Michael A. Bryson, PhD

EDUCATION

Ph.D., English -- May 1995
State University of New York at Stony Brook
Stony Brook, New York
Major fields:  Nineteenth and Twentieth Century American Literature, Science and Literature

B.A., English and Biology -- May 1990
Illinois Wesleyan University
Bloomington, Illinois
Graduated Magna cum Laude

BOOKS

Visions of the Land:  Literature, Science,  and the American Environment from the Era of Exploration to the Age of Ecology.  University of Virginia Press, 2002.  The 9th book in the series, Under the Sign of Nature:  Explorations in Ecocriticism. 

SCHOLARLY ARTICLES

"Empty Lots and Secret Places:  Leonard Dubkin's "Exploration of Urban Nature in Chicago." Interdisciplinary Studies of Literature and Environment (forthcoming).

"Nature, Narrative, and the Scientist-Writer:  Rachel Carson's and Loren Eiseley's Critique of Science."  Technical Communication Quarterly.  Special issue on Science and Nature Writing II, ed. by Richard Johnson and Paul Bogard.  12.4 (Fall 2003):  369-387.

"It's Worth the Risk:  Science and Autobiography in Sandra Steingraber's Living Downstream."  Women's Studies Quarterly (Special Issue:  "Earthwork:  Women and Environments") XXIX: 1,2 (Spring/Summer 2001):  170-182.  

"Popular Science on the Road: Adventures in Island Biogeography." In Travel Culture: Essays on What Makes Us Go, ed. Carol Traynor Williams. Westport, CN: Praeger, 1998. 59-71.

"Controlling the Land: John Wesley Powell and the Scientific Management of the American West." In Science, Values, and the American West, ed. Stephen Tchudi. Halcyon Series on the American West, Vol. 19. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1997. 3-23.

"Antarctic Interfaces: Science, Human Subjectivity, and the Case of Richard Byrd." Science as Culture 5.3 (1996): 431-458.

WORKS in PROGRESS

"Unearthing Urban Nature:  Loren Eiseley's Explorations of City and Suburb" (book chapter for Artifacts and Illuminations:  Critical Essays on Loren Eiseley, edited by T. Lynch and S. Maher, University of Nebraska Press).

"Creating the Sustainable City:  Developing an Interdisciplinary Introduction to Urban Environmental Studies for a General Education Curriculum."  (scholarly article for Metropolitan Universities Journal, special issue on Green Learning, edited by Roger Munger).  Co-written with Carl Zimring. 

"Chicago's Urban Naturalist:  Leonard Dubkin, Nature, and the City" (popular article).

Mapping the Urban Wilderness:  An Ecological and Literary Topography of Chicago (scholarly book).

ACADEMIC REVIEWS and ESSAYS

"The Sustainable City:  Developing an Interdisciplinary, Team-taught, Hybrid Course."  Proceedings of the 2009 Roosevelt University Mini-Conference on Teaching 6 (Spring 2009).  Co-written with Carl Zimring.

"RU collaborating?:  From Team-Teaching to Student Group Management in an Online Course."  Proceedings of the 2006 Roosevelt University Mini-Conference on Teaching 3 (Spring 2006):  15-18.  Co-written with Amanda Putnam.

"On Beyond Google:  Improving the Quality of Student Research."  Proceedings of the 2006 Roosevelt University Mini-Conference on Teaching 3 (Spring 2006):  9-11.  Co-written with Mary Beth Riedner, et al.

Review of What the Best College Teachers Do, by Ken Bain.  Roosevelt University's Center for Teaching and Learning Newsletter (Spring 2006).

Review of So Great a Vision:  The Conservation Writings of George Perkins Marsh, ed. by Stephen Trombulak.  Interdisciplinary Studies of Literature and Environment 10.2 (Summer 2003):  260-1.

Critical essays, ranging in length from 50-1,000 words, on "Biology, Zoology, and Literature," "Francis Crick," "Empiricism," "Genetics," "Charlotte Perkins Gilman," "James Gleick," "Alexander von Humboldt," "Hypothesis," "Ornithology," "Positivism," "Progress," "Science Reporting," "Scientific Method," "Scientism," and "Henry David Thoreau," for An Encyclopedia of Literature and Science, ed. Pamela Gossin. Westport, CN: Greenwood Press, 2002.

