Curriculum Vitae

Professional DocumentsPDF Version: Fitzsimmons CV for Fall2019

EDUCATION

Doctor of Philosophy in English, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. 2015.

Dissertation: The Chronicles of Professionalization: the Expert, the Child, and the Making of American Children’s Literature
Chair: Dr. Kenneth Kidd

Master of Arts in English, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL: May 2010

Thesis: Children’s Literature and the Tastemakers : Canonicity, Cultural Distinction and the ‘Harry Potter Effect’ in Bestseller Lists

Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing/English with High Honors, Emory University, Atlanta, GA: May 2006.

ACADEMIC POSITIONS

Assistant Teaching Professor of Professional Communication, Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA.   2019-Present

Assistant Director, Writing and Communication Program, School of Literature, Media, and Communication, Georgia Institute of Technology.  2018-2019

Marion L. Brittain Postdoctoral Fellow, Writing and Communication Program, School of Literature, Media, and Communication, Georgia Institute of Technology. 2016-Present

Full Time Lecturer, Writing and Communication Program, School of Literature, Media, and Communication, Georgia Institute of Technology. 2015-2016

Graduate Assistant, English Department and University Writing Program, University of Florida. 2008-2015

 

PUBLICATIONS

Please see the Publications section of this website for a complete listing.

MEDIA APPEARANCES

Contributing Expert – Undefining Motherhood

“Movies and Children’s Books About Moving to Help Families Deal.” January 31, 2020

“18 Must Read Books for Kids About Winter.” January 8, 2020

“Why All Kids Need to Read Empowering Books: Feminist Books for Boys and Girls.” November 29, 2019

“Moving with Kids: 4 Ways to Help Your Child Cope.” November 8, 2019

“Best Books for Baby Gift Guide.” July 19, 2019

“Empowering Books for Girls of All Ages.” October 9, 2019

“How to Choose the Best Children’s Books About Diversity.” September 9, 2019.

Expert Interviews

Woodward, Daisy. “How Dystopian Fiction Became a Coping Mechanism For an Entire Generation.” Refinery29. May 16, 2019.

Goergen, Corey and Jonathan Shelley. “Building Stuff.” The Office Hour Podcast. April 3, 2019.

Gray, Emma. “Millennials Grew Up Seeing Powerful Women – And Now They Want More.” HuffPost. March 8, 2019.

Abadi, Mark. “Why Georgia Tech is moving 95% of its Library Off Campus.” Business Insider. Jan. 18, 2019.

Abadi, Mark. “College Professor Explains What Sets Older, Younger Millennials Apart.” Business Insider. Jan. 14, 2019.

 

Selected Blog Articles (2011-2017)

TechStyle: An edited online forum for digital pedagogy and research by the Brittain Fellows at Georgia Tech. http://techstyle.lmc.gatech.edu/

Oct 2017           Teaching with Twitter: The Pedagogical Benefits to using Social Media in the Composition Classroom

Swampish: The blog of the University of Florida’s Center for Children’s Literature and Culture. Launched in 2014. http://swampish.wordpress.com/

A sample of blog post titles from my 5 posts published from 2014-2016 (typically 1400-2000 words):

Sept 2014          “Dear NPR: Hazel is Not Spiderman: A Response to the Diane Rhem Show’s ‘Readers’ Review of The Fault in Our Stars’.”

Jan 2014            “Reading Elizabeth Wein: A Comparative Review of Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire.”

Kid Lit @ UF: A blog dedicated to children’s literature and culture as seen through the eyes of the graduate students in children’s literature from the University of Florida’s English department. (Merged with Swampish in 2014). http://ufkidlit.wordpress.com/.

A sample of my 15 blog post titles published from 2011-2013 (typically 1000-1500 words):

Oct 2012           “Parallel Worlds in Once Upon a Time.”

June 2012          “The Problem with Marketing Categories: Trilogy Style.”

Oct 2011           “Fearing Children’s Literature.”

 

DIGITAL HUMANITIES PROJECTS

Data Set

Hewins “Books for the Young” Corpora: Corpora currently undergoing analysis; collection of texts includes readable text and metadata for 1005 texts from the first list of books recommended for children, written by Caroline Hewins in 1882.

