KEVIN RUTHERFORD

332 Bachelor Hall

Miami University
Oxford OH 45056
(812) 319-1362
rutherk2@miamioh.edu

EDUCATION
Ph.D.

English, Miami University, Expected May 2015.

Dissertation: Pack Your Things & Go: Bringing Objects to the Fore in Rhetoric and Composition
Concentration: Composition and Rhetoric
Committee: Jason Palmeri (chair), Michele Simmons, Heidi McKee, Kate Ronald, Bo
Brinkman (Computer Science)

M.A.

English, Miami University, August 2010.

Concentration: Composition and Rhetoric
Thesis: Playing/Writing: Connecting Video Games, Learning, and Composition
Committee: Heidi McKee (chair), Jason Palmeri, Timothy Melley

B.A.

English; History, University of Southern Indiana, May 2008.

Concentrations: Rhetoric and Writing; Greece and Rome in Antiquity

PUBLICATIONS
FORTHCOMING
Rutherford, Kevin and Jason Palmeri. The Things They Left Behind: Towards an Object-Oriented
History of Composition. Chapter manuscript accepted for Boyle, Casey and Scot Barnett,
eds. Rhetoric through Everyday Things. (Forthcoming from University of Alabama Press.)
UNDER REVIEW
Oh well if Metacritic said so, then I just dont know what to think!: Review Aggregator Agency and
Technical Communication. Chapter proposal under review for Moore, Kristen and Daniel Richards,
eds. Posthuman Praxis in Technical Communication.

TEACHING
TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION (ENGLISH 313)
Fall 2013, Summer 2014 (online section), Fall 2014
Focus on the principles and practices of effective technical communication for print and
digital delivery. Uses a rhetorical approach to technical communication, emphasizing the
interplay of audience, purpose, and context (including multicultural, global contexts).

NARRATIVE AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY (ENGLISH/INTERACTIVE MEDIA STUDIES 238)

Spring 2013, Spring 2014
Introduction to narrative theory and readings in game studies as methods for understanding
digital media forms. Students learn to navigate and analyze the narrative structures of digital
media artifacts and investigate and employ a wide range of concepts to analyze both planned
and emergent narratives. Students then build from their analysis in order to write and produce
creative digital narratives and critical texts.
COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC (ENGLISH 111)
Fall 2008, Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Spring 2012
One of two required, inquiry-driven first year composition courses. Sections I have taught
have variously focused on local issues (spatially or disciplinarily) clustered around notions of
place; questioning historical narrative, representation, and memory alongside digital media;
and ecological approaches to writing in the disciplines.
COMPOSITION AND LITERATURE (ENGLISH 112)
Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Spring 2010
The second of two required, inquiry-driven first year composition courses. Students study
literature from a writing-based, situated rhetorical perspective. I have taught my courses under
the themes Magical Realism, Apocalypse and Post-Apocalypse, and Play, Games, and
Gamification.
WRITING FOR BUSINESS DECISION-MAKING (BUSINESS 102)
Spring 2012
Required for all students in the Farmer School of Business. The course is structured around
rhetorical approaches to common business genres, including memos, email, and summary. My
course focused on professionalization, with students attending resume workshops and writing
cover letters for job applications as part of the course.

AWARDS
Dissertation Fellowship, Spring 2015.
College of Arts & Sciences Dean's Scholarship 2009.

NATIONAL PRESENTATIONS
Risky Things: Toward an Object-Oriented Composition Pedagogy. Conference on College
Composition and Communication. Tampa, FL. March 2015.
From Historiography to Ontography. Conference on College Composition and Communication.
Indianapolis, IN. March 2014.
Moving Beyond The Feels: Activism and Katawa Shoujo. Conference on College Composition and
Communication. Las Vegas, NV. March 2013.

Fan Community Negotiations of Homosexuality in Fallout: New Vegas. Association of Internet

Researchers Conference. Seattle, WA. October 2011.
Argument Walkthroughs: Screen-Recording, Video Games, and Composition. Computers and
Writing. Ann Arbor, MI. May 2011.
Digital Approaches to Integrating Literature and Composition. With Ben Wetherbee. Conference
on College Composition and Communication. Atlanta, GA. March 2011.
Let's Play: Vernacular Video Game Criticism and the Composition Classroom. Meaningful Play.
East Lansing, MI. October 2010.
(Youre) No Hero: Metal Gear Solid and Procedural Disconnects. Computers and Writing. West
Lafayette, IN. May 2010.
Playing that Rewards: Video Games as Rhetorical Tools in Composition Classrooms. Conference
on College Composition and Communication. Louisville, KY. March 2010.
Western Influence on Japanese Modernization. Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference. Terre Haute,
IN. April 2008.