Review of The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions, by David Quammen. Interdisciplinary Studies of Literature and Environment 4.1 (1998): 139.

Review of Toward a Dialogue of Understandings: Loren Eiseley and the Critique of Science, by Mary Ellen Pitts. Public Understanding of Science 5.4 (1996).

PRESENTATIONS

Co-presenter with Carl Zimring.  "Creating the Sustainable City: Developing an Introduction to Interdisciplinary Urban Environmental Studies for a General Education Curriculum."  Association of Environmental Studies and Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Oct. 2009.

Co-presenter with Carl Zimring. "The Sustainable City: Developing an Interdisciplinary, Team-taught, Hybrid Course." Roosevelt University Mini-Conference on Teaching, Chicago, IL, 3 Apr 2009.

Co-presenter with Jennifer Lau-Bond, Monique Haller, Mairin Barney, and Carl Zimring. "Why Do They Love Wikipedia? Innovative Ways of Teaching Research Throughout the University." Roosevelt University Mini-Conference on Teaching, Chicago, IL, 3 Apr 2009.

"Reading the Landscape of the City:  Interdisciplinary Investigations of Nature and Culture in the Chicago Region," Nature in the Humanities, Humanities Education and Research Association, Chicago, IL, April 2009.

"Representations of Wilderness in Chicago; or, Getting Back to the Right Nature," Wild Things 2007 Conference on Chicago Wilderness, Northeastern Illinois University, March 2007.  (Click here for presentation.)

"The Historian and the Photographer:  Confronting Urban Sprawl in Data and Image," Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts, New York University, Nov. 2006. (Click here for presentation.)

Co-presenter with Amanda Putnam of workshop panel:  "RU collaborating?:  From Team-Teaching to Student Group Management in an Online Course," Roosevelt University Mini-Conference on Teaching, Spring 2006.

Co-presenter with Mary Beth Reidner, et al. of workshop panel:  "Improving the Quality of Student Research," Roosevelt University Mini-Conference on Teaching, Spring 2006. 

Organizer/chair of panel:  "Perspectives on Urban Ecology:  Literature, Science, and the Nature of Cities," Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago, Nov. 2005

Presenter and panelist for roundtable: "Teaching and Writing Urban Nature Literature."  Association for the Study of Literature and Environment, University of Oregon, June 2005.

Organizer/chair of panel: "Science and Nature Writing:  Rhetoric, Ethics, Pedagogy."  Society for Literature and Science, Duke University, Oct. 2004.

Co-organizer and co-chair (with Janine DeBaise, SUNY-ESF) of roundtable:  "Exploring Science, Literature, and Ecocriticism."  Association for the Study of Literature and Environment, Boston University, June 2003.

"Visions of the Land."  Institute for Continued Learning lecture series, Roosevelt University, Feb. 2003.

"Remarks on Visions of the Land."  University College Faculty Research Presentation, Roosevelt University, Feb. 2003. 

Organizer and chair of panel:  "The Fit Seems Natural:  A Roundtable Exploration of Science, Literature, and Ecocriticism."  Society for Literature and Science, Pasadena, CA, October 2002.  

"Explorations in Ecocriticism:  Science, Literature, and the American Environment."  Roosevelt University Faculty Research Presentation, Feb. 2002. 

"Representing Nature and Science:  Contemporary Environmental Science Writers and the Legacy of Rachel Carson and Loren Eiseley."  Taking Nature Seriously:  Citizens, Science, and Environment, University of Oregon, Feb. 2001.

"Popular Science and Environmental Ethics:  The Explorations of Rachel Carson and Loren Eiseley," Society of Literature and Science, Norman, OK, October 1999.  (Click here for PowerPoint presentation of talk.)

"Ecological Roots, Gendered Territories: A Poet-Scientist Explores the Relation between Cancer and our Environment," Gendered Landscapes: An Interdisciplinary Conference on Gender and Nature, Penn State University, May-June 1999.

"Ecology, Cancer, and Autobiography: Sandra Steingraber's Contribution to the Rhetoric of Popular Science and the Politics of Environmental Awareness," Society of Literature and Science, Gainesville, FL, November 1998.