 

Client/Mentor for Computer Science – Technical Communications Junior Design Team

Guiding Science Annotated Bibliography Project – a redesign of an existing grant-funded annotated bibliography project website to be more user friendly, include more multimodal content, and more easily administered and edited by library curator at the Baldwin Library for Historical Children’s Literature. (1 semester – in development)

Family Friendly Brewery Tracker – an app designed to categorize and sort local breweries based on family-friendly criteria, like play areas, availability of changing tables, available seating, noise level, smoking, and ADA accessibility. (3 teams, 5 semesters of development, available on GitHub)

Twitter Grader – an open-source browser plug-in designed to aid faculty members who use Twitter in their classrooms in harvesting student user data, measuring student participation based on pre-determined criteria, and producing PDF reports that can be distributed to individual students. (2 semesters- in development)

Bestseller List Archive – A database project designed to gather records of bestseller lists into one place, to make researching patterns or scraping data for quantitative analysis easier for researchers (2 semesters, available on GitHub)

 

GRANTS AND AWARDS

2019 Award for Excellence in Pedagogy. Writing and Communication Program, School of Literature, Media and Communication, Georgia Institute of Technology. April 25, 2019.

2019 Award for Student Excellence for teaching ENGL 1102 Student Isabella Bowland, who received the 2019 Award for Excellence in WOVEN Communication. Writing and Communication Program, School of Literature, Media and Communication, Georgia Institute of Technology. April 25, 2019.

Arts and Humanities Research Council Grant: Digital Collections in Children’s Literature: Distance Reading, Scholarship, Community (Contributing Expert in Digital Humanities). 2018-2019.

Digital Integrative Liberal Arts Center (DILAC) Professional Development Support. June 2018

Serve-Learn-Sustain Course Development Mini-Grant. Spring 2018, Fall 2018.

Embedded Scientist Course Development Grant. Spring 2018.

Thank a Teacher Award: Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning. May 2016.

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Curriculum Designer, Strategic Plan Advisory Group (SPAG), Effective Team Dynamics Initiative, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2017-2019.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Level Up Allyship Training, LGBTQIA+ Center, Georgia Institute of Technology, April 2019.

Safe Space Training, LGBTQIA+ Center, Georgia Institute of Technology, October 2018.

Digital Humanities Summer Institute Training, University of Victoria, June 2018.

Course: Stylometry with R

Digital Pedagogy Certificate, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA. December 2017.

Project: Teaching with Twitter: Social Media in the Composition Classroom

 

REFEREED PRESENTATIONS

DIGITAL HUMANITIES AND DIGITAL PEDAGOGY

“Digital Resources to Promote Access for Students with Disabilities.” Diversity/Membership Panel: Intersectionality, Social Justice, and Pedagogies 1: Classroom Strategies. Activism and Empathy. Indianapolis, Indiana.  June 13-15, 2019.

“‘Books for the Young’: Digital Humanities Approaches to Decoding the Canon.” Children’s Literature Association 46th Annual Conference. Activism and Empathy. Indianapolis, Indiana. June 13-15, 2019.

Invited Presenter: “Incorporating Twitter into Research and Composition Assignments.” Multimodal Assignment Design Showcase. Sponsored by the Writing and Communication Program’s Professional Development and Curricular Innovation Committees. Georgia Institute of Technology. April 23, 2019.

“The Possibly Impossible Research Project’: Using Digital Research and Social Media to Teach Archival Research Methods.” Code4Lib Southeast 2018 Conference. Atlanta, GA. 27 July 2018.

Invited Panelist: Syllabus Swap: Multimodal Assignments. Children’s Literature Association’s 45th Annual Conference. Refreshing Waters/Turbulent Waters. San Antonio, TX. 28-30 June 2018.

“Better Learning Through Hashtags: Building Community and Improving Discussion with Twitter.” Proposed Panel: Blended Learning: Balancing Social Media and Face-to-Face Pedagogies. MLA 2018. New York, NY. 4-7 January 2018.

Invited Panelist: “Student as Producer: Leveraging Video Based Assignments for your Courses.: Georgia Tech Library. 14 Nov 2017.

“Quantifying Bias: Tracing Children’s Literature’s Canonization Through Data Mining of Historical Book Lists.” Proposed Panel: Digital Futures of Analog Histories: Data Mining, Digitization, and Digital Pedagogy in the Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature. Children’s Literature Association 44th Annual Conference: “Imagined Futures.” Tampa, FL. 22-24 June 2017.

