Dr. Vytautas Malesh, MFA, PhD
email: vytautas@vytautasmalesh.com or vytautas.malesh@gmail.com
EDUCATION
- Wayne State University
- PhD, English, 2018
- Dissertation: “Blue to BDU: the Five Canons of Rhetoric and the Text of the Police Uniform,” supervised by Dr. Frances Ranney
- University of Nevada – Las Vegas
- MFA, Creative Writing, 2009.
- Thesis “Dancing in the Ashes” supervised by Mr. Douglas Unger
- Wayne State University
- BA, English, 2006. Magna Cum Laude. Phi Beta Kappa.
- Senior paper “Like a Wild Animal In A Cage: Interlocking Piety and Sexuality within Tolstoy’s The Kreutzer Sonata” supervised by Dr. Renata Wasserman
TEACHING – 16 years experience
- Technical and Professional Communication Courses (Incl. Web / Digital Writing)
- English 116 / 3050 / 3213 (Introduction to Technical Communication)— 50+ sections
- Allowed professionally-minded students to explore the forms and conventions of reports, memos, presentations, and job-seeking documents (cover letters and resumes) while also introducing students to a reader-centered approach, ethical concerns in technical writing, and career prospects for technical writers.
- Allowed professionally-minded students to explore the forms and conventions of reports, memos, presentations, and job-seeking documents (cover letters and resumes) while also introducing students to a reader-centered approach, ethical concerns in technical writing, and career prospects for technical writers.
- English 3060 / 3249 (Oral Reports)— 20+ Sections
- This course is an extension of WSU’s ENG 3050, and shifts the focus away from written work (memos, letters, resumes, etc) and on to oral presentations delivered with visual aids, specifically electronic slide decks like PowerPoint and Prezi.
- This course is an extension of WSU’s ENG 3050, and shifts the focus away from written work (memos, letters, resumes, etc) and on to oral presentations delivered with visual aids, specifically electronic slide decks like PowerPoint and Prezi.
- English 3416 (Writing and New Media)— 10 Sections
- Upper-level English course interrogating writing as a practice and media as a concept through playful experimentation and rigorous scholarship. Students are tasked with understanding what makes new media new in relation to old, and how writing practices differ and remain the same throughout the history of media, from prehistoric cave paintings to twitter threads.
- Upper-level English course interrogating writing as a practice and media as a concept through playful experimentation and rigorous scholarship. Students are tasked with understanding what makes new media new in relation to old, and how writing practices differ and remain the same throughout the history of media, from prehistoric cave paintings to twitter threads.
- English 407a (Business Writing)—6 Sections
- Introductory business writing including job documents, reports, memos, and letters. Emphasis on clear communication, genre awareness, and ethical communication.
- Introductory business writing including job documents, reports, memos, and letters. Emphasis on clear communication, genre awareness, and ethical communication.
- English 3XXX (Web Writing) – Developed & Piloted
- A fifteen-week class for professionalizing web authors. Students plan, author, and launch their own website which includes a combination of articles, biography, blogging, and social media via 2+ platforms. Students practice search engine optimization, multimedia integration, platform mastery, and evaluate best practices to write impactful articles and either grow a personal brand or promote a community organization.
- A fifteen-week class for professionalizing web authors. Students plan, author, and launch their own website which includes a combination of articles, biography, blogging, and social media via 2+ platforms. Students practice search engine optimization, multimedia integration, platform mastery, and evaluate best practices to write impactful articles and either grow a personal brand or promote a community organization.
- English 7840 (Graduate Technical Communication)—1 Section as TA
- An advanced technical communication course helps students interested in technical communication to survey contemporary writing in the discipline via journal reviews and in-class discussion of both foundational and thematically focused texts on the topic – key texts included Beverly Sauer’s The Rhetoric of Risk and J. Blake Scott, Bernadette Longo, and Katherine V. Wells compilation Critical Power Tools.
- An advanced technical communication course helps students interested in technical communication to survey contemporary writing in the discipline via journal reviews and in-class discussion of both foundational and thematically focused texts on the topic – key texts included Beverly Sauer’s The Rhetoric of Risk and J. Blake Scott, Bernadette Longo, and Katherine V. Wells compilation Critical Power Tools.
