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University Writing Program

109 Voorhies Hall
University of California, Davis
One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616-8581

(530) 752-6283 phone
(530) 752-5013 fax

Office Hours:
8:00am-12:00pm,
1:00pm-5:00pm

 
Donald Johns

Donald Johns

  • Lecturer
363 Voorhies

Office Hours: T,R 10:10-11:40 & by appt.
Phone: (530) 752-4039

Education:

  1. Ph.D., University of California, San Diego
  2. M.A., San Francisco State College
  3. B.A., San Francisco State College

Biography:

Dr. Johns’s areas of interest include composition, nineteenth- and twentieth-century American literature, twentieth-century British literature, the popular and literary ballad, and Scottish literature. Before coming to UC Davis in 1983, he taught at the State University of New York and worked as a learning skills counselor at UC San Diego. At Davis he has taught English A, UWP 1, English 3, UWP 18, English 20, UWP 101, UWP 104B, UWP 104C, UWP 104D, and UWP102 adjunct writing courses paired with courses in English, History, Philosophy, Physiology, Women’s Studies, Political Science, International Relations, Human Development, and Environmental Studies. He also taught English 158B, American Novel Since 1900, on several occasions. As Assistant Director for Lower Division in the University Writing Program, he taught the UWP 392 and English 393 pedagogy seminars several times. For Summer Sessions Abroad, he taught a course on Scottish literature and culture in Edinburgh in '02, '03, and '06. In 2008, he will teach a course in Edinburgh on Scottish film with Scottish writer Ninian Dunnett.

Dr. Johns has been awarded two Professional Development Leaves and an Academic Federation Excellence in Teaching Award during his tenure at Davis. He has presented several workshops on critical thinking as it relates to teaching literature and composition on campus and at such venues as the University of California Writing Programs Conference and the International Institute on Critical Thinking and Educational Reform at Sonoma State University. He has published articles on diverse subjects, including the poetics of Ezra Pound, the music of Professor Longhair, and the rules of golf. Among his current projects is a study of civic literacy and its role in English composition.

Following a longstanding interest in both folk and popular culture, particularly the connections between roots music and popular music, Dr. Johns has several times offered a course in the Freshman Seminar program exploring the roots, impact, and legacy of Elvis Presley as artist and cultural icon. He has also taught a freshman seminar on the songs and poems of Robert Burns.

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