SELECTED INSTITUTIONAL PRESENTATIONS

Writing for Business Audiences. Summer Business Institute at the Farmer School of Business.
Summer 2011.
A Researchers Lens into Gaming. Miami University Penny Lecture Series. April 2014.
Your Resume Doesnt Speak for Itself: Writing Effective Cover Letters. Farmer School of Business.
Spring 2013.
Writing Essays for Portfolio Admission. Farmer School of Business. Spring 2012.
Using Technology for Inquiry in the First Year Composition Classroom. With Leigh Gruwell and
Chanon Adsanatham. Miami University Digital Expo. Oxford, OH. September 2011.
Context-Based Strategies for the In-Basket Exam Exercise. Marketing Analysis (MKT 335). Fall
2011, Fall 2012.
A Rhetorical Approach to Graduate School Essays. Farmer School of Business. Fall 2011.
Connecting Games and Rhetoric. Purdue Professional Writing Speaker Series. West Lafayette, IN.
April 2011. Invited presentation.
How to Fail Well: A Rhetorician Does Game Design. Miami English Graduate Student and Adjunct
Symposium. Oxford, OH. March 2011.

Serious Games, Social Activism, and Composition. Miami University Graduate Research Forum.
Oxford, OH. November 2010.
Lets Play, YouTube Community, and Emergent Criticism. Miami English Graduate Student and
Adjunct Symposium. Oxford, OH. March 2010.
The 8-bit Curtain: Invoking Cold War Subjectivities through Video Games. With Joe Griffin. Miami
Graduate Research Forum. Oxford, OH. November 2009.
"Insert Quarter, Get Writing: Uses of Games in the Composition Classroom." Miami University
Digital Writing Collaborative. Oxford, OH. October 2009.

ADMINISTRATION
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, HOWE WRITING INITIATIVE, FARMER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, 2011-2013
Consulted with Business school faculty to help design, revise, and assess writing assignments
Consulted with Business students regarding class assignments & professional development
Presented to Business School classes on topics such as principles of business writing,
rhetorical situations of business writing, professionalization, and assignment-specific topics
Mentored undergraduate peer consultants
Led web site redesign project and move to an online scheduling system
DIGITAL PEDAGOGY CONSULTANT, DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH, 2010-2011
Collaborated with faculty regarding technical and pedagogical implementation of software
Provided hands-on software demonstration and instruction in classrooms
Developed curricular materials for effective integration of digital pedagogies
MIAMI PORTFOLIO PROGRAM ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, 2010
Refined holistic assessment model for incoming first-year writing portfolios
Facilitated norming and scoring sessions for portfolio readers
Collaborated with area high school instructors to solicit portfolios
Assembled and edited Best of Miami Portfolios 2010, a publication showcasing student work

SERVICE
Miami University New Faculty Orientation Facilitator, Summer 2014.
Miami University Summer Reading Program, Game Production Consultant for Jane McGonigals
Reality is Broken, 2013.
English Department Chair Search, Graduate student member, Spring 2012.
Miami English Graduate and Adjunct Association, Graduate Committee representative 2011-2012.
Conference Reviewer, Games+Learning+Society 7.0, June 2011, Madison, WI.
4

Miami English Graduate and Adjunct Association, Executive Committee 2010-2011.

Miami English Graduate and Adjunct Association, English Department representative 2009-2010.
Miami ESL Committee, 2008-2009.
Miami Portfolio Program Scorer, 2009.

SOFTWARE/PROGRAMMING SKILLS
Adobe Dreamweaver
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
C/C++/LPC/Pike
HTML/CSS
Microsoft Publisher
Python
Qualtrics Survey Software

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
Association of Internet Researchers
Association of Teachers of Technical Writing
Conference on College Composition and Communication
Modern Language Association
National Council of Teachers of English
Rhetoric Society of America

REFERENCES
Jason Palmeri, Dissertation Chair
Associate Professor and Director of Composition
Co-Coordinator, Digital Writing Collaborative
Department of English, Miami University, Oxford OH 45056
(513) 529-5221 (office)
(614) 353-3725 (cell)
palmerjr@miamioh.edu
Heidi McKee
Associate Professor and Roger and Joyce L. Howe Professor of Writing
Director, Howe Writing Initiative in the Farmer School of Business
Department of English, Miami University, Oxford OH 45056
(513) 529-2635
mckeeha@miamioh.edu

Michele Simmons
Associate Professor and Affiliate, Institute for the Environment and Sustainability
Department of English, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056
(513) 529-5221
simmonwm@miamioh.edu
Kate Ronald
Professor
Director, Howe Writing Center
Department of English, Miami University, Oxford, OH
(513) 529-6210
ronaldkj@miamioh.edu