Curriculum Vitae
Humanities Department
New Jersey Institute of Technology
University Heights
Newark, NJ 07102
973-642-4885 (Murray Center for Women in Technology)
973-642-7205 (Fax)
973-596-3295 (Department Office)
Email: Steffen@njit.edu
Steffen@optonline.net
________________________________________________________________
1977
Brandeis University
Ph.D. in English Literature
Dissertation: “Burgess World of Words”
1965
Stanford University
B.A. in English Literature
1986-present Associate Professor of English NJ Institute of Technology
1977-86 Assistant Professor NJ Institute of Technology
1971-77 Instructor NJ Institute of Technology
1970-71 Lecturer Tufts University
1969-70 Instructor Framingham State College
1965-69 Teaching Assistant Brandeis University
NSF ADVANCE NSF 05-584: More than the Sum of Its Parts: Advancing Women at NJIT through Collaborative Research Networks. (Pending). Sponsor: National Science Foundation ADVANCE Program. Amount: $3,471,838.00. Role: Principal Investigator. Date Submitted: July 2005.
Books:
Perspectives: Women’s Studies [An Anthology]. Renae Bredin, ed. Boulder, CO: Coursewise Publishing, 1998. [Editorial Board: Fran Bartkowski, Geeta Chowdhry, Analousise Keating, Joan Klorenman, Nita Mary McKinley, Mimi Orner, Nancy Steffen-Fluhr]
Book Chapters:
"Women in Technological Cultures." Creating an Inclusive College Curriculum: a teaching sourcebook from the new jersey project. Ellen G. Friedman, Wendy K. Kolmar, Charley B. Flint, and Paula Rothenberg, eds. New York: Teachers College Press, 1996: 235-243. [Co-author: Norbert Elliot.]
"Billy Wilder." The Political Companion to Film. Gary Crowdus, ed. Chicago: Lakeview Press, 1994: 478-80.
"Robert J. Flaherty." The Political Companion to Film. Gary Crowdus, ed. Chicago: Lakeview Press, 1994:144-46.
"Terry Gilliam." The Political Companion To Film. Gary Crowdus, ed. Chicago: Lakeview Press, 1994: 185-89.
"Women and H.G. Wells." in Critical Essays on H.G. Wells. Ed. John Huntington. Boston: G. K. Hall and Co., 1991:148-69.
"Women and the Inner Game of Don Siegel's Invasion of the Body Snatchers" in Invasion of the Body Snatchers; Don Siegel, director. Ed. Al LaValley. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press. 1989. Pp.206-221.
Creative Writing:
Heartbreaker-- a play in two acts. © 2005 Library of Congress. NJ First Staged Public reading (Equity cast): June 13, 2005, Arthur Seelen Theatre, New York, New York.
Articles:
“Women and Technology.” TechNews (New Jersey Technology Council). June 2005.
“Disabled by Desire: Body Doubles in “Rear Window” (1942), Rear Window (1954), and Rear Window (1998). PostScript. 22 (3) 2003: 69-88.
“Mapping Technology On The Body, Again: Toys R Us, Christina Hoff Sommers, And The New Essentialism.” WEPAN 2003 National Conference Proceedings E-publication. <http://www.x-cd.com/wepan03/prof1021.html>
“It’s a Woman Thing.” NJIT Magazine. Fall, 2003.
“With the Best Intentions: Rethinking the Fit Between Women and Technology.” Co-author: Anne Wiley. WEPAN (Women in Engineering Programs & Advocates Network) Annual Conference. Alexandria, Virginia. April 23, 2001: 129-134. [See presentations.]
“Raw Deal: The Case of the Flamin’ Man,” Newark Review, Vol. 2, Set 1 (August, 1998.) [online journal]
"The Definitive Moreau: The Philmus Variorum," Science Fiction Studies, Vol. 20, No. 3, November 1993, 188-220.
"The Case of the Haploid Heart: Psychological Patterns in the Science Fiction of Alice Sheldon ("James Tiptree,Jr"), Science Fiction Studies, vol. 17, no. 2, July 1990, 188-220.
"Paper Tiger: Women and H.G. Wells." Science Fiction Studies. #37, Vol. 12 (November, 1985). 311-329.
"Women and the Inner Game of Don Siegel’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers." Science Fiction Studies. #33, Vol. 11 (July, 1984). 139-153.
"Thornton Waldo Burgess." Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 7, 1961-65. John A. Garraty, ed. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1981).
"Kent Cooper." Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 7, 1961-65. John A. Garraty, ed. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1981). 144-46.
"Max Dreyfus." Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 7, 1961-65. John A. Garraty, ed. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1981). 198-99.