- English 116 / 3050 / 3213 (Introduction to Technical Communication)— 50+ sections
- Rhetoric, Theory, and Pedagogy
- ENC 3371 (Rhetorical Theory & Practice) – 5 Sections
- Historiographical course tracing the evolution and development of rhetoric, rhetorical theory, and rhetorical pedagogy. Teaches, but also problematizes, the “Narrow Arrow” of Greco-Roman – Belletristic – Current Traditional rhetoric (Powell) by deconstructing concepts of tradition & standardization and by introducing “alternative” rhetorics as fully legitimized approaches and by encouraging further exploration of same & similar (e.g. Latinx rhetoric).
- Historiographical course tracing the evolution and development of rhetoric, rhetorical theory, and rhetorical pedagogy. Teaches, but also problematizes, the “Narrow Arrow” of Greco-Roman – Belletristic – Current Traditional rhetoric (Powell) by deconstructing concepts of tradition & standardization and by introducing “alternative” rhetorics as fully legitimized approaches and by encouraging further exploration of same & similar (e.g. Latinx rhetoric).
- ENC 3334 (Introduction to Writing Studies) – 2 Sections
- Research-intensive methods and theories course engaging concepts of good writing, good writers, and the teaching of writing. Students develop their own “statements” on good writing, including statements on grammar and SRTOL, culminating in the development of their own exercises and proposed writing courses with course pitches, sample assignments, and student-centered concept documents.
- Research-intensive methods and theories course engaging concepts of good writing, good writers, and the teaching of writing. Students develop their own “statements” on good writing, including statements on grammar and SRTOL, culminating in the development of their own exercises and proposed writing courses with course pitches, sample assignments, and student-centered concept documents.
- ENC 3371 (Rhetorical Theory & Practice) – 5 Sections
- Composition Courses
- English 101 / 102 / 1020 / 1101 / 1102(First-Year Composition)—Approx. 50 Sections
- Introductory composition courses for college freshmen and sophomores, many of whom have very little formal writing experience. Emphasize the composition of rhetorical essays while introducing scholarly research and citation practices. Include instruction in MLA and APA format, enthymemes, Stasis theory, Aristotelian modes of discourse, the Ciceronian canon, Rogerian & Toulminian argumentation, multimedia delivery, and multimodal performance.
- Introductory composition courses for college freshmen and sophomores, many of whom have very little formal writing experience. Emphasize the composition of rhetorical essays while introducing scholarly research and citation practices. Include instruction in MLA and APA format, enthymemes, Stasis theory, Aristotelian modes of discourse, the Ciceronian canon, Rogerian & Toulminian argumentation, multimedia delivery, and multimodal performance.
- English 221 (Advanced Composition)—1 Section
- This workshop class allowed students to interact closely in peer groups, contributing to class discussions and organically navigating compositional practices to produce a substantial body of written work geared towards scientific research and academic exposition.
- This workshop class allowed students to interact closely in peer groups, contributing to class discussions and organically navigating compositional practices to produce a substantial body of written work geared towards scientific research and academic exposition.
- English 101 / 102 / 1020 / 1101 / 1102(First-Year Composition)—Approx. 50 Sections
- Creative Writing Courses
- English 3800 (Introduction to Creative Writing)—1 Section
- English 3800 covers four creative genres: poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, and drama. It is a gateway course, required for WSU’s creative writing track. Intended to help students develop an appreciation for, and refine their skills in, creative composition. I am the only graduate student to have taught this course.
- English 3800 (Introduction to Creative Writing)—1 Section
PUBLICATIONS
- “Nolo.” ARTIFEX Magazine, Spring 2021
- “Say August,” THAT Literary Review, Spring 2019
- “The Air is Fresh and Sweet,” GNU Journal, Spring 2018
- “After Homecoming” Blunderbuss Magazine, Fall-Winter 2017
- “Trees of Heaven” Hero Magazine, Issue 14, October 2016. Pps 108-109
- “One Thousand Shekels, Fifteen Agurot” The November 3rd Club, February 2010. http://www.wetdryvac.net/November3rdClub/2010/02-2010/fiction/malesh.html
- “The Purse” The Superstition Review, Issue 4, December 2009 https://superstitionreview.asu.edu/issue4/fiction/vytatuasmalesh
- “Hands” Danse Macabre Magazine, Volume 40, November 2009. http://www.dansemacbre.com
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
- Multimedia in the Magic City: Addressing student barriers in multimedia/multimodal projects at an urban R1 university. – Accepted, later turned away owing to COVID-19 accommodation restrictions.
