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College of Arts & Sciences
Department of English
English DepartmentFacultyPatricia A. Dunn

Patricia A. Dunn

Patricia A. Dunn

Professor Emerita of English
Composition and rhetoric; English education; disability studies
Humanities 2082
Patricia.Dunn@stonybrook.edu 
I prefer to be contacted by email.

Twitter: @PatriciaDunn1

  • Biography

    Biography

    Patricia A. Dunn is a professor of English who teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in both English and in the Program in Writing and Rhetoric. Her areas of teaching and research are composition and rhetoric, English education, and disability studies. In 2013, she won the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.

    She has published five books: two on composition theory and the teaching of writing: Talking, Sketching, Moving: Multiple Literacies in the Teaching of Writing (2001, 2022), and Learning Re-Abled: The Learning Disability Controversy and Composition Studies  (1995, 2011). Both are now available as free downloads from the Writing Across the Curriculum Clearinghouse.

    Her third book, co-written with Ken Lindblom, critiques those who complain about other people’s “grammar”: Grammar Rants: How a Backstage Tour of Writing Complaints Can Help Students Make Informed, Savvy Choices about Their Writing (2011).  Her fourth book analyzes disability myths and tropes in books for young people: Disabling Characters: Representations of Disability in Young Adult Literature (2015).

    Her latest book, Drawing Conclusions: Using Visual Thinking to Understand Complex Concepts in the Classroom (2021), published by Teachers College Press, Columbia University, shows how student-drawn, juxtaposed visual representations can help students better understand and process challenging concepts.

    She has also published a number of book chapters and blogs, as well as articles in College English, English Journal, JAC, Rhetoric Review, Kairos, and College Composition and Communication. She has presented at many conferences, including the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC), the English Language Arts Teacher Educators (ELATE), the Rhetoric Society of America (RSA), the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) conference, and the International Federation of Teachers of English.

  • Peer-Reviewed Books

    PEER REVIEWED BOOKS

    Dunn, Patricia A.Drawing Conclusions: Using Visual Thinking to Explore Complex Conceptsin the Classroom. Columbia University, Teachers College Press, February 2021.

    Dunn, Patricia A.Disabling Characters: Representations of Disability in Young Adult Literature, New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2015.

    Dunn, Patricia A. and Ken Lindblom.Grammar Rants: How a Backstage Tour of Writing Complaints Can Help Students Make Informed, Savvy Choices About Their Writing. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Heinemann Publishers. April, 2011.

    Dunn, Patricia A.Talking, Sketching, Moving: Multiple Literacies in the Teaching of Writing. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Heinemann. October, 2001. Republished online at the Writing Across the Curriculum Clearinghouse in 2022.

    Dunn, Patricia A.Learning Re-Abled: The Learning Disability Controversy and Composition Studies. Portsmouth, NH:  Boynton/Cook Heinemann. September, 1995. Republished online at Writing Across the Curriculum Clearinghouse in 2011.

  • Selected Articles, Book Chapters, Reviews, Essays and Blogs

    selected aRTICLES, book chapters, reviews, essays and blogs

    Dunn, Patricia A. “Disability and Writing Pedagogy: Stagnation, Progress, and Change.” In Basic Writing in the Twenty-First Century. Laura A. Grey-Rosendale and Barbara Gleason, Eds. Peter Lang. Forthcoming.

    Dunn, Patricia A. “Dispelling Disability Stereotypes in Literature.” NCTE’s Council Chronicle (Nov. 2022): 6-7.

    Dunn, Patricia A. “Teaching Disability Access in a Teaching of Writing Class.” Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education. 11.2 (2022): Article 10.

    Dunn, Patricia A. “Disability/Ability.” In L.M. Barker, D. Gorlewski, J. Gorlewski, & C. Miller (Eds) Encyclopedia of English Language Arts Education. Brill. Forthcoming.

    Dunn, Patricia A.Review of Compose Our World:Project-Based Learning in Secondary English Language Arts, by Alison G. Boardman, Antero Garcia, Bridget Dalton, & Joseph L. Polman. Teachers College Record. June 15, 2021.

    Dunn, Patricia A. “Disability in Higher Education: How Ableism Affects Disclosure, Accommodation, and Inclusion.” (Invited Review Essay) College English 82.2 (November 2019): 226-242.

    Dunn, Patricia A. Invited Essay (2000 words) on Michael Bérubé’s Life As We Know It and Life as Jamie Knows It. (Overview, Historical and Cultural Context, Theme, and Critical Response). In Couser, G. Thomas, and Susannah B. Mintz, editors. Disability Experiences: Memoirs, Autobiographies, and Other Personal Narratives. (Vol. 1). Farmington Hills, MI: Macmillan Reference USA, a part of Gale, a Cengage Company, July 2019. Pages 381-384.

