Rhetoric and Composition | Open Access Articles

Making Sense Of Researcher Positionality In Foundational Literacy Studies Research, Amy J. Wan

Publications and Research

This article is an examination of researcher positionality in literacy studies research through a historiographical study of Brian Street.

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Readings For Rhetorical Responsibility: Using Contemporary Online Texts To Deepen A Concept, Adrienne Jankens

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

In this essay, I describe how I use contemporary, online texts in my FYW classes to help students develop reflective practice with rhetorical responsibility. Through my demonstration of the concept in passages focused on personal narrative, the texts themselves, and student writing from a 2019-2020 classroom study, I hope to highlight how students may find these texts and the concept of rhetorical responsibility relevant in their writing lives both in and outside of the classroom.

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From Student To Scholar: Publishing Your Thesis And Dissertation, Janine Morris, Eric Mason, Mario A. D'Agostino

Communication, Media, and Arts Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, and Lectures

Publishing your academic work is easier when you start with an understanding of how to write for publication. Join faculty from the NSU Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts to learn about how to approach writing your thesis or dissertation in the way most likely to lead to publication.

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Chapter 13: Preparing Graduate Students And Contingent Faculty For Online Writing Instruction: A Responsive And Strategic Approach To Designing Professional Development Opportunities, N. Claire Jackson, Andrea R. Olinger

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

This chapter describes a responsive and strategic approach to the development of an asynchronous online mini-course in online writing instruction (OWI) for both graduate TAs and contingent faculty in the University of Louisville’s Composition Program. Demonstrating the importance of responding to local contexts, the authors reflect on the conditions shaping their own course design and, based on their experience, provide suggestions for WPAs who are in similar positions. This reflection is organized around seven key questions for WPAs to consider as they design their own professional development in OWI.

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Eggs, Hair, Seeds, Milk, Patrick West

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

Short story

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Looking For Marianne North, John Charles Ryan

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

This poem reflects on the life of peripatetic botanical illustrator Marianne North (1830-1890) who travelled to Southwest Australia in 1880.

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Critically Imagining A Decolonised Vision In Australian Poetry, Cassandra Julie O'Loughlin

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

Postmodern ecocriticism, given its broad range of perspectives, offers an agreeable platform for articulating a new, advanced and inclusive framework for a decolonising theorisation of literature and the environment. This article seeks to identify Australian Western decolonising poetry that sits in harmony with Indigenous aural and literary versions of communicative engagement with Country. The concept of human embeddedness in ecological relationships and biological processes as part of a complex matrix of interdependent things is embraced. In particular this article focuses on inclusivity and interconnectedness of all life forms to illustrate aesthetic and conceptual interfaces between Aboriginal Australia and Western poetics. …

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Issue Introduction Volume 10, David Gray

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

Issue Introduction and Editorial for Volume 10, Issue 1.

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Complete Issue 1, Volume 10, David Gray

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

Complete Issue 1, Volume 10

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A Genre Analysis Of National Endowment For The Humanities Nonprofit-Project Grant Proposals, Jeffrey M. Lapointe

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

To reveal how writers can craft effective nonprofit grant proposals the study examined proposal narratives for which the U.S. National Endowment For The Humanities (NEH) had awarded financial grants to nonprofit organizations. The study identified the rhetorical moves that the various proposal authors had made as steps toward persuading NEH to award grants.

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Immigrants In Writing, Roshny Maria Roy

Theses and Dissertations

Through this autoethnography, I intend to explore and understand how migration impacted and continues to impact my identity along with the languages and literacies I speak, write, and practice. How does the normalized devaluing and valuing of literacies, languages, cultures, and in extension identities play out in the process of migration? The devaluation of languages and cultures is in fact the devaluation of those who identify with them; they are left to “feel undervalued” or “not good enough” in the languages they speak, cultures they identify with, and literacies they practice. To be “good enough” or valued, they have to …

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Defying Expectations: One Female Preacher's Exploration Of Preaching Performance, Listener Expectations, And Emotion, Amy Lea Wiles

Doctor of Ministry Theses

In this thesis, one female preacher explores preaching performance, listener expectation, and emotion. Using exploratory research methodology, the thesis seeks to answer the following questions in a particular context: What are listener expectations of sermon delivery? Do listeners hold differing sermon delivery expectations for female preachers? How does meeting or straying from these expectations affect receptivity of the message? Data was collected through interviews with pastors, focus group questionnaires, and feedback forms of respondents who responded to sermons preached with different performance choices by both a female preacher and a male preacher. The results revealed a bias around performances related …

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Music Making Connections, Laura M. Breslin

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

The Covid-19 pandemic has made mental health issues sky rocket. Many people are suffering from anxiety, depression, OCD and many other mental health problems now more than ever. Without the in-person interactions, many people are eager to be able to hug friends and family again. People are also eager to see their favorite music artist live in concert again. In this paper, we discuss how music can help your mental health, how to prevent contracting the coronavirus, and ways you can help speed up the process of getting life back to normal.

