Scholar · Teacher · Writer

James L.
Dunn Jr.

Centering literacy as liberation — examining how adult, developmental, and non-traditional learners navigate time, language, and identity within institutional spaces.

PhD Candidate (ABD) · Composition & Applied Linguistics Indiana University of Pennsylvania Chair, MLA Global English Forum Executive Board, Council on Basic Writing
Explore my work

A Life in Language

I am a college educator and scholar with more than twenty years of experience teaching writing and composition in urban and multicultural CUNY and community college environments.

My work centers on adult, developmental, and non-traditional learners. My teaching philosophy is grounded in the belief that all students — particularly those navigating developmental and basic writing courses — are capable of rigorous intellectual work.

Drawing on frameworks from Basic Writing Theory, critical literacy, and Adult Education, I approach every classroom as a site of possibility, where high expectations, creativity, and collaborative inquiry drive student growth.

Current Roles

Assistant Program Director, Adult Literacy & Workforce Development

BronxWorks

Adjunct Associate Professor

Pace University

Adjunct Lecturer

The City College of New York (CUNY)

Adjunct Lecturer

Medgar Evers College (CUNY)

Affiliations

  • National Council of Teachers of English
  • Conference on College Composition & Communication
  • Modern Language Association
  • Council on Basic Writing
  • Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Research Areas

01

Basic Writing Theory

Examining pedagogical frameworks and innovation to build rigorous academic spaces for developmental writers.

02

Chrononormativity

Investigating metric time, institutional acceleration, and their direct impact on the jagged lives of corequisite and non-traditional students.

03

Adult & L2 Literacy

Integrating evidence-based instructional strategies across community, workforce, and higher education programs.

Dissertation

Working Title

"Metric Time and Jagged Lives: Corequisite Education, Chrononormativity, and the Politics of Acceleration at CUNY"

Institution Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Program Ph.D., English — Composition & Applied Linguistics
Status ABD — Dissertation in Progress

This project examines how systemic shifts toward corequisite education and standardized accelerated learning impact non-traditional, adult, and multilingual student bodies across urban educational frameworks like the City University of New York. Drawing on translingualism and chrononormativity as theoretical lenses, it argues that institutional timelines function as gatekeeping mechanisms for the students most in need of support.

Chrononormativity Corequisite Education Politics of Acceleration Basic Writing Pedagogy Translingualism

Publications & Presentations

2026

Book Chapter

"Teaching and Learning in Three Institutional Contexts"

In Basic Writing in the 21st Century, edited by Laura Gray-Rosendale and Barbara Gleason. Peter Lang. Forthcoming.

2023

Book Chapter

"Linguistic Instrumentalism"

With Islam Farag and Marcela Hebbard. In Critical Pedagogy in the Language and Writing Classroom, edited by Gloria Park et al. Routledge.

2018

Journal Article

"Forming Adult Educators: The CCNY MA in Language and Literacy"

Journal of Basic Writing, Vol. 37, No. 2, Fall 2018. The City University of New York.

Selected Presentations

2020

Conference Presentation

"Teaching Academic Writing Through the Lens of History and Biography"

Northeast Modern Language Association. Boston, March 2020.

2018

Conference Presentation

"Teaching Cultural Competence in College Writing Courses"

Two Year College Association Northeast. LaGuardia Community College, City University of New York. October 2018.

Classroom Spaces

CUNY System

The City College of New York

Adjunct Lecturer (Fall 2022 – present)

  • ENG 11000: Freshman English (College Now Dual Enrollment)
CUNY System

Medgar Evers College

Adjunct Lecturer & Former Full-time Substitute Lecturer

  • ENG 112: College English I
  • ENG 112C: College English I (Corequisite)
  • ENG 150: English Composition II
Private University

Pace University

Adjunct Associate Professor (Fall 2021 – present)

  • ENG 110: Composition
  • ENG 120: Critical Writing
  • ENG 201: Writing in the Disciplines
CUNY System

Borough of Manhattan Community College

Adjunct Lecturer (Fall 2007 – Fall 2019)

  • ENG 095: Intensive Writing
  • ENG 101: English Composition I
  • ENG 201: English Composition II
Community College

Hudson County Community College

Adjunct Instructor (Spring 2012 – Fall 2015)

  • ENG 102: College Composition II

Institutional Service

Mina P. Shaughnessy Prize Conference

Co-Chair (2027)

Organizing the upcoming conference — themed "Errors in Our Expectations" — at the City College of New York, alongside Missy Watson.

Modern Language Association

Chair, Global English Forum

Serving as Chair and Executive Committee Member of the MLA Global English Forum, facilitating scholarship and advocacy at the intersection of global Englishes, translingualism, and writing pedagogy.

Council on Basic Writing

Executive Board Member

Contributing strategic oversight to national research and pedagogical support for developmental writing programs.

Get in Touch

I welcome opportunities for professional academic collaboration, panel inquiries, and discussions about basic writing program models, adult literacy, and equity-centered pedagogy.

"The classroom remains the most radical space of possibility in the academy."
— bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress
For hunger is a cold thing And sugar only sweet And dynamic literacy Is standard for the street.
— Gwendolyn Brooks