    Dunn, Patricia A. and Angela Broderick. “What Does The Glass Menagerie and Its Discussion Questions Teach about Disability? —And How to Undo It.” In Critical Approaches to Teaching the High School Novel: Reinterpreting Canonical Literature. Eds. Crag A. Hill and Victor Malo-Juvera. Routledge, 2019.

    Dunn, Patricia A. “Teaching Grammar Improves Writing,” inBad Ideas about Writing. Eds. Cheryl E. Ball and Drew Loewe. West Virginia University Libraries Digital Publishing Institute Morgantown, WV, 2017. 144--149.

    Dunn, Patricia A. “Practice-as-Inquiry, Stephen M. North’s Teaching, and Contemporary Public Policy.” In “The Changing of Knowledge in Composition: Contemporary Perspectives.” Eds. Richard Gebhardt and Lance Massey. Utah State University Press. Fall, 2011. 173—193.

    Dunn, Patricia A. "What Is 'Normal'? Defining Terms and Questioning Commonplaces in Public Policy Debates." JAC: Rhetoric, Writing, Culture, Politics 31.3&4, 2011: 736-752. 

    Dunn, Patricia A. “Re-Seeing (Dis)Ability: Ten Suggestions.” (EJ In Focus). English Journal 100.2 (November 2010): 14—26.

    Lindblom, Kenneth, and Patricia A. Dunn. “Analyzing Grammar Rants: An Alternative to Traditional Grammar Instruction.” English Journal 95.5 (May, 2006): 71-77.

    Dunn, Patricia A. and Kenneth Lindblom. “Developing Savvy Writers by Analyzing Grammar Rants.” In Language in the School Curriculum: Integrating Linguistic Knowledge into K-12 Teaching. Kristin Denham and Anne Lobeck (Eds.) Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2005. 191-207.

    Dunn, Patricia A. “Educating the Public about Best Practices in English Language Arts.” The Language Arts Journal of Michigan 22.1 (Spring/Summer 2006): 13-17.

    Dunn, Patricia A. “Beyond Print-Based Learning in the English Language Arts: Challenging All Our Students.” Illinois English Bulletin 92.2 (Spring 2005): 15--26.

    Lindblom, Kenneth and Patricia A. Dunn. “Cooperative Writing ‘Program’ Administration at Illinois State Normal University: The Committee on English of 1904-05 and the Influence of Professor J. Rose Colby.” In  Historical Studies of Writing Program Administration: Individuals, Communities, and the Formation of a Discipline. Eds. Barbara L’Eplattenier and Lisa Mastrangelo. Lafayette, IN: Parlor Press. (March 2004). 37-70.

    Dunn, Patricia A. “Choosing Novels to Expand Perspectives.” (Letter to the Editor) English Journal 93.6 (July 2004): 9.

    Dunn, Patricia A. and Kenneth Lindblom. “The Roles of Rhetoric in Constructions and Reconstructions of Disability.”  Rhetoric Review 22.2 (April, 2003): 167-174.

    Dunn, Patricia A., and Kenneth J. Lindblom. “Why Revitalize Grammar?” English Journal 92.3 (January, 2003): 43-50.

    Dunn, Patricia A. and Kathleen Dunn De Mers. "Reversing Notions of Disability and Accommodation: Embracing Universal Design in Writing Pedagogy and Web Space."Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy.” 7.1 (Spring 2002).

    Bruggemann, Brenda Jo, Linda Feldmeier White, Patricia A. Dunn, Barbara A. Heifferon, and Johnson Cheu, "Becoming Visible: Lessons in Disability." CCC The Journal of the Conference on College Composition and Communication 52.3 (February, 2001): 368--398.

    Dunn, Patricia A. “Marginal Comments on Writers’ Texts: The Status of the Commenter as a Factor in Writing Center Tutorials.” Stories from the Center: Connecting Narrative and Theory in the Writing Center. Eds. Meg Woolbright and Lynn Craigue Briggs. Urbana, IL: NCTE, 2000.

    Dunn, Patricia A. “Oral Journals: Voice Mail and Tape Recorders as Inclusive and Challenging Forums.”The Journal Book for Teachers of Basic and Learning Disabled Writers. Eds. Susan Gardner and Toby Fulwiler. Westport, CT:  Boynton/Cook, Heinemann. October 1999. 116-128.

    Dunn, Patricia A. “Forgotten Elements in Writing Across the Curriculum:  Speaking-to-Learn and Collaborative Interdisciplinary Research.” Issues in Writing:  Education, Government, Arts & Humanities, Business & Industry, Science & Technology  9.1 (Fall/Winter 1998):  19-42.

    Dunn, Patricia A. “Three Comments on ‘Writing Utopias’” Comment and response section of College English 54 (Oct. 1992): 731-33.     

    Dunn, Patricia A. and Kathleen K. Thornton. “Student Writing and Teacher Commentary: Product-Based Versus Writer-Based”English in Texas  23.4 (Summer 1992):  27-32.

