Dr. William Thelin

Title: Professor
Dept/Program: English
Office: Olin 332
Phone: 330-972-7472
Email: wthelin@uakron.edu
Curriculum Vitae: Download in PDF format

Biography

Dr. Thelin received his Ph. D. in English at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1997.  His first tenure-track position was at the University of Cincinnati, where he served its open-admissions population by teaching Basic Writing and English Composition.  He ran the Peer Tutor and Basic Writing Center from 1998-2001 and received tenure and promotion to associate professor in 2000.  He was hired at The University of Akron in 2001 as the Director of Composition, a position he filled until 2009.  He earned his full professorship in 2011 and currently teaches graduate courses in Composition Studies, as well as sections of undergraduate writing and fiction.

Dr. Thelin’s interests span a wide spectrum of the field of Composition Studies.  He is widely regarded as an expert in critical pedagogy and in the relationship between social class and education.  He has also published on subjects such as response methods to student writing, dual enrollment, the effects of politicized pedagogy on students, and grading.  His current scholarship involves two interrelated subjects—the labor crisis in English departments and the persistence of antiquated models of teaching writing, known collectively as current traditionalism.  He is the author of two books and over 20 articles while co-editing a scholarly journal.  He has given over 80 presentations at conferences and universities.

Education

Ph.D., Indiana Univ. of PA