"Student Identities, Institutional Differences, and the Cultural Study of Science--Comments from the Classroom," Society of Literature and Science, Pittsburgh, PA, October 1997.

"Surprise! One of the Most Important Texts Ever Written about the American West is a Technical Document," Combined Conference of the Popular Culture and American Culture Associations, San Antonio, TX, March 1997.

"Some Thoughts on Cartography, Critical Thinking, and the Non-Traditional, Urban Student," Winter Conference of the Cartography and History Institute, The Newberry Library, Chicago, IL, January 1997.

"Antarctic Journeys: Narratives of Self-Exploration and Student Investigations," National Council of Teachers of English, Chicago, IL, November 1996.

"Popular Science, Metaphor, and Narrative Voice: David Quammen's Adventures in Island Biogeography," Society of Literature and Science, Atlanta, GA, October 1996.

"Cartography, Literature, and the American West of John Wesley Powell," History and Cartography Institute, The Newberry Library, Chicago, IL, Summer 1996.

"Bruno Latour, the Culture of Science, and the Technical Writing Classroom: An Exercise in Analysis and Reflexivity," Southwest/Texas Popular Culture and American Culture Associations, Tulsa, OK, February 1996.

"Teaching English 2604 in a Computer Classroom," Faculty Discussion Group, English Department, Virginia Tech, October 1995.

"Conquering the Land: Subjectivity, Objectivity, and the Explorer/Scientist as 19th Century Hero," Frontiers in the American Imagination, Augustana College, Rock Island, IL, March 1995.

"Explorations of the Science-Society Dynamic in an Advanced Writing Class," CCCC, Nashville, TN, March 1994.

Chair of Panel: "Narratives in/and/of Science," Central NY Conference on Language and Literature, SUNY Cortland, Fall 1993.

"North American Exploration, 1728-1870: Literary Uses of the Scientific," Graduate Student Conference, SUNY Stony Brook, Fall 1993.

"From the Bottom Up: Scientific Exploration, Journal Writing, and Experience-as-Text in Antarctica," Central NY Conference on Language and Literature, SUNY Cortland, Fall 1992.

"Life at Advance Base: Science, Literature, and the Weather," Disordering the Disciplines Graduate Student Conference, SUNY Stony Brook, Fall 1992

"On Keeping a Journal in Antarctica--Dry Valley Writing," Graduate Student Colloquium, SUNY Stony Brook, Spring 1992

Monthly newspaper columns on local politics, culture, and environmental issues for The Herald News, Joliet, Illinois (June 2006--present).  (Collected columns for 2006, 2007, and 2008)   

CD Liner Notes for Stephen Dee Harris.  Luke's Dream:  Original Banjo Instrumentals.  Bent Pussycat Records, 2007.

Associate Professor of Humanities, 2001--present (Assistant Professor of Humanities, 1996-2000), Department of Professional and Liberal Studies

• PLS 201 -- Pro-Seminar in Critical Skills:  Introductory-level critical thinking, reading, and writing course for returning adult students; emphasizes development of college-level academic skills and individual advising.

• PLS 290 -- Technological and Quantitative Reasoning:  Introductory seminar which provides tools, resources, and habits of mind vital to understanding the role of technology in society, applying technology to academic work, analyzing quantitative data in various contexts, and writing clearly and effectively about such information.

• PLS 302 -- Methods of Critical Reasoning:  Upper-level seminar for transfer students; focuses upon analytical reasoning, argumentation, critical reading of research reports, qualitative and quantitative literacy, and research using traditional and web-based sources.  Taught in on-campus and online formats.

• PLS 391 -- Seminar in Natural Science:  Senior-level seminar emphasizing methods and theories of natural science, with a special focus on genetics and ecology; fosters students' critical literacy in science; investigates relationships between science and society; discusses feminist critiques of science.  Taught in on-campus and online formats.

• PLS 392 -- Seminar in Humanities:  Senior-level seminar which explores the methods of and relations between the arts and humanities; emphasis on film, literature, drama, history, and visual arts; develops skills in analyzing and interpreting artistic works such as films, plays, novels, poems in the context of historical and philosophical concepts.  Taught in on-campus and online formats.

• PLS 394 -- The Sustainable City:  Special-topics seminar that explores dimensions of urban sustainability through the social and natural sciences.  Team-taught with Prof. Carl Zimring in hybrid format.