- “Socio-Cultural Perspectives on the Professional Communication Curriculum”—Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication 2018, Minneapolis, MN
- “Restaurant Rhetoric: Taking (Visual)Rhetoric out for Lunch”—Conference on College Composition and Communication 2018, Kansas City, MO
- “Restaurant Rhetoric: Taking (Visual)Rhetoric out for Lunch”—Rhetoric Society of America 2018, Minneapolis, MN
- “After Homecoming,” short story panel participant—Michigan College English Association Conference 2017, Ypsilanti, MI
- “Tech Comm @ Tech Town”—Association of Teachers of Technical Writing Conference 2017, Portland, OR
- “Tech Comm @ Tech Town” (Accepted – conference cancelled due to inclement weather)—Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication 2016, Savannah, GA
- “I am Because of You: The Politics of Ubuntu and Apology in Post-Apartheid South Africa”—Cultural Rhetorics 2016, Lansing, MI
- “Digital Spaces, Video Faces: Ethos and Discourse in the Online Classroom”—Conference on College Composition and Communication 2016, Houston, TX
- “Dressed to Distress: Introducing Identity Conflict to Professional Writing Classrooms through Fashion and Style”—Michigan College English Association Conference 2015, Grand Rapids, MI
- “How to Be Writing or Multimodal Multigenre Explorations of What it Means to Write”—Conference of Writing Program Adminstrators 2015, Boise, ID
FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
- Thomas C. Rumble Endowed Dissertation Fellowship (2017)
- Graduate Teaching Assistantship, Wayne State University (2014-2016)
- Stephen H. Tudor Memorial Scholarship in Creative Writing (2014)
- Christopher Leland Endowed Scholarship in Creative Writing (2013, 2014)
- Tompkins Award (Runner-Up, 2006 & 2014)
- Loughead-Eldredge Endowed Scholarship in Creative Writing (2005, 2006)
- Yelda Endowed Scholarship for English (2005, 2006)
DEPARTMENTAL SERVICE
- Founder, FIU English Teaching Circle
- Created professional collaboration and socialization opportunity for FIU instructors looking to compare best practices and support one another. Open to professors, instructors, and teaching assistants.
- Enthusiastic participation since 2019 – 4 sessions per semester.
- Member, FIU Professional Development Committee
- Contributed to professional development opportunities and workshops, training, and social development.
- Contributed to professional development opportunities and workshops, training, and social development.
- Member, Hiring Committee
- Served on FIU’s 2019 search committee to hire two full-time NTT instructors in writing.
- Served on FIU’s 2019 search committee to hire two full-time NTT instructors in writing.
- Member, Florida International University Technical and Professional Communication Committee.
- Revising, planning, and integrating continuous improvement into FIU’s writing curriculum for business, IT, science, and engineering students.
- Revising, planning, and integrating continuous improvement into FIU’s writing curriculum for business, IT, science, and engineering students.
- Member, Wayne State University Technical Communication Composition Committee
- Overhauling, developing, and streamlining assignments and curriculum for Wayne State University’s Tech Com program.
- Overhauling, developing, and streamlining assignments and curriculum for Wayne State University’s Tech Com program.
- Member, Wayne State University Awards Committee
- Evaluating student fiction, poetry, drama, and creative nonfiction for determination of scholarships and awards.
- Evaluating student fiction, poetry, drama, and creative nonfiction for determination of scholarships and awards.
- Member, Mentoring Committee
- Welcomed and collaborated with new graduate students in order to help them better transition from student to instructor through meetings, discussion, and observation.
COURSES QUALIFIED TO TEACH
- Rhetoric and Composition
- Remedial Composition, First-Year Composition, Advanced Composition, History of Rhetoric, Material Rhetoric, Visual Rhetoric, Oratory
- Remedial Composition, First-Year Composition, Advanced Composition, History of Rhetoric, Material Rhetoric, Visual Rhetoric, Oratory
- Technical and Professional Communication
- Introductory Technical Communication, Reports and Public Speaking, Report Writing, Professional Narrative, Editing
- Introductory Technical Communication, Reports and Public Speaking, Report Writing, Professional Narrative, Editing
- Creative Writing
- Introduction to Creative Writing, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry, Playwrititing, Creative Writing Workshops
- Introduction to Creative Writing, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry, Playwrititing, Creative Writing Workshops
- Literature
- English Literature, Victoriana, American Literature, Modern American Literature
ADDITIONAL TRAINING
- Canvas training
- Cascade CMS training
- Cybersecurity training
- Early alert training
- Hybrid Course training
- Kognito “at risk” training
- Online Course training
- STRIDE – Diversity in the Workplace training
Vytautas Malesh 