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Julia Spokane's Portfolio, Julia Spokane

Honors College Portfolios

This portfolio details my work as a McAnulty College of Liberal Arts Honors College student at Duquesne University majoring in Rhetoric Communication with a Pre-Law Certificate. My trajectory as a pre-law student follows the 3/3 program: graduating in three years, achieving a Bachelor of Arts degree, then acceptance into the Duquesne University School of Law for an additional three years resulting in a Juris Doctor degree.

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The (Missing) Human Part: Listening For Students’ Perceptions Of The Value Of Peer Mentors, Adrienne Jankens, Nicole Guinot Varty, Haley Shier, Michelle Borkosh

English Faculty Research Publications

In this paper, we describe an IRB-approved (exempt) study designed to help us understand the impact that engaging with a peer mentor has on student learning in the online, intermediate composition classroom. Our study aimed to both identify the quantity of student interactions with peer mentors in online intermediate composition courses and to understand specifically how these interactions impacted students’ learning. The study focused on this question: “How do students describe the impact of peer mentors on their learning in the writing course?” Using a combination of qualitative methods (student survey, student interview, peer mentor reflection, and local institutional data …

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Lives Unbound: A Tribute To Mike Rose, 1944-2021, Cheryl Hogue Smith

Publications and Research

This article remembers why Mike Rose was always the champion of community college and basic writing students.

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Faculty Writing Groups: The Impact Of Protected Writing Time And Group Support, Patchareeya P. Kwan, Shannon Sharp, Sarah Mason, Carrie L. Saetermoe

Faculty and Student Publications

Faculty at teaching institutions carry high teaching loads, leaving little time to write manuscripts or grant applications, let alone getting them published or awarded. This manuscript describes the impact of protected writing time for faculty at a higher education, teaching institution who committed to focused, uninterrupted writing time on a weekly basis and exchanged writing challenges and tips with colleagues. A mixed methods approach was used to assess the impacts of the writing group which found increased productivity (manuscripts and publications, proposals and grants) and sense of a research community with enhanced structural knowledge, camaraderie, and morale.

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[Review Of] Hong Kong In Revolt: The Protest Movement And The Future Of China, By Au Loong-Yu. London: Pluto Press, 2020. Vii+198 Pp. Us$22.95 (Paper)., Shui-Yin Sharon Yam

Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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War Of Words: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Military's Sexual Assault Prevention Posters, Nancy Thurman Clemens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Joining the expanding discourse surrounding language and its effects, specifically regarding the performance of gender in a hypermasculine environment, this dissertation offers a rhetorical analysis of the United States Department of Defense's sexual assault prevention and response training materials, particularly posters created between 2009 and 2012. This dissertation examines the context of sexual harassment and assault within the military from the late 1970s until the mid-2000s. Presenting scandals that led up to the development of the Department's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) program, I give a brief history of the establishment and scope of responsibility for the program in …

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Sanctioned Violence (2021-2022), Jordanne Greenidge

CPN 101: Researched Inquiry

In this research inquiry Greenidge uses Claudia Rankine’s work and a reading of the Rodney King video to question and argue against the sharing of viral videos (such as that of George Floyd or Eric Garner) that depict suffering, brutality, and the murder of Black people. Greenidge’s claim is that while some may share these images in the hopes of supporting movements, such as Black Lives Matter, or creating justice through awareness, the actual sharing of these videos creates desensitization and normalizes acts of violence toward Black victims. Instead of focusing on Black suffering, Greenidge calls for media and the …

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Tragic Hero (2021-2022), Nicholas Lardaro

CPN 101: Researched Inquiry

In this research inquiry essay Lardaro uses the literary trope of the tragic hero to make a case for why Revenge of the Sith is an especially compelling film. Lardaro presents sources that help him to analyze how the downfall of Anakin Skywalker becomes an example of a tragic hero. His argument maintains that the treatment of Anakin Skywalker as a tragic hero is what allows the Star Wars prequels to offer emotional complexity and the potential for misinterpretation to the audience. This is in turn what makes these films compelling.

