Born and raised in Gaithersburg, MD, Janice Fernheimer earned her BA in English at the University of Maryland, College Park and both her MA in American Literature and her PhD in English with a concentration in Rhetoric and Writing at the University of Texas at Austin.  In Fall 2008, she was a visiting scholar at the Hadassah Brandeis Institute for Gender and Jewish Studies. Prior to joining the faculty at UK, she wasAssistant Professor of Rhetoric and Composition at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. At the University of Kentucky she teaches courses in rhetoric, technology, and pedagogy and Jewish rhetorical studies.Professor Fernheimer's book project, Arguing Black Jewish Identity: Hatzaad Harishon and Interruptive Invention (ABJI), is forthcoming from University of Alabama Press in Fall 2013. Analyzing primary archival documents (letters, memos, proposals) housed at the Schomburg Center in New York,ABJI focuses on Black Jews and their interactions with other Jews to theorize how rhetors argue about questions of identity and authenticity. She guest-edited the special issue of College English, “Composing Jewish Rhetorics,” published in July 2010.  Professor Fernheimer is also a founding member and leader of Klal Rhetorica, an international organization of scholars who explore issues of Jewish discourse, identity, and culture. When she’s not writing or teaching, you can usually find her dancing salsa, tango, merengue, or bachata or basking in the sun with her pet lizards!