Ph.D., University of Kentucky, English
M.A., Ohio University, English
B.A., Hanover College, English & Spanish

• WRD 430: Capstone                                                                         
• WRD 422: Public Advocacy
• WRD 406: Publishing                                                           
• WRD 405: Editing English Prose                                                                
• WRD 401: (under subtitles below)
  • Rewilding
  • On Living Well
  • Voice
  • Literary Journalism                                                              
• WRD 322: Rhetoric and Argument                                                 
• WRD 302: The Essay                                                                        
• WRD 301: Style for Writers                                                               
• WRD 205: Rhetorics of Violence and Non-violence                                  
• WRD 204: Technical Writing                                                                       
• WRD 112: Accelerated Composition and Communication

My research and teaching has been inspired by these related questions: What is the rhetorical power of witness in public discourse? How is witness related to reciprocity? How can reciprocity be enacted? In particular, how is reciprocity experienced—and enacted—in the classroom?

These questions have led me to write about advocacy and the public sphere, particularly the way rhetors in disadvantaged positions engage in public discourse. My work has also considered the ways public sphere issues manifest in physical spaces. Under this broad framework, I have studied the rhetoric of witness in prison writing, women’s presence on urban streets, human trafficking, and the articulation of alternative economies.

As a compositionist, I also study and teach genre, style, editing, and DIY publishing. From 2009-2013, I was the features editor of the Lexington newspaper North of Center, an experiment in grassroots community writing and activism. I was also co-founder and managing editor of The Whole Horse Project.

My current pedagogical research focuses on writing curriculum and eudaimonia, the ancient Greek term for human flourishing. Under this rubric, I have developed undergraduate eudaimonia courses on argument, contemplative writing, and natural history writing. My most recent project was a course on “rewilding” that combined natural history writing and mindfulness. That course ran in two versions: traditionally on campus and experientially in the forest. I am at work on an article about eudaimonia, Writing majors, and genre as an avenue of inter- and intra-subjective experience.