"Marshall Field IV." Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 7, 1961-65. John A. Garraty, ed. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1981). 243-44.
"The Other Side of the Garden: An Interpretive Comparison of Chaucer's Book of the Duchess and Spenser's Daphnaida." The Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Vol. 8, No. 1 (Spring, 1978). 17-36. Co-author: Duncan Harris.
Reviews:
“Hendershot, Cyndy. Paranoia, the Bomb, and 1950’s Science Fiction Films and Seed, David. American Science Fiction and the Cold War: Literature and Film. Science Fiction Research Association Review. Vol. 246. (May-June 2000).
“J. R. Hammond. An H.G. Wells Chronology.” Science Fiction Research Association Review. Vol. 243 (December 1999).
“Penn, Shana. The Women’s guide to the Wired World: A User-Friendly Handbook and Resource Directory.” Transformations. Vol. 11, No. 2 (Fall 1999) [in press].
“Jane L. Donawerth and Carol A. Kolmerten, eds. Utopian Science Fiction by Women: Worlds of Difference.” Utopian Studies. Vol. 6, No. 2 (1995) 168-170.
"J.R. Hammond. H.G. Wells and the Short Story." Utopian Studies. Vol. 5, No. 1 (1994):178-80.
"Tootsie: Re-viewed." The Woman's Newspaper of Princeton, May 1984: 4-5.
"Foster Hirsch's The Dark Side of the Screen: Film Noir." Journal of the University Film and Video Association. XXXIV, 3 (Summer, 1982). 57-61.
"Old Wine in a New Bottle from Dahl." L.A. Times Book Review 24 "Oct. 1979: 21.
Film and Video:
The Women of NJIT. (15-minute documentary film containing interviews of NJIT
women faculty; shot by author; edited with help of Kip Rowan, IMS). March 2005. Funded by the Murray Center for Women in Technology.
Work in Progress:
The Cyborg and the Spinster: Women and Technology in Hollywood SF Film and Television, 1950-2001.
No Visible Scars: Billy Wilder and the Holocaust.
Hidden in Plain Sight: Raymond Burr, Perry Mason, and the Art of Resistance.
Presentations
“Advancing Women Faculty.” Executive Leadership Program Conference. Newark, NJ. July 2005. NJIT Moderator: Professor Hindy Schachter.
“Mapping Technology On The Body, Again: Toys R Us, Christina Hoff Sommers, and The New Essentialism.” WEPAN 2003 National Conference 50/50 by 2020: Working Together for Equity. Chicago, Illinois. June 8-11, 2003.
“With the Best Intentions: Rethinking the Fit Between Women and Technology.” Co-author: Anne Wiley. WEPAN (Women in Engineering Programs & Advocates Network) Annual Conference. Alexandria, Virginia. April 23, 2001: 129-134.
“Electronic Communication in the Information Age: Siren Songs.” The Association of Women in Communication (AWC), Northern Jersey (Fall meeting). Newark, NJ. October 8, 1999.
“The Gender of Technology in American Science Fiction: a Star Trek Memory.” Annual Northeast Modern Language Association (NEMLA) Conference. Baltimore, MD. April 16, 1998.
"Science Fiction & the Social Construction of Technological Myth." Annual Northeast Modern Language Association (NEMLA) Conference. Philadelphia, PA. April, 1997.
"Feminist Separatism in the Works of Alice Sheldon and Charlotte Perkins Gilman." Society for Utopian Studies Annual Conference. Baltimore, MD, November 19-22, 1992.
"Gender, Violence, and Alice Sheldon." Humanities Department Public Seminar Series. NJIT, Newark. March 8, 1990. [A revised and expanded version of the MLA paper below.]
"Gender, Violence, and Alice Sheldon." Modern Language Association Annual Convention. Washington, D.C. Paper presented in section on Gender and Genre: Science Fiction." December 30, 1989.
"H.G. Wells and the Symbolist Tradition in the Visual Arts: Images of Androgyny." Popular Culture Association Annual Convention. Atlanta, GA. March, 1986.
"In the Beginning: Chaos and Order in Creation Myths." NJIT Interdisciplinary Seminar on Order and Chaos." NJIT. March 5 1985.
"Familiar Strangers: Women, Aliens, and James Tiptree." Popular Culture Association Annual Convention. Louisville, KY. April 4, 1985.
"Language and Meaning in J.G. Ballard's Vermillion Sands. Mid-Hudson MLA Conference. Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY. November 26, 1984.
"Onomastics and Solaristics: Stanislaw Lem." Second International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts. Florida State University. March 18, 1981.
"Visual Art in Maori Culture." Graduate Seminar on Art and Society, Columbia University. November, 1979.
