Carnegie Mellon University

Joanna Wolfe

Joanna Wolfe

Teaching Professor of English

Bio

My current research focuses on equity and communication, looking at factors that inhibit the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in cultures of power, and investigating evidence-based strategies for overcoming these inequities. I also do research on technical communication and writing in the disciplines (particularly engineering), asking what effective communication looks like in a range of contexts. In addition, I am very interested in technology and how new technological affordances can change the ways we read, write, and teach. My research tends to be very applied and action-oriented, seeking to make specific and measurable changes in the world. My research has received awards from the National Council of Teachers of English, the American Association of Engineering Educators, the IEEE Professional Communication Society, and the Association for Computing Machinery

Education

Ph.D., English, The University of Texas at Austin, May 2001
M.A., English, The University of Texas at Austin, May 1997
B.A., English, The University of Maryland at College Park, May 1991, Cum Laude

 

Research

equity & communication, race and gender studies, technical writing, engineering communication, teamwork, writing in the disciplines, pedagogy

Publications

 "Positive and Future-Focused vs. I-Focused: A Comparative Examination of Effective Conflict Resolution Scripts to Minimize Gender Backlash in Engineering Settings." Sex Roles 86.9 (2022): 504-527. (with Elizabeth Powell)

Team Writing: A Guide to Working in Groups. Bedford/St. Martin's Press, 2010.

(With Barrie Olson, and Laura Wilder). “Knowing What We Know about Writing in the Disciplines: A New Approach to Teaching for Transfer in FYC.” The WAC Journal, vol. 25, no. 1, 2014. https://clearinghouse.colostate.edu/journal/vol25/wolfeetal.pdf

“Rhetorical Numbers: A Case for Quantitative Argument in the Composition Classroom.” College Composition and Communication, vol. 61, no. 3, 2010, 452-475. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40593335

(With Elizabeth Powell) “Biases in Interpersonal Communication: How Engineering Students Perceive Gender Typical Speech Acts in Teamwork. Journal of Engineering Education, vol. 98, no. 1, 2009. 5-16. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168-9830.2009.tb01001.x

"How Technical Communication Textbooks Fail Engineering Students." Technical Communication Quarterly, vol. 18, no. 4, 2009, 351-375. https://doi.org/10.1080/10572250903149662

"Gender, Ethnicity and Classroom Discourse: Communication Patterns of Hispanic and White Students in Networked Classrooms." Written Communication, vol. 17, no. 4, 2000, pp. 491-519. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088300017004003

Curriculum Vitae

CV