“Designing and Teaching Hybrid Courses.” Writing and Communication Program Research and Development Laboratory (DevLab) Presentation. 16 April 2017. Georgia Institute of Technology.

“Twitter in the Composition Classroom and Professional Academic Circles.” Writing and Communication Program Research and Development Laboratory (DevLab) Presentation. February 25, 2016. Georgia Institute of Technology.

“Publishing Challenges for Graduate Students.” Publishing Workshop. English Graduate Organization. Gainesville, FL. March 29, 2012. University of Florida

“Visual Analysis: Integrating Visual Presentations into the Writing Classroom.” 2009 University Writing Program Symposium on Rhetoric and Pedagogy. Gainesville, FL. November 5, 2009. University of Florida. (no online program available)

 

YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE AND CULTURE

“The Handbook for Mortals and the Muddy Waters of YA Best Seller Status.” Children’s Literature Association 45th Annual Conference. Refreshing Waters/Turbulent Waters. San Antonio, TX. 28-30 June 2018.

“YA Shaming; or, The Generation Who Wouldn’t Grow Up” Proposed Panel: Panic! at the Bookstore: Deconstructions of the American Dream In Young Adult Literature and Culture. Children’s Literature Association 42nd Annual Conference: “Give me liberty, or give me death!”: The High Stakes and Dark Sides of Children’s Literature. Richmond, VA. 18-20 June 2015.

“Writing Reality (Television): The Role of Technology in Identity Formation in The Hunger Games.” Children’s Literature Association’s 37th Annual Conference: Children’s Literature and Media. Ann Arbor, MI. 11 June 2010. Eastern Michigan University.

“Competing Identities: Representations of Self and Historical Memory in The Hunger Games.” English Graduate Organization Conference: Home/sickness: Desire, Decay, and the Seduction of Nostalgia. Gainesville, FL. 13-14 November 2009. University of Florida.

EXPERTISE AND PROFESSIONALIZATION IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

“Radically Inclusive Writing Programs: Defamiliarizing Faculty Assumptions about Expertise, Multimodality, and Career Development.” Co-authored with Rebecca Burnett and Andy Frazee. Council of Writing Program Administrators 2019 Conference. Baltimore, MD. July 26, 2019.

Invited Talk: “A Golden Opportunity: The Making and Marketing of the Little Golden Books.” Gallery Talk: Children’s Literature, Illustration, and Collecting Books. Golden Legacy: Original Art from 75 Years of Golden Books. Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking. Atlanta, GA. 11 July 2018.

“Professional Disputes and Early Reader Picture Books.” The 15th Annual Conference of the Marxist Reading Group: Rethinking Work. Gainesville, FL. March 21-23, 2013. University of Florida

Panel Moderator: Panel 1: “CLASS.” The 15th Annual Conference of the Marxist Reading Group: Rethinking Work. Gainesville, FL. March 21-23, 2013. University of Florida

“Experts on Children’s Literature: Communities without Children.” English Graduate Organization: Borders and Beyond: Considering Communities. Gainesville, FL. October 12, 2012. University of Florida.

“Testing the Tastemakers: Children’s Literature, Bestseller Lists and the “Harry Potter Effect” 2010 English Graduate Organization Conference: Allusion, Adaptation, and Appropriation. Gainesville, FL. October 22, 2010. University of Florida.

DYSTOPIA/FANTASY/SPECULATIVE FICTION

Co-written with Casey Wilson. “Genre Conventions of YA Dystopian Trilogies.” Proposed Panel: Beyond the Blockbusters: Themes and Trends in Contemporary Young Adult Literature. South Atlantic Modern Language Association (SAMLA). Atlanta, GA. November 3-5, 2017.

Co-written with Casey Wilson. “Overcoming Dystopia: The Genre Conventions and Pedagogical Potential of YA Dystopian Trilogies.” 36th International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts: The Scientific Imagination. March 18-22, 2015. Orlando, FL.

“Utopian Pedagogy: Using YA Dystopian Fiction to teach Utopian Studies” Proposed Panel: “Diverse Approaches to Archives in the Classroom.” Children’s Literature Association 41st Annual Conference: Diverging Diversities: Plurality in Children’s & Young Adult Literature Then and Now. Columbia, SC. June 18-21, 2014. University of South Carolina.

Co-written with Casey Wilson. “Overcoming Dystopia: The Utopian Pedagogy of YA Dystopian Trilogies.” The 16th Annual Conference of the Marxist Reading Group: Art in Interesting Times. Gainesville, FL. March 27-29, 2014. University of Florida.

