Office location: 133 Sanford Hall
Office phone: 828-262-6928
Email address: winnwl@appstate.edu

Spring 2010 Classes:
ENG 3100 BUSINESS WRITING
ENG 3100 BUSINESS WRITING
ENG 3700 TECHNICAL WRITING

Education:
Ph.D., Rhetoric and Scientific and Technical Communication, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN.
M.A., Professional Communication, Clemson University, Clemson, SC.
B.M., Music Theory and Composition, Ohio University, Athens, OH.

Academic Specialties:
Visual Communication; Scientific, Technical, and Professional Communication; Rhetoric

Wendy Winn joined Appalachian State University’s English faculty in 2006 after completing her PhD at the University of Minnesota. In July 2007, she was one of 25 participants selected for the Ischia Summer School on the History of the Life Sciences.  The school’s theme, “Visualizing Nature,” directly related to her dissertation, “Visualizing Science: A Semiotic Analysis of Visual Representations in Ornithology Journals, 1859 – 2003.” Her first publication under this theme, “‘Proof’ in Pictures: Visual Evidence and Meaning Making in the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Controversy,” adopts the theoretical framework from her dissertation.

In 2007-2008, she led a Humanities Research Cluster to study the concept of universal design (broadly defined as removing barriers to access) from an interdisciplinary perspective with Jay Fenwick (Computer Science), Terry McClannon (Education), Margot Olson (Technology), and Chris Thaxton (Physics and Astronomy). The group presented their work at the “Third International Conference on Design Principles and Practices” in Berlin, Germany in Feb. 2009 and has since published two articles. In fall 2009, the group taught an Honor’s course to first-year students where all five faculty presented the theory that emerged from their collaboration, from five different disciplinary perspectives, for a truly interdisciplinary experience.

Peer-Reviewed Publications:
Graff, Richard and Wendy Winn. “Kenneth Burke’s Identification and Chaïm Perelman’s Communion: A Case of Convergent Evolution?” The Promise of Reason: Semi-Centennial Studies in The New Rhetoric. Ed. John Gage. (under review).

Thaxton, Chris, Wendy Winn, Jay Fenwick, Terry McClannon and Margot Olson. “The Governing Principle Behind Design, Part I: Unifying Methodologies, Disciplines and Cultures Through the Physical Principle of Least Action.” Design Principles and Practices: An International Journal 3:6 (2009): 325-348.

Thaxton, Chris, Wendy Winn, Jay Fenwick, Terry McClannon and Margot Olson. “The Governing Principle Behind Design, Part II: The Least Action Principle, Transparency, and Universalization.” Design Principles and Practices: An International Journal 3:6 (2009): 349-362.

Winn, Wendy. “‘Proof’ in Pictures: Visual Evidence and Meaning Making in the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Controversy.” Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2009) Volume 39, Number 4, pp. 351-379.

Graff, Richard and Wendy Winn. "Presencing 'Communion" in Chaïm Perelman’s New Rhetoric,"  Philosophy and Rhetoric (2006) Volume 39, Number 1, pp. 45-71.
 
Winn, Wendy and Kati Beck. "The Persuasive Power of Design Elements on an e-Commerce Web Site." Technical Communication (February 2002) Volume 49, Number 1, pp. 17-35.