science Fiction
During the 1950s and 60s" Iowa Journal of Cultural Studies, University of Iowa Press, Fall 2003, pp. 115-127.

Professional Licenses

California Single Subject Professional Clear Credential in English
Authorizes instruction in English K-12 and adult classes. Expires 2011.

Clear Crosscultural, Language, and Academic Development
Certificate (CLAD) Authorizes instruction for limited-English-proficient
students in K-12 and adult classes. Valid 04-2006 No expiration.

Conferences and Presentations

2004                " Howards End: Reactionary Modernism." Twentieth Century Literature
Conference, University of Louisville

2003                " Introduction to Computing Resources at The University of Michigan" (three-hour seminar for incoming English doctoral students)

2002          "Pulp Politics: American Popular Self-Imagining in Astounding Science
Fiction During the War Years 1942-1945," Southwest Popular Culture
Association, University of New Mexico
2001                " English Pedagogy in the Digital Age," Graduate English
Society Conference, Texas Tech University

1996                " Surviving the First Year of Teaching," Alumni Lecture
Series, School of Education, University of California, Riverside.

References

Professor Anne Herrmann                              Professor Eric S. Rabkin
University of Michigan                                 University of Michigan
Dept. of English Language and Literature    Dept. of English Language and Literature
3187 Angell Hall                                            3187 Angell Hall
Ann Arbor, MI 48109                                   Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Email: anneh@umich.edu                              Email: esrabkin@umich.edu
(734) 763-4634                                             (734) 764-2553

Professor Victor Rosenberg                          Professor John Whittier-Ferguson     
University of Michigan                                  University of Michigan
School of Information                                   Dept. of English Language and Literature
305 C West Hall                                             3187 Angell Hall
Ann Arbor, MI 48109                                    Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Email: victorr@umich.edu                                Email: johnaw@umich.edu
(734) 994-0651                                              (734) 763-4251

Mr. Arlan Dwyer
Glendora High School
Former English Dept. Chair (Retired)
(909) 336-3056