James Baker

Dr. James Baker’s areas of specialization are Rhetorical Theory and Criticism, American Literature, Technical and Professional Communication, and New Media. In the UIW English Department, he has served on various committees and currently chairs the First Year Writing subcommittee. He is a faculty sponsor of Alpha Lambda Delta, the UIW branch of the National Freshman Honor Society. Dr. Baker came to UIW from Texas A&M University at College Station where he worked as the Director of Writing Programs. While at A&M, Dr. Baker was invited by Harper Collins publishers to write Instructor Guides on rhetoric for Steven Levitt’s two best-selling non-fiction books, Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics. From 2001 to 2008, Dr. Baker served as Technical R&D Program Manager for the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), working directly with the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, the Centers for Disease Control and the Texas Department of Emergency Management to co-authored 24 courses on WMD mitigation for emergency first responders. He served on the DOJ E-Learning Best Practices Committee to develop national e-learning standards, developed the first course delivered on the National First Responder E-Learning Portal, and coded DHS-STAT—the primary data management system used by DHS and the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium today. He also has a long-standing volunteer relationship with Texas CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates) — a national advocacy program for abused and neglected children.

• Doctor of Philosophy, English, Texas A&M University (2006)
• Master of Arts, English, Middle Tennessee State University (1996)
• Master of Arts, Education, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (1990)
• Bachelor of Arts, Baylor University (1986)

• Associate Professor, University of the Incarnate Word (December, 2016 - Present), San Antonio, Texas.
• Assistant Professor, The University of the Incarnate Word (2012 - Present), San Antonio, Texas.
• Director Of Writing Programs, Texas A&M University (May, 2011 - August, 2012), College Station, Texas.
• Director Of Professional Writing/Associate Director Of Writing Programs, Texas A&M University Department of English (July, 2007 - May, 2011), College Station, Texas.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University Department of English (January, 2007 - May, 2007), College Station, Texas.
• Writing Programs Assistant, Texas A&M University Department of English (August, 1999 - August, 2001), College Station, Texas.
• Associate Editor, Seventeenth-Century News, Texas A&M University Department of English (1997 - 1998), College Station, Texas.
• Graduate Assistant Teacher, Texas A&M University Department of English (1996 - 2001), College Station, Texas.
• Graduate Assistant Teacher, Middle Tennessee State University Department of English (1994 - 1996), Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

• Software Client Support Services Manager, Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) Administration: Department of Homeland Security Office of Grants and Training (May 2006 - July, 2007), College Station, Texas.
• Program Manager: Technical Resources and Development, Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX): National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center (January 2003 - May 2006), College Station, Texas.
• Manager: Technical Resources and Development, Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX): National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center (2001 - 2003), College Station, Texas.
• Minister To Youth and College Students, Woodmont Baptist Church (December 1992 - November 1993), Nashville, Tennessee.
• Minister To Youth, First Baptist Church (June 1990 - November 1992), Elberton, Georgia.
• Youth Minister, Rush Creek Baptist Church (March 1987 - December 1989), Arlington, Texas.

