Curriculum Vitae
ARWEN SPICER
2986 Kincaid St. Eugene, OR 97405 (541)
345-8149
arwen@starmerrow.com
EDUCATION
MLIS,
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2007
Ph.D.
in English Literature, literature and environment emphasis, University of
Oregon, 2005
MA
in English Literature, Sonoma State University, 2000
BA
in English Literature, Sonoma State University, 1999
BS
in Biology, secondary teaching emphasis, Humboldt State University, 1997
DISSERTATION
Toward
Sustainable Change: The Legacy of William Morris, George Bernard Shaw, and H.
G. Wells in the Ecological Discourse of Contemporary Science Fiction.
Chair:
William Rossi, Ph.D.
In
this study, I use the progressionist and non-progressionist discourses in
Morris's News from Nowhere, Shaw's Back to Methuselah, Wells's Men Like Gods as reference points for
exploring the hybrid discourse of later utopian/dystopian science fiction, a
discourse which, I contend, productively promotes socio-ecological
sustainability while accepting and embracing socio-ecological change.
MASTER'S
THESIS
The
War of the World Views: Ecological Discourse in the Science Fiction of H. G.
Wells (1895-1904).
Director:
Lisa Nakamura, Ph.D.
Tracking
the development of Wells's ecological discourse through The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, and The Food of the Gods, I argue that these texts
articulate a movement away from a definition of ecology based on the
fundamental unit of the species toward a definition based on the fundamental
unit of the ecosystem.
TEACHING
EXPERIENCE
Writing 122: Argumentative Writing II: University of Oregon,
2003-05, 2008
Writing 121: Introductory College
Composition:
More basic course than the University of Oregon's Writing 121, oriented around
a survey of different types of expository writing, Lane Community College,
Eugene, OR and Umpqua Community College, Roseburg, OR, 2007
Writing 123: Argumentative Writing III: Introduction to academic,
argumentative writing and critical reading, stressing research, University of
Oregon, 2005
English 104: Introduction of Literature:
Fiction:
General education course stressing the critical analysis of literary texts,
University of Oregon, 2004
Writing 121, Argumentative Writing I: Introduction to academic,
argumentative writing and critical reading, University of Oregon, 2002-04
English 99, Basic Composition: Remedial course in
expository writing across the disciplines, Sonoma State University, 1999
OTHER
EXPERIENCE
Intern, Science Library: providing reference
service, developing instructional materials to meet ACRL information literacy
standards, aiding in collection development, developing subject study guides,
digital cataloging, University of Oregon, 2007
Private tutor (multiple subjects, including
reading, writing, grammar, Latin, German, science) 1996-2008 (intermittent)
Editorial Board of Watcher Junior: An electronic journal of
undergraduate Buffy the Vampire Slayer scholarship, 2005, 2007-
Specialist Writing Instructor for Chris Picott's
accelerated expository writing program for middle school students, St. John the
Baptist Catholic School, Healdsburg, California, 2005-2006
Teaching assistant for Professor Louise
Westling, compiling materials for literature and environment structured
emphasis of the doctoral qualifying examination, University of Oregon, English
Department, 2001
Reader, commenting on and grading student
essays, Santa Rosa Junior College, 2000
Writing Center tutor (one-on-one, groups, ESL),
Sonoma State University, 1998-1999
Writing Center tutor for online Basic Composition
(CommonSpace), Sonoma State University, 1998
PEDAGOGICAL
EDUCATION
Attendee and Presenter at the Composition
Conference
(composition instructor training), University of Oregon, 2002-04
English 612: Composition Graduate Teaching
Fellow Seminar II, University of Oregon, 2002
English 613: Graduate Teaching Fellow
Composition Apprenticeship, University of Oregon, 2002
English 595: Special Study: Teaching
Shakespeare,
Sonoma State University, 2000
English 587: Seminar: Rhetorical Theory (for the college composition
classroom), Sonoma State University, 2000
English 491: Seminar in Writing Techniques (for teaching middle school
and high school language arts), Sonoma State University, 1998
ACADEMIC
and SCHOLARLY PUBLICATIONS
Contributing Editor, The Shape of Reason:
Argumentative Writing in College by John T. Gage, 4th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2006.
