Teach

My philosophy of composition pedagogy can’t be pinned to one or even a few notable words. It’s not expressive. It’s not critical. It’s not process. Through my research and practical experience, there seems to be a fundamental disconnect between theory and practice, and thus, these theoretical labels aren’t descriptive when it comes to how I approach my pedagogy. 

I’ve been highly influenced by Jody Shipka’s efforts to move composition to a multimodal place. Specifically, I aim to have my students not only composing traditional academic texts, but thinking about how they consume and compose on a daily basis, which may involve texting, social media, videos, podcasts, etc. With this approach, I aim to close the well-documented gap between practical compositions and “academic” ones. 

On another level, I believe it is vital for an instructor to be accessible and patient with their students. Understanding that students come from a wide range of cultures, experiences, and backgrounds is important, I often ask my students to call upon their unique interests and experience when approaching projects. 

*A note: This philosophy can and will change as I learn, experience, and reevaluate.

The following syllabus is a living document, and is thus subject to change: English 100B – Composition II

Literacy Narrative

Multimodal Rhetorical Analysis: Texts in Context

Argumentative Research

Sample Literacy Narratives – “Cultural Appreciation” and “The Good Loser” and “The Constant Fight” and “An Engine of Sorts”

Sample Multimodal Rhetorical Analysis: Texts in Context – “The Battle over the Return of Sports”

As I sit with my daughter Alina, writing this during a quarantine, I’ve had more time to reflect on how I’ve nurtured her in her own education. Let me be clear; it has been far from perfect. There have been struggles with reading, history, math, and science, but over the course of eleven years, I’ve found that learning begins with passion. When I joined a local writing group a few years ago, I went alone, thinking that a quiet library with mostly 50-somethings would bore Alina to sleep. I was completely wrong. In taking her one day (out of complete necessity), she discovered that she could participate in the creative process, of listening to writing that was in a unique, liminal space between creation and publishing. This seed of creativity planted a tree of writing in her own mind, and since then, she writes her own poetry and draws comics, and we have been able to share a passion for creative writing.

In a classroom, it’s necessary to cultivate an environment directed by passion. For creative writing, specifically, this passion can be found by reading good writing and learning what makes that writing good. Does it have a unique point of view? Are its themes particularly poignant? Is its imagery authentic? Maybe it’s a mix of those aspects. A student in my classroom will learn to write with passion because I recognize that they all have unique, but universal stories. Finding these stories and effectively communicating them on the page is the challenge that we will work through during the semester. 

For my course, I want to cultivate a workshop environment that encourages passion-sharing and risk-taking. I will lead larger class workshops and help identify opportunities for improvement while also creating smaller, breakout workshops for more in-depth critique. Besides writing, reading will be a key component to the class as well. I plan on sharing some of my favorite authors, from Kate Chopin and Shirley Jackson to Greg Sarris and Bonnie Jo Campbell. I will ask the class to do the same and share their own influences with others in the class, so we can create a productive and passionate cohort that will want to write beyond the confines of a classroom.

*A note: This philosophy can and will change as I learn, experience, and reevaluate.

The following syllabus is a living document, and is thus subject to change: English 205 – Introduction to Creative Writing