• PLS 399 -- Senior Thesis:  Seminar in which students conceive, develop, and write a semester-long research project; emphasizes individual student-teacher conferences, development of effective writing and oral presentation skills.

• MIDS 400 -- Introduction to Interdisciplinary Research:  Initial course in the Master's of Interdisciplinary Studies program, focusing on the nature and challenges of interdisciplinary inquiry as well as graduate-level skills in writing, critical thinking, research, and discussion.  Taught in partially-online, two-campus format.

• MIDS 490 -- Interdisciplinary Master's Thesis:  Capstone research tutorial for the Master's of Interdisciplinary Studies program.  Involves detailed supervision of thesis projects.

Full-time Instructor, English Department, 1994-1996

• Introduction to Critical Reading:  Sophomore-level course designed to introduce English majors to critical reading and writing strategies; utilized Daedalus Integrated Writing Environment software in a computer-integrated classroom.
• Technical Writing:  Upper-level course emphasizing representative technical writing tasks; students investigated the structure and function of scientific discourse (readings from James Watson and Francis Crick, Gillian Beer, and Bruno Latour).
• American Literature I:  Sophomore-level survey course covering the colonial period up to the mid-nineteenth century.
• Major American Authors:  Sophomore-level course for non-majors; framing question--how do different American writers represent and/or construct the natural world?; selections from Mary Rowlandson, Thomas Jefferson, Black Elk, Willa Cather, et al.
• Introduction to Creative Writing:  Writing, revising, and critiquing poetry, fiction, and drama; emphasis on peer-review strategies and small discussion groups; used portfolio evaluation.

Graduate Teaching Assistant, English Department, 1990-1994

• Introduction to Fiction:  Introduced selected American fiction writers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including William Wells Brown, Sarah Orne Jewett, Edgar Allan Poe, and Henry David Thoreau.
• Science in/and Society:  Advanced writing course; readings from Francis Bacon, Thomas Kuhn, Evelyn Fox Keller, and James Watson.
• Introduction to Writing:  Standard first-year writing course; used portfolio evaluation.
• Developmental Writing Workshop:  An intensive writing workshop primarily for ESL students; used Daedalus software in computer-integrated classroom.
• Writing Center:  Writing consultant/tutor for undergraduate and graduate students.

Adjunct Instructor, English Department, 1992-1994
Courses Taught:  Technical Writing, Introduction to Literature, Developmental Writing

Undergraduate Teaching Assistant, Biology Department, 1987-1989
Courses Taught:  Developmental Biology, General Biology

Field and Research Assistant, Antarctic Project S-020, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution / United States Antarctic Program, 1991; participated in ecological study of Lake Fryxell, Taylor Valley, with Dr. Brian Howes, WHOI.

Summer Student Fellow, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, 1989; designed and executed 3-month ecological study of a marine coastal pond (Dr. Brian Howes, advisor).

Undergraduate Research Experience Fellow, University of Michigan Biological Station, Pellston, MI, 1988; conducted independent study of hermit thrush behavior and song patterns (Dr. Ted Anderson, advisor).

HONORS and AWARDS

• Faculty Service to the Library Award, Roosevelt University, Spring 2008
• Faculty Research and Professional Development Leave, Roosevelt University, Spring 2007
• "Reward Now" recipient, Roosevelt University, Spring 2005
• Honorary inductee in Alpha Lambda Sigma honor society, Roosevelt University, Spring 2003
• Awarded tenure and promoted to Associate Professor, Roosevelt University, Spring 2001
• Faculty Research and Professional Development Leave, Roosevelt University, Spring 2001
• Outstanding Teaching Award Nominee, Roosevelt University, 1999-2000
• Summer Research Grant, Roosevelt University, 1997
• NEH Fellowship, History and Cartography Institute, The Newberry Library, 1996
• Candidacy Advancement "With Distinction," SUNY Stony Brook, 1993
• Graduate Teaching Assistantship, SUNY Stony Brook, 1990-94
• Phi Kappa Phi, IWU, 1990
• Senior Writing Award, IWU, 1990
• Beta Beta Beta (Biology Honors), IWU, 1988
• Alpha Mu Gamma, IWU, 1987
• Phi Eta Sigma, IWU, 1985