Co-author, Instructors' Manual for The Shape
of Reason: Argumentative Writing in College by John T. Gage, 4th ed. Boston: Allyn and
Bacon, 2006.
"'It's Bloody Brilliant!': The Undermining
of Metanarrative Feminism in the Season Seven Arc Narrative of Buffy." Slayage: The
On-line International Journal of Buffy Studies. 15 (2004). http://slayageonline.com/.
"Enthymeme Diagraming: Uses and
Limitations." Componere: Policies, Resources, Pedagogies, and
Perspectives for Teachers of Composition. University of Oregon, 2003-04. 104-07.
"Love's Bitch but Man Enough to Admit It:
Spike's Hybridized Gender." Slayage: The On-line International Journal
of Buffy Studies. 7 (2002). http://slayageonline.com/.
"An Ecological Ideology: The Specter of an
Ecological Discourse in The Food of the Gods." The Undying Fire:
Journal of the H. G. Wells Society, the Americas. 1 (2002): 65-75.
RECURRENT
PUBLICATIONS
Regular writer for LISNews. (Library news blog).
http://lisnews.org,
2007
"Arwen's Analysis: Reflections on
Narrative, Character, and Fandom." Column. Genre-Commentary.com. http://genre-commentary.com,
2006-07
CREATIVE
PUBLICATIONS
"God
of Lemons." Challenging Destiny. 25 (2008). Short story.
"The
Worldkeeper's Circlet." Mytholog. 4.4 (2006). Short story.
"The
End." Timberline. 17 (2004): 27-28. Poem.
Perdita.
Glen Ellen, CA: Wooded Hill Press, 2001. An eco-science fiction novel.
"Geoffrey
Enters the Information Age." Zaum 4 (2000): 69. Poem.
ACADEMIC
PRESENTATIONS
Cultural
Studies:
"'It's Bloody Brilliant': The Undermining
of Metanarrative Feminism in the Season Seven Arc Narrative of Buffy." The
Slayage Conference on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Nashville, TN. May 28-30, 2004.
Composition:
"Giving Students a Stake: Student-chosen
Content in the Composition Classroom." Sounding Out: Univeristy of Oregon
Composition Conference, September 21-24, 2004.
"Enthymeme Diagraming: Uses and
Limitations." Composition Conference, University of Oregon, 2003.
"Applying Aristotle in the Internet Age:
The Multimedia Argumentative Essay." Composition Conference, University of
Oregon, 2002.
ACADEMIC
HONORS AND AWARDS
Graduate School Fellowship, University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2006-2007
Graduate Teaching Fellowship, University of
Oregon, 2002-2005
English doctoral oral examination, pass with
distinction, University of Oregon, 2004
English qualifying examination, British
Literature after 1789, pass with distinction, University of Oregon, 2002
Jane Campbell Krohn Fellowship for studies in
literature and environment, University of Oregon, 2001-2002
BA summa cum laude (English literature), Sonoma
State University, 1999
BS summa cum laude (Biology), Humboldt State
University, 1997
ACADEMIC
SERVICE AND POSITIONS
Listowner for the Mesaverde Mailing List for
studies in Literature and Environment, 2003-05
Graduate Student Committee, University of
Oregon, 2004-05
Vice-president, Alpha Zeta Omega, the Sonoma
State University chapter of the English Honor Society, Sigma Tau Delta,
1999-2000
Organizer and facilitator for an open forum
discussion: The Ethics of Animal Experimentation, Sonoma State University,
October 1998
Organizer for the Interfaith Festival, Humboldt
State University, February 1997
COMMUNITY
ACTIVITIES
Founder and maintainer of StarMerrow Science
Fiction and Fantasy http://www.starmerrow.com, a community of speculative
fiction writers and artists interested in alternative publishing and
progressive copyright, 2005-
Member and volunteer for the Downtown Initiative
for the Visual Arts (DIVA), Eugene, OR, 2007-
Blogger for scholarly issues in library science
and literary theory and teaching http://arwen-spicer.livejournal.com, 2007-
Facebook social networking account http://www.facebook.com/p/Arwen_Spicer/804500318,
2007-
PROFESSIONAL
ASSOCIATIONS
Association
for the Study of Literature and Environment (ASLE), 2005-
Pacific
Northwest Library Association (PNLA), 2007-