James Van Manen
Title: Assistant Professor
Phone: 312.369.8714
Email: jvanmanen@colum.edu
Office: 33 E. Congress, Room 401
Bio
James W. Van Manen, PhD, is Assistant Professor in the
Department of ASL-English Interpretation at Columbia College Chicago.
Dr. Van Manen, or Dr. Jim as his students call him, is
originally from Sonoma, California, and earned his PhD in Special Education
Administration from Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. He also holds a
Master of Arts in Linguistics of Signed Languages, also from Gallaudet
University. In addition, he holds the CI (Certificate of Interpretation) and CT
(Certificate of Transliteration) from the Registry of Interpreters for the
Deaf. Dr. Jim's Bachelor of Arts is in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of
Other Languages) from the University of Northern Iowa.
Dr. Jim regularly teaches “Linguistics of American Sign
Language,” “Fingerspelling,” and “VRS-VRI Interpretation.” His research focuses
on fingerspelling, Deaf art, and Deaf history. He is the author of Ann Silver: ONE WAY, DEAF WAY, which
looks at the life and art of the Deaf pop artist Ann Silver. He is working on a
textbook about fingerspelling and using an approach to increase clarity of
understanding for non-native learners of American Sign Language fingerspelling that
is unique in the field.
Dr. Jim is a speaker who has presented on a variety of
topics including Deaf art, fingerspelling, interpreting humor, Deaf history,
interpreter ethics, educational interpreting, linguistics, and the ADA. He is a
CODA (he has deaf parents). When he is not teaching, researching, or writing,
he is involved in several artistic pursuits involving the depiction of iconic
images from American Sign Language.
Education
- BA, TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), University of Northern Iowa
- MA, Linguistics of Signed Languages, Gallaudet University
- PhD, Administration, Gallaudet University
Interpreting
Credentials
- CI (Certificate of Interpretation), Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf
- CT (Certificate of Transliteration), Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf
Courses Taught
- “Introduction to Interpreting”
- “Linguistics of American Sign Language”
- “Fingerspelling”
- “VRS-VRI Interpretation”
- “Practicum 1”
- “Practicum 2”
Areas of Interest
- Fingerspelling
- Deaf art
- Deaf history
Professional Work
Author of Ann Silver: ONE WAY, DEAF WAY (Empyreal Press, June 2012)