Courses I Teach
Graduate
ENG 505: Composition Pedagogy
While those of us who succeed as English majors know how to do what we do, we can't always explain how we know how; few of us have ever had explicit instruction in the discourse conventions or rhetorical topoi of our chosen field. Whether we specialize in literature, creative writing, or rhetoric, I think it crucial that we make these conventions explicit—and make them explicit for our students. ENGL 505 functions as both a seminar and workshop. Each week we will read articles on an aspect of writing pedagogy, including theoretical, cognitive, empirical, historical, and ethnographic research. We will then apply our readings by discussing and practicing various strategies in mock-classroom settings. Finally we will conduct our own original pedagogical research. Students leave ENGL 505 with a solid grounding in writing theory, a well-developed arsenal of tested classroom methods, an articulate philosophy of teaching writing, and the ability to work as a researcher-practitioner in the field.
ENG 586: History of Rhetoric—Classical Traditions, Contemporary Challenges
For two thousand years, rhetoric was the foundation of the Western liberal arts curriculum. Why was it so important, why did it disappear, and why is it being revived? In this class, we'll examine key moments in rhetoric's long history as a practice and site of intellectual inquiry, considering themes such as rhetoric's role in knowledge making, civic engagement, persuasion, cultural criticism, and writing instruction. Unit I, Ancient Traditions, will lay the foundation for our study by considering how rhetoric was initially constructed and valued in the Western liberal arts tradition. Unit II, Modern Traditions, will consider the possibilities and constraints of rhetoric by examining sites of rhetorical education and action in nineteenth-century America. Unit III, Contemporary Challenges, will consider the extent to which rhetorical theories can help us to address problems in civic discourse and civic education. My goals are for students to leave this course as more versatile, critically informed scholars, conversant with key questions in the history of rhetoric and able to apply them to their chosen field of academic inquiry.
Undergraduate
ENGL 455: Persuasive Writing
ENG 455 introduces students to persuasive writing in public contexts. We will study techniques of persuasion, analyze persuasive writing, and write persuasive texts, making use of insights from classical and contemporary rhetoric, communications, cognitive science, and media studies. Throughout, we will emphasize persuasion in civic discourse and public argument. What does it mean to ethically argue and persuade? Why is it so difficult to persuade through rational argument? What psychological, cognitive, and cultural mechanisms guide persuasion? What are the possibilities—and limits—of rhetoric in promoting productive discourse, finding common ground, and building consensus? How do we engage in argument when basic facts and truths about reality are in question? My goal is that this course will increase students' understanding of and participation in persuasive public discourse.
ENG 470: Creative Nonfiction (Spec. Topics in Rhetoric)
This course will concentrate on two principal types of creative nonfiction, that which seeks to represent the personal experience of the author and that which seeks to document the experience of others. We will read a number of representative works of creative nonfiction and write three creative essays and one critical review. Our classwork will include a mixture of reading discussions, drafting workshops, style and editing exercises, and peer reviews. Students who are interested in publishing their work will be encouraged to seek out appropriate journals and periodicals and to consider how best to develop and submit their work for their chosen audience. Our goals will be to gain a greater understanding of what constitutes creative nonfiction, sharpen our writing and reading skills, and create a supportive, critically engaged space for the creation, discussion, and dissemination of our works. Students without previous creative writing experience are absolutely welcome.
ENG 470: Reading and Writing the South (Spec. Topics in Rhetoric)
This course takes a historical look at the rhetoric of Southern identity. In particular, we will examine Southern exceptionalism (Is the South really different from other regions?); constructions of race and gender (What does it mean to be male or female, black or white, in the South?); and the functions of public memory (How does how we read and write the past affect how we read the present?). We will make use of personal experience, critical analysis of texts, and original historical research to answer questions raised by our readings and class discussions. My goals are for students to gain a better understanding of Southern history, respond critically to revisionist historiography, and interrogate their own understanding, so that they are better able to read and write the South for themselves.