Invited Talk: “The Hunger Games and the Dystopian Tradition.” The Hunger Games: Hunger Games Roundtable. Gainesville, FL. April 10, 2013. Sponsored by the Center for Women Studies and Gender Research, University of Florida.

“Dialectical ‘Complexifications’: The Centrality of Mary Malone, Dust, and the Mulefa in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials.” Children’s Literature Association’s 38th Annual Conference: Revolt, Rebellion, Protest: Change and Insurrection in Children’s Literature. Roanoke, Virginia. June 23-25, 2011. Hollins University.

 

VISUAL CULTURE AND PICTURE BOOKS

“Now I Had a Secret Life’: Decoding Remy’s Coming Out Narrative in Disney Pixar’s Ratatouille.” Children’s Literature Association 43rd Annual International Conference. Columbus, Ohio. June 9-11, 2016.

“Introducing Early Reader Picture Books.” Children’s Literature Association’s 40th Annual Conference: Play and Risk in Children’s and Young Adult Literature. Biloxi, MI. June 13-15, 2013. Hosted by University of Southern Mississippi (IP Resort Biloxi).

“Monstrous Myths: Manipulation of Text and the Suspension of Disbelief in Octavian Nothing and The Knife of Never Letting Go.” The 33rd International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts: The Monstrous Fantastic. Orlando, FL. March 23, 2012.

“Intimate Text: Novelty Through Typeface in Octavian Nothing and The Knife of Never Letting Go” 2011 English Graduate Organization Conference: Nothing New Under the Sun?: Novelty, Game-Changing, and Genre-Breaking. Gainesville, FL. October 29, 2011. University of Florida.

“New Baby: Picture Book Depictions of Becoming an Older Sibling.” Children’s Literature Association 34th Annual Conference: The Best of 3. Charlotte, NC. June 11-14, 2009. University of North Carolina-Charlotte.

 

POSTER SESSION

“Picture This: Teaching Science Communication for Non-Experts through Children’s Picture Books.” Celebrate Teaching Day. Center for Teaching and Learning, Georgia Institute of Technology. March 12, 2019.

“Improving Research Methodologies by Exploring Science Writing for Children.” Celebrate Teaching Day. Center for Teaching and Learning, Georgia Institute of Technology. March 8, 2018.

“Twitter in the Composition Classroom.” Celebrate Teaching Day 2017: Center for Teaching and Learning, Georgia Institute of Technology. March 14, 2017.

 

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Please see the Teaching Portfolio page for course syllabi, assignment sheets, and links to online course materials.

TUTORING

Strategy Tutor, University Athletic Association, University of Florida, 2010-2015.

  • Tutored student-athletes in remedial English and reading courses and tutored student- athletes as a strategy tutor, focused on improving student time management and study skills, planning major projects, refining research skills, and maintaining records. Worked with multiple students for 2+ years.
  • Supervised “homework room” or structured study hall for 10-15 students per semester, focused on improving study skills, time management, prioritizing tasks, and maintaining active participation in online classes.
  • Designed, composed, edited and distributed detailed tutoring guides for remedial English and Reading courses, focused on grammar, sentence construction, parts of speech and study tips; aimed at facilitating improved tutoring and supporting new tutors in the program.

WORKPLACE EXPERIENCE

Event Coordinating Experience
Conferences Coordinator, Office of International Affairs and The Claus M. Halle Institute for Global Learning, Emory University. 2006 – 2008.

  • Prepared logistical aspects of visits for incoming delegations, high profile guests, and potential donors, as well as for large public events, including but not limited to: international travel arrangements, transportation, lodging, catering, audiovisual needs, publicity
  • Facilitated scheduling, messaging and events between the Office of the President, Office of the Provost, and various Deans and Directors and managed internal calendars and records for Vice Provost of International Affairs
  • Planned logistical details for events and conferences outside of Atlanta, (the United Nations, Germany, India, Belgium) often working with the Halle Foundation, various Consul Generals in Atlanta, and staff at foreign universities while maintaining databases with contact information for 300+ faculty, staff, and other mailing list participants
  • Designed publicly distributed schedule documents, event programs, and electronic invitations

Conference Coordinator, Office of University Conferences, Division of Campus Life, Emory University. Summer 2005

  • Coordinated preparation of twenty residence halls for 66 conference groups and over 8,000 guests for three months
  • Acted as a liaison between multiple professional staffs, including custodial, maintenance, central laundry, and conferences staff as well as student conference managers
  • Utilized customer service and problem solving skills as well as creativity and organization

Conference Manager, Office of University Conferences, Division of Campus Life, Emory University. Summer 2005

  • Worked as a liaison for three conference groups, responsible for arranging all necessary elements of their stay at Emory University’s summer facilities. Compiled three separate group bills totaling over $100,000.
  • Assisted in daily conference operations including building preparations, administrative work, and team building.

