James Wynn

Associate Professor of English

Area of Study

Professional Writing, Rhetoric, Technical Writing and Communication, Pre-Modern Studies

Bio

James Wynn has been with the Department of English at CMU since 2006 and is currently serving as the director of the Rhetoric Program. His research and teaching explore science, mathematics, and public policy from a rhetorical perspective. He has written books on how mathematics gets argued into science (Evolution by the Numbers (2012)) and how the internet and internet-connected devices have supported and shaped the development of citizen science (Citizen Science in the Digital Age (2017)). He has also edited and contributed chapters to Arguing with Numbers (2021), a collection on rhetoric and mathematics. James teaches classes in Rhetoric of Science, Rhetoric and Public Policy, Climate Change, Argumentation, Science Communication, and Professional and Technical Writing.

Research Keywords: science, mathematics, climate change, citizen science, science communication, digital humanities, argument, public policy

Education

• PhD, University of Maryland, 2006
• MA, Case Western Reserve University, 2000
• BS, Eastern Michigan University, 1994

Publications

Books

Citizen Science in the Digital Age: Reshaping Communication and Argument. Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama P, 2017.
http://www.uapress.ua.edu/product/Citizen-Science-in-the-Digital-Age,6493.aspx

Evolution by Numbers: The Origins of Mathematical Argument in Biology. Anderson,
South Carolina: Parlor P, 2012.
https://parlorpress.com/products/evolution-by-the-numbers-the-origins-of-mathematical-argument-in-biology

Edited Collections

James Wynn and G. Mitchell Reyes. Arguing with Numbers: Essays at the Intersections of Rhetoric and Mathematics. University Park: Penn State Univ. Press, 2021. https://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-08881-5.html

Curriculum Vitae

CV