• Baker, J. A. (under review, 2021). "‘Some preacher has left his mark on you’: A Narrative Rhetorical Critique of Wise Blood." Flannery O’Connor Review.
• Baker, J. A., & Culverhouse, F. Z. (under review, 2021). “Just Sex in Catch 22?” Philosophy and Literature.
• Baker, J. A. (2021, October). "‘Some preacher has left his mark on you’: A Narrative Rhetorical Critique of O’Connor’s Wise Blood." South Central Modern Language Association Annual Conference, San Antonio, Texas.
• Baker, J. A. (2021, October). "The Bullkiller.” South Central Modern Language Association Annual Conference, San Antonio, Texas.
• Baker, J. A., McCarron, C., & Ku, W. (2019, December). “The Mechanics of Large Assessments: What We Wish We'd Known Five Years Ago.” SACSCOC Annual Conference, Houston, Texas.
• Baker, J. A., McCarron, C., & Ku, W. (2018, December). "Managing Large Assessments: What We Wish We'd Known Four Years Ago.". SACSCOC Annual Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana.
• Baker, J. A. (2018, October). "Heller's Catch-22: PTSD as the Formative Concept of the Postmodern Novel.". South Central Modern Language Association Annual Conference, San Antonio, Texas.
• Baker, J. A., & Baker, D. H. (2017). Texas CASA Executive Resource Manual. Austin, Texas: Texas CASA.
• Baker, J. A. & Ratliff, D. A. (2016, December). QEP, IRB, FERPA, and SACS-COC: Ensuring Federal Regulations and SACSCOC Principles Are Met. SACSCOC Annual Conference, Atlanta, Georgia.
• Baker, J. A. (2016, November). “Between them the phantom of the old spilled blood: Racism, Preaching the Blood and Rhetorical Violence in Faulkner's Light in August.” South Central Modern Language Association Annual Conference, Dallas, Texas.
• Baker, J. A. (2016, October). “Dear God, let me be damned a little longer: Rhetorical Violence, Religion and Racism in Faulkner's Light in August.” Center for Faulkner Studies Faulkner & Hemingway Conference, Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
• Baker, J. A., McCarron, C.S., & James, G.E. (2015), University of the Incarnate Word QEP Addendum.
• Baker, J. A. (2014). “Just pure filthy right down to the guts: Philosophical and Religious Violence in Flannery O'Connor's Wise Blood.” South Central Modern Language Association Annual Conference, Austin, Texas.
• Baker, J. A. (2014, May). “Hostile Environments: The Role of Rhetorical Violence in Creating and Sustaining Territoriality.” Sixteenth Biennial Rhetoric Society of America Conference, San Antonio, Texas.
• Baker, J. A. (2014, March). “Digital Grammar: Accessing the Potential and Overcoming the Limitations of Learning Management Systems in the Task of Administering and Assessing Multi-section Courses.” NCTE - Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCCs), Indianapolis, Indiana.
• Baker, J. A. (2014). Review: Online Education 2.0: Evolving, Adapting, and Reinventing Online Technical Communication. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 44 (4), 475-78.
• Baker, J. A. (2014). Review: Taming Information Technology: Lessons from Studies of System Administrators. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 44 (3), 345-49.
• Baker, J. A. (2013, November). “Teaching Water and Culture.” Water and Culture Symposium, San Antonio, Texas. Baker, J. A. (2013). Review: The Managerial Unconscious in the History of Composition Studies. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 42 (4), 453-456.
• Baker, J. A. (2012). Introduction to Literature. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt Publishing.
• Baker, J. A. (2012). “Writing Programs Administration and Learning Management Systems: Multi-section Course Assessment Strategies.” 12th Annual Texas A&M University Assessment Conference, College Station, Texas.
• Baker, J. A. (2011). “Electronic Assessment in a Multisection eLearning-based Environment: An Approach for Administrators.” 11th Annual Texas A&M University Assessment Conference, College Station, Texas. Baker, J. A. (2012). Introduction to Literature. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt Publishing.
• Baker, J. A. (2011). Freakonomics: Instructor Guide for Instructors of Composition and Rhetoric. New York: Harper Collins.
• Baker, J. A. (2011). Superfreakonomics: Instructor Guide for Instructors of Composition and Rhetoric. New York: Harper Collins.

• South Central Modern Language Association, 2014-2021
• Modern Language Association, 2012-2021
• Society for Technical Communication, 2010-2021
• Association of Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW), 2007-2021
• Rhetoric Society of America, 2007-2021
• National Council of Teachers of English, 1998-2021

Reading, songwriting, guitar, piano, bass, music production, creative writing, building classic tube guitar amplifiers, carpentry, biking, golf, baseball.

• (CITI Program) Social and Behavioral Research Certification for Institutional Research (IRB), 2015, San Antonio, Texas.
• Oxford TESOL/TESL/TEFL Teacher Training Certification (60 hours), 2014, San Antonio, Texas.

• 2014-2021: Faculty Sponsor—Alpha Lambda Delta Freshman Honor Society
• 2016-2020: NEH Trauma Studies Cohort Member
• 2014-2015: UIW Meta-Majors Task Force Member
• 2011-2021: Texas CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) Technical Support Volunteer—Web-based Training
• 2012-2015: UIW President’s Spaghetti Supper Volunteer.
• 2013-2016: St. Anthony Catholic High School Jazz Band Volunteer
• 2016: St. Anthony Catholic High School Drama Department Volunteer
• 2015: St. Anthony Catholic High School Robotics Team Volunteer
• 2001-2011: Voices for Children of Brazos Valley Volunteer

Narrative rhetorical theory, memetic violence as a type of rhetorical appeal, database theory and the impact of content management systems on human narrative, Southern Gothic literature, nonfiction war and disaster narratives, film criticism--in particular, the work of David Lynch, philosophy and literature, theology and literature.

• ENGL1311: Composition 1
• ENGL1312: Composition 2
• ENGL2310: World Literature Studies
• ENGL2365: Professional and Technical Communication
• ENGL3310: British Literature Survey
• ENGL3330: Genre Studies—Graphic Novel
• ENGL3355: Introduction to Rhetorical Theory
• ENGL3357: Visual Rhetoric
• ENGL3360: Rhetorical Criticism
• ENGL3369: Writing for the Web
• ENGL4301: Senior Seminar
• ENGL4355: Contemporary Rhetorical Theory
• ENGL4399/PHIL4399: Philosophy and Literature
• ENGL4399: Writing for Business

Additional Courses (Texas A&M)

• ENGL104: Rhetoric and Composition
• ENGL203: Introduction to Literature
• ENGL212: Shakespeare
• ENGL241: Advanced Composition
• ENGL301: Technical Writing
• ENGL320: Technical and Professional Editing
• ENGL355: Rhetoric of Style
• ENGL460: Writing for the Web
• ENGL461: Advanced Syntax and Rhetoric
• ENGL489: Technology Ethics, Law and Culture