ACADEMIC SERVICE

Scholars Council for the Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature                                                             

Chair                                                                             2015-Present

  • Assisted curator with planning and execution of special programs
  • Maintained communication between curator and council on a quarterly basis

Council Member                                                        2014-Present

  • Advised Baldwin curator on potential programs to increase scholarly use of special collections
  • Brainstormed potential collaborations for Baldwin library
  • Consulted on grant application for Baldwin digital program

Peer Reviewer

Journals: Jeunesse, Lion and the Unicorn

INSTITUTIONAL SERVICE

Curricular Innovation Committee             

Co-Chair                                                                      2017-2019

  • Coordinate, plan, and execute institute-wide programs focused on curricular innovations
  • Generate departmental reports on service, membership, and programming

Member                                                                       2015-2019

  • Identify, develop and disseminate curricular/pedagogical innovations to Georgia Tech faculty
  • Organize programmatic curricular innovations such as Celebrating Teaching Day, GTRI projects, Direct to Discovery and National Day for Writing

 

WOVENText Committee

Co-Chair                                                                      2018-2019

  • Solicit, edit, and compile new material and update existing material in WCP custom textbook
  • Coordinate with editors at Bedford/St. Martin on content, distribution, and digital access

 

Hiring Committee

Member                                                                     2018-2019

  • Solicit and review applications for 2019-2020 Brittain Fellowship
  • Interview and assess candidates to make hiring recommendations to WCP director

 

DevLab Committee

Member                                                                       2015-2019

  • Support Brittain Fellows in developing innovative digital pedagogies, digitally-based research and other special projects
  • Maintain DevLab work space and recording studio

 

Professional Development Committee

Member                                                                         2016-2019

  • Support Brittain Fellows in developing professional materials for academic/alt-ac job searches
  • Organize seminars, presentations and panels on continuing professionalization
    • Best Practices for Designing and Teaching a Hybrid Course, April 6, 2017

 

Departmental Assessment

Participant                                                                     2015-2019

  • Participate in department-wide assessment to help develop methods and materials for assessing the learning and teaching of WOVEN communication
  • Meet once a month with small groups to assess composition course final portfolios; submit data to chair of Assessment committee to measure departmental-wide metrics

 

University Writing Program Mentor:
AY 2014-2015                                  Mentor (Also AY 2011-2012, Spring 2014)

  • Awarded $1000 fellowship to act as mentor
  • Coached 2-3 first year graduate students per semester to develop pedagogical strategies, classroom management techniques and teaching philosophies
  • Supervised co-instructors grading, teaching and planning and filed formal evaluations

 

English Graduate Organization:
Presidential Advisory Board:                                          2012-2013
Co-President:                                                                       2011-2012

  • Organized 2011 EGO Conference ““Nothing New Under the Sun?: Novelty, Game-Changing, and Genre-Breaking” with members of the EGO board. Secured keynote speaker, Dr. Richard Flynn of Georgia Southern University
  • Developed the EGO Board Handbook to secure institutional memory of EGO officers

 

Chair, New Student Welcome Committee:                 2009-2011
Member:                                                                                2008-2014

 

Administrative Work for the University Writing Program:
Instructor Evaluator                                                          AY 2011-2012

  • Observed 3-4 graduate student instructors each semester
  • Documented and filed formal evaluation reports with the department

 

Young Adult Reading Group:
Organizer                                                                              2011-Present

  • Coordinated summer reading group of faculty, postdocs, and graduate students interested in children’s and young adult literature across 3 institutions (6-10 members)
  • Standardized book nomination and scheduling process, as well as group social media presence and advertising

AFFILIATIONS

Children’s Literature Association: Member, 2009-Present
International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts: Member, 2012-Present
Modern Language Association: Member, 2013-Present
SAMLA: Member, 2017-Present