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My Writing Technique (2021-2022), Samantha Spencer

Critical Evaluation

This critical evaluation essay considers Spencer’s writing process, her strengths, and her assessment of her own writing. Throughout, Spencer offers specific examples that she cites from her papers in relation to the point she is making about her writing. She thinks in detail about how prewriting and organization contribute to her writing confidence and her writing strengths. She also spends time presenting comments that she has received on her writing from teachers and what she does with that feedback.

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The Teaching Zone: Square Pegs In Round Holes, Cheryl Hogue Smith

Publications and Research

This article explores six years of student data to discover why students who appear not to have read a lengthy book are able to execute a successful paper designed around that text.

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Lebanese Colonial Hang-Ups: Anti-Blackness And The Kafala System In Lebanon, Sarah Gonzalez Noveiri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lebanon’s colonial legacy has not only influenced the legal and political systems which operate in the country today. As I hope to demonstrate in this dissertation, the strength and cementation of these systems can be seen as a consequence of negotiations of identity, citizenship and nation state that took place during the Ottoman Empire and French colonial rule. The Kafala is one of such systems that developed through the Ottoman Empire and against the backdrop of European colonization. Discourses of race, citizenship, gender and sexuality that were being negotiated by colonial citizens and colonial powers, served to cement the racialized …

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Beyond Sustainable: An Analysis Of The Visual Rhetoric Behind The Branding Of Christy Dawn, Megan Mccormick

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This research project offers insight into the visual rhetorical of design decisions made in the marketing materials of Christy Dawn, a sustainable fashion brand. The primary goal of this research is to identify several motivators, based on prior studies, for the consumption of sustainable fashion and analyze the existing marketing visuals of Christy Dawn’s brand, specifically in how they appeal to these motivators, thus also communicating their sustainable rhetoric to consumers in the process. This project defines these motivators in detail and addresses them in relation to particular elements of design in Christy Dawn’s materials, such as images, color, and …

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Wikipedia And Open Recognition: Writing The Future Of Work, Robert E. Cummings

Faculty and Student Publications

This article defines the concept of open recognition and places its development within the context of the development of Wikipedia. The potential impact of open recognition on higher education is explored. This article defines Open Recognition as consisting of three elements a philosophy, a framework, and a practice. Open recognition has the potential to fundamentally alter higher education by lowering costs of reporting learner knowledge, skills, and abilities, while altering the scope of recognition to add informal recognition. Both open recognition and Wikipedia share common features and can both be categorised as open knowledge movements. However, in order to succeed …

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Depicting Absence: Thematic And Stylistic Paradoxes Of Representation In Visual And Literary Imagery, Alexandra Irimia

Languages and Cultures Publications

The article draws up an inventory of, and compares strategies for, the theoretical and critical treatment of the absence–presence interplay at stake in the literary and visual representations of absence. This brings to our attention a multiplicity of heterogeneous and, to a greater or lesser degree, marginal signify-ing phenomena that have in common patterns of disrupting and deviating from the standard conventions of creating and conveying meaning through figures of absence. Lacking a name for these disparate yet similar instances where meaning is created from empty signifiers, we have chosen to call them figural voids. This attempt to produce a …

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What Moves You?: Georges Didi-Huberman’S Arts Of Passage And Pittsburgh Stories Of Migration, Alexandra Irimia

Languages and Cultures Publications

Contemporary art historian, critic, and theorist Georges Didi-Huberman thinks of images not as static objects, but as movements, passages, and gestures of memory and/or desire. For the French “historian of passing images,” as he has been called, “all images are migrants. Images are migrations. They are never simply local” (D2017). His book, Passer, quoi qu'il en coûte ("To Pass at Any Price"), co-written with the Greek poet and director Niki Giannari, takes on precisely the visual dynamics of passages, passengers, and passageways in the context of contemporary migration flows. In April 2018, only several months after the launching of the …

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Fiqws Composition: People, David Stoler

Open Educational Resources

A week by week syllabus that includes instructions for student groups to create an on-line "guide book" instead of a basic portfolio.