    Dunn, Patricia A. "Rock Music, Student Texts, and Literary Theory," in The English Record 40.4 (1990):  21-25.

    Dunn, Patricia A. "Whole Language Across the Curriculum: Teaching and Learning in a General Chemistry Class."Essay appears in New York State English Council's monograph, Whole Language: Explorations and Applications, edited by Robert W. Blake. February, 1990.

    english journal columns

    Dunn, Patricia A. “Promoting Equity and Justice Through Text Choices, Questions, and Ways of Writing.” Disabling Assumptions Column. English Journal 107.6 (July 2018): 129-131.

    Dunn, Patricia A. “‘What Do You Know That We Don’t?’: Foregrounding Other Literacies in Class Discussion.” Disabling Assumptions Column. English Journal 107.4 (March 2018): 89-91.

    Dunn, Patricia A. "Read This Young Adult Novel! (It's You, Society, Who Needs to 'Try Harder!')" Disabling Assumptions Column. English Journal 105.6 (July 2016) 89-91.

    Dunn, Patricia A. “Differentiating Writing, Reading, and How We Respond to Writing.” Disabling Assumptions Column. English Journal 104.2 (Nov. 2014): 118-120.

    Dunn, Patricia A. "Developing Further as Readers with Our Students" Disabling Assumptions Column. English Journal 103.6 (July 2014): 71-73.

    Dunn, Patricia A. “Challenging Stereotypes about Disability for a More Democratic Society.” Disabling Assumptions Column. English Journal 103.2 (November 2013): 94 – 96.

    BLOGS

    Dunn, Patricia A. “Quashing Disability Myths through the Lived Experience of Authors.” Literacy & NCTE Blog. June 8, 2022.

    Dunn, Patricia A. "A Short Pitch for Exquisite Short Stories" at Dr. Bickmore’s YA Wednesday. November 11, 2021.

    Dunn, Patricia A. “Three Myths—and a Truth—about Writing.” EGL Blog. Department of English. Stony Brook University. October 30, 2018.

    Dunn, Patricia A. “How to Get Every Student Participating in Discussions: Use ‘Heads-up’ Questions.” EGL Blog. Department of English. Stony Brook University. January, 2018.

    Dunn, Patricia A. “How to Promote Effective Peer Response.” EGL Blog. Department of English. Stony Brook University. March 2017.

    Dunn, Patricia A. “Responding to Student Writing.” EGL Blog. Department of English. Stony Brook University. February, 2017.

    Dunn, Patricia A. "Fictional Characters with Disabilities—What Message Do They Send?" Literacy and NCTE: The Official Blog of the National Council of Teachers of English. August 29, 2016.

    Dunn, Patricia A. "What Teaching Driver's Education Taught Me about Giving Writers Feedback." Teachers, Profs, Parents: Writers Who Care. July 18, 2016. (Peer reviewed)

    Dunn, Patricia A. "Disability-Themed YA Literature: Questioning Our Choices, Questioning Our Questions." (in Dr. Bickmore's YA Wednesday blog). December 2, 2015.

    Dunn, Patricia A. “Three Things My Ukuele Taught Me about Writing.” Teachers, Profs, Parents: Writers Who Care: A Blog Advocating Authentic Writing. April, 2015.

    Dunn, Patricia A."Does Bad Grammar Instruction Make Writing Worse?"Teachers, Profs, Parents: Writers Who Care: A Blog Advocating Authentic Writing. 27 January, 2014.

    Dunn, Patricia A."Engagement as an Enzyme to Learning: Are Students Excited about Writing?"Teachers, Profs, Parents: Writers Who Care: A Blog Advocating Authentic Writing. 23 Oct. 2013.

  • Courses Taught at Stony Brook

    COURSES TAUGHT AT STONY BROOK

    EGL/WRT 613: Research in Composition

    EGL/WRT 612: Theories of Composition

    EGL 608: Disability Studies and Literature: Disability, Narrative, Fiction, and Poetry

    EGL 598: Thesis Research

    EGL 699: Dissertation Research

    EGL 599: Independent Study

    EGL 593: Problems in Teaching Literature: Teaching College English

    EGL 585: Disability Language, Rhetoric, and Narrative

    EGL/WRT 592: Problems in Teaching Writing

    EGL 492: Honors Seminar American Literature

    EGL 301: Authors, Periods, Topics, or Genres, with Intensive Writing

    WRT 392: Problems in Mentoring Writers

    EGL 360: Adolescent Literature

    EGL 204: Literary Analysis & Argumentation

    EGL 441/449: Methods of Teaching Literature and Composition

    EGL 454/CEE 590 Student Teaching Seminar

    EGL 451-2 and CEQ 591-2 Supervised Student Teaching

    Grammar Controversies: Contemporary Research and Debates (online summer course)

    Global Studies 102