"A Structuralist Analysis of Maori Myth and Visual Art." Graduate Seminar on Art and Society. Columbia University. December, 1978.
"Major Themes in the Work of Robert Heinlein." Honors Seminar. NJIT. 1978.
"Moko: Art and Death in Maori Culture." Graduate Seminar on Art and Society. Columbia University. November, 1977.
"Women in Literature." Graduate Seminar of professional women artists chaired by Joyce Kosloff. The School of Visual Arts. New York City. November, 1977.
Other Presentations:
“Rethinking the Fit Between Women and Technology.” NCE workshop presentation for high school teachers. December 2001 and March 2002.
“Teaching Writing and Research on the Internet.” [Workshop Presentation. Co-presenter: urt Kimmelman]. CSLA High School Teachers Conference. October 29, 1999.
“Enjoy Yourself, Scare Yourself!” [Keynote Speech]. Johns Hopkins University the 1999 Student Talent Search Awards Ceremony. Newark, NJ. June 6, 1999.
Editorial Work:
Peer reviewer for Journal of the Society of Utopian Studies
Non-academic Publications and Editorial Work:
Editor for John Metzler's Collective Bargaining for Community Colleges. Washington, D.C.: Association of Community College Trustees, 1977.
Editor for John Metzler's What Every School Board Member Should Know About Collective Negotiations. Newark, NJ: NJSBA, 1975.
Ghost author of "Welfare is a Woman's Issue." MS Magazine. Winter, 1972.
Editor of Welfare Mothers Speak Out. New York: W.W. Norton, 1972.
Author of Six Myths About Welfare. New York: National Council of Churches, 1970.
1998:
ENG622, COLLABORATIVE & INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION ONLINE
(New Web-Based, Distance Learning Graduate level course in MSPTC)
Previous Course Development:
LIT331 WORLD LIT II (Asia, Africa, Europe) UG
ENG622 COLLABORATIVE & INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
HSS211 THE ANCIENT WORLD UG
STS 342 WOMEN AND TECHNOLOGY UG
LIT490 SCIENCE FICTION UG
Director, Murray Center for Women in Technology 1995-present
Author, The Status of Women Faculty at NJIT (2005 report to provost)
Co-Chair, Committee on the Status of Women Faculty 2000-2005
Co-chair, Strategic Planning Taskforce #11 (tactics to achieve faculty diversity) 2005
Member, Strategic Planning Taskforce #10 (tactics to recruit & retain women & minority students)
Member, Enrollment Planning Taskforce (recruitment of women undergraduates)
Member, Committee on Academic Affairs
Member, Administrative Affairs Committee
Founding member, Committee on Women’s Issues (CWI)
Member, Provost Search Committee (2004-2005)
Member, the Diversity in Action Committee
Member, Affirmative Action & Human Relations Council
Member, American Council on Education Network Board
Member, Murray Center Scholarship Committee
Member, Alumni Relations Taskforce & Alumni Magazine editorial board
Organizer, NJIT Technology & Society Forum Series (2004-2005)
Director, HUM Technology, Gender, and Diversity Minor
Director, HUM Global Studies Minor
Member, HUM Departmental Long-range Planning Committee
Member, MS in Professional and Technical Communication Committee (HUM)
Other Service to the University & Community
§ Conduct ongoing biannual New Employee Orientation Diversity Training sessions for HR (in collaboration with Talina Knox and Phyllis Bolling).
§ Designed and ran a Focus Group with 2004 NJIT first-year accepts who matriculated to other universities (Dec 1, 2004) --
§ Worked with Sister Carol Johnston of the St. Columba Neighborhood Club to staff OPERATION GED, a joint NJIT-St. Columba project that recruits NJIT students to tutor a group of low-income Latinas who are studying to pass the GED exam.
§ Worked with Murray Center Co-Director Anne Wiley (in cooperation with Admissions) to develop new strategies for recruiting women students, including onsite events for high school girls at local businesses and industrial plants.
§ Worked with Anne Wiley and Jacquie Rhodes of Advancement on fund-raising for women's scholarships (e.g., new Murray and Gilbreth Scholarships).
§ Served as co-advisor to the NJIT student chapter of the Society of Women Engineers.
§ Ongoing liaison with Rutgers-Newark Women’s Studies Program.
§ Ongoing liaison with the New Jersey Project. (Hosted the NJP 2005 spring conference.)
Assistant Editor Modern Occasions Magazine 1970
Philip Rahv, editor
Press Secretary National Welfare Rights Organization 1969-70
Press Secretary Congressional Campaign of 1967-68
Allard Lowenstein
Editor-in-Chief The Stanford Daily 1964-65
Women in Engineering Program Advocates Network (WEPAN)
Modern Language Association
Science Fiction Research Association