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Examining The Values In Our Valued Practices: Universal Design Principles As A Catalyst For Tutor Reflection, Eric Wisz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Recent writing center scholarship has discussed the roles of valued practices in writing centers and the implications Universal Design (UD) for writing center work. This thesis extends such lines of inquiry by bringing these two conversations together to explore the potential of UD principles as a catalyst for writing center tutor reflection on valued tutoring practices. In a semester long study, data were collected in the form of individual and dialogic tutor reflection through surveys, individual interviews, reflective writing prompts, and a focus group. The data were analyzed to examine how tutors formed their tutoring practices and how they understood …

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Full-Text Articles in Rhetoric and Composition

Making Sense Of Researcher Positionality In Foundational Literacy Studies Research, Amy J. Wan

Publications and Research

Readings For Rhetorical Responsibility: Using Contemporary Online Texts To Deepen A Concept, Adrienne Jankens

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

From Student To Scholar: Publishing Your Thesis And Dissertation, Janine Morris, Eric Mason, Mario A. D'Agostino

Communication, Media, and Arts Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, and Lectures

Chapter 13: Preparing Graduate Students And Contingent Faculty For Online Writing Instruction: A Responsive And Strategic Approach To Designing Professional Development Opportunities, N. Claire Jackson, Andrea R. Olinger

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Eggs, Hair, Seeds, Milk, Patrick West

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

Looking For Marianne North, John Charles Ryan

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

Critically Imagining A Decolonised Vision In Australian Poetry, Cassandra Julie O'Loughlin

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

Issue Introduction Volume 10, David Gray

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

Complete Issue 1, Volume 10, David Gray

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

A Genre Analysis Of National Endowment For The Humanities Nonprofit-Project Grant Proposals, Jeffrey M. Lapointe

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Immigrants In Writing, Roshny Maria Roy

Theses and Dissertations

Defying Expectations: One Female Preacher's Exploration Of Preaching Performance, Listener Expectations, And Emotion, Amy Lea Wiles

Doctor of Ministry Theses

Music Making Connections, Laura M. Breslin

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

Julia Spokane's Portfolio, Julia Spokane

Honors College Portfolios

The (Missing) Human Part: Listening For Students’ Perceptions Of The Value Of Peer Mentors, Adrienne Jankens, Nicole Guinot Varty, Haley Shier, Michelle Borkosh

English Faculty Research Publications

Lives Unbound: A Tribute To Mike Rose, 1944-2021, Cheryl Hogue Smith

Publications and Research

Faculty Writing Groups: The Impact Of Protected Writing Time And Group Support, Patchareeya P. Kwan, Shannon Sharp, Sarah Mason, Carrie L. Saetermoe

Faculty and Student Publications

[Review Of] Hong Kong In Revolt: The Protest Movement And The Future Of China, By Au Loong-Yu. London: Pluto Press, 2020. Vii+198 Pp. Us$22.95 (Paper)., Shui-Yin Sharon Yam

Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies Faculty Publications

War Of Words: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Military's Sexual Assault Prevention Posters, Nancy Thurman Clemens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sanctioned Violence (2021-2022), Jordanne Greenidge

CPN 101: Researched Inquiry

Tragic Hero (2021-2022), Nicholas Lardaro

CPN 101: Researched Inquiry

My Writing Technique (2021-2022), Samantha Spencer

Critical Evaluation

The Teaching Zone: Square Pegs In Round Holes, Cheryl Hogue Smith

Publications and Research

Lebanese Colonial Hang-Ups: Anti-Blackness And The Kafala System In Lebanon, Sarah Gonzalez Noveiri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Beyond Sustainable: An Analysis Of The Visual Rhetoric Behind The Branding Of Christy Dawn, Megan Mccormick

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Wikipedia And Open Recognition: Writing The Future Of Work, Robert E. Cummings

Faculty and Student Publications

Depicting Absence: Thematic And Stylistic Paradoxes Of Representation In Visual And Literary Imagery, Alexandra Irimia

Languages and Cultures Publications

What Moves You?: Georges Didi-Huberman’S Arts Of Passage And Pittsburgh Stories Of Migration, Alexandra Irimia

Languages and Cultures Publications

Fiqws Composition: People, David Stoler

Open Educational Resources

Examining The Values In Our Valued Practices: Universal Design Principles As A Catalyst For Tutor Reflection, Eric Wisz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023