TEACHING
As a professor in the Professional Writing program at UNCW, I primarily teach upper division writing and rhetorical theory courses.
CURRENT COURSES
Rhetoric Since 1900 (ENG 389)
How can there be writing without authors? Is gender a natural fact or an argument we make? What happens when communication goes digital? Why do we try to communicate at all? Such questions would not have occurred to the ancients who first developed rhetoric as an art of persuasion. Yet in our postmodern world, such questions are pressing as we discover a new appreciation for the power of language to shape human society, action, and even identity. In this course, we will attempt to answer such questions by tracing certain issues – such as the author's agency and the construction of gender – that have been critical to the development of late modern and postmodern theories of language, discourse, and persuasion. Although our focus will be on rhetorical theory, we will also be drawing on some theorists and philosophers of language in the areas of literary criticism, linguistics, and communication as well.
Writing in a Networked World (ENG 496)
Writing in the 21 st century is not only about mastering new technologies, but about making sure that your writing gets noticed in a world drowning in information. More and more people are clamoring for a reader's attention (both online and off) than ever before. So after you've learned how to write well and use the technology at your disposal, how do you make sure that your message gets out there and “sticks” in the minds of readers? How can you take advantage of social networks and digital technologies to circulate your message and make an impact? This section of the Senior Seminar in Rhetoric and Writing will look at concepts and practices behind communicating in a networked age, as well as what it means to be an effective author/designer of texts that have staying power in a world of short attention spans and rapid change. Students will develop their own blogs, complete a research paper, and conduct a client-based project that will apply the principles covered in class to a real world situation.
Rhetoric and Culture (ENG 552)
Rhetoric can change the world. That might seem like a bold statement, but consider this: if we want to change how people act, then we need to change how they think, right? Rhetoric – as an art of effective, persuasive communication – is all about shaping and thus potentially changing how people view the world and thus act within it. Indeed, since ancient Greece , rhetoric has been seen as either a means of upholding the status quo or of bringing about revolution. Thus rhetoric has been both revered as a vital part of human culture and despised as a deceptive manipulation. In this graduate seminar, we will look at the relationship between rhetoric and culture, especially in terms of how ideologies that support culture are always already rhetorical constructs and thus subject to how we use discourse. We will reflect on some of the classical origins of rhetoric and the first theories of how this art of persuasion influences human society, as well as explore how contemporary thinkers foreground the power and responsibility that all authors have when they put rhetoric into practice. Students will be responsible for producing an original scholarly essay at the end of the class, as well as response writings throughout the semester.
ARCHIVED COURSES
Summer 2009
College Reading & Writing (Eng201)
Spring 2009
Rhetorical Theory Since 1900 (Eng389)
Rhetorical Ecologies: Senior Seminar (Eng496)
Fall 2008