College Service

Chair of College Council, 1999-2004, 2005-
Chair of Executive Committee, 2008- (Member 2001-)
Senate Representative, 1996-99, 2001-02, 2005-06
Acting Director of BGS/BPS Program, 2004-05
Organizer of Faculty Discussion Group for Online Teaching, 2003-04
Chair of Curriculum Committee, 1997-99 (Member 1996-99)
Member of BGS sub-committee on Distance Learning, 1999
New Faculty Orientation Workshop, Fall 1999
College Website Designer, 1998
BGS Department Secretary, 1996-99
Acting Director of Natural Science Seminar, Spring 1997

University Committees and Service

Faculty Research and Professional Development Committee, 2008-
Budget Committee, 2005-07
University Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (chair), 2004-
Sub-committee on Teaching and Learning (for HLC re-accreditation process), 2003-
Faculty Advisory Board, Center for Teaching and Learning, 2005-
Faculty Tenure Review Committee, 2005-07
Faculty Library Committee, 2005-
Task Force on Branding, 2005-06
Tenure and Promotion Peer Review Committee for English Department, 2005-06
University Faculty Personnel Committee, 2002-04
AAUP Executive Committee, 2002-
Senate Executive Committee, 2001-02
Quality Service Task Force, 2001
Assessment Committee, 1997-2000
Task Force to Study the Library, 1999-2000
Downtown Library Facilities Task Force, 1999-2000
Robin Library Space Planning Subcommittee, 1999-2000
Web Editors Group, 1998-2001
Strategic Planning Task Force on Technology, 1997
Strategic Planning Sub-committee on Distance Learning, 1997
Chair of Judging Panel, Rose and Jacob Reichler Essay Contest, 1997

Recruitment and Advising Activities

University College Advising Task Force, 2004-05
MIDS faculty advisor, 2001-
Graduate open house rep. for MIDS, 2001-
SOAR faculty advisor, Advising center, 1998-2002
BGS Information Sessions, 1998-
Partners in Corporate Education on-site student advising,      1998-1999, 2002
BGS presentation for transfer students, Harper College, Fall 1997
BGS presentation, Spanish Coalition for Jobs, Fall 1997
Lecture/workshop, "Resumes that Rock," Fall 1996 Open House

Search Committee Participation

University Librarian Search Committee, 2008-09
Provost Search Committee, 2007-08
BGS Faculty Search Committee, 2007-08
University College Dean Search Committee, 2006
BPS Faculty Search Committee (chair), 2004-05
Chief Information Officer Search Committee, 2004
Library Director Search Committee, 1999
University College Associate Dean Search Committee, 1999
University College Summer Session Search Committee, 1999
University College BGS Faculty Search Committee, 1997-98
University College Dean Search Committee, 1997
Hospitality Management Faculty Search Committee, 1997

Leader, Technical Writing Discussion Group, 1995
Member, Technical Writing Task Force, 1995
Undergraduate Mentor, Center for Academic Enrichment, 1995-96
Member, Task Force for Instructor Concerns, 1995-96
Participant, English Department Curriculum Workshop, 1995
Participant, Faculty Development Institute (Computer Training), 1995
Participant, Teaching Workshop, Center for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, 1995

Computer Writing Lab In-House Tutor, 1993
Member, "Constructions of the Body" Discussion Group, Jennifer Terry (visiting scholar), 1992
Graduate Representative, English Department Council, 1992-93
Member, Graduate English Society, 1990-94

Modern Language Association
Society of Literature and Science
Association for the Study of Literature and Environment
Humanities Education and Research Association
American Association of University Professors

REFERENCES

• Dr. Gary Wolfe, Professor of Humanities and former Chair of PLS, Roosevelt University
• Dr. Daniel Headrick, Professor Emeritus of History and Social Science, Roosevelt University
• Dr. Carol Williams, Professor Emerita of Humanities, Roosevelt University
• Dr. Susan M. Squier, Julia Gregg Brill Professor of English and Women's Studies, Pennsylvania State University
• Dr. Ernest Sullivan, Diggs Professor of English, Virginia Tech
• Dr. Don Ihde, Professor of Philosophy, SUNY Stony Brook

Last updated:  02 Sep 2009