My area of scholarly interest is the in history of rhetoric, particularly in the way of rhetorico-literary historical developments are suppressed by modern notions of disciplinarity. A recent example of this work is a study of the sublime recently published in College English. Broadening our modern concept of the term to include its rhetorical history, I argue, foregrounds women’s participation in the development of the concept, from Sappho in Archaic Greece to Leitita Landon in nineteenth-century England. In this intradisciplinary vein, too, is my current project, a study of improvisation, its role in Classical rhetorical and literary culture and its omission from modern conceptions of the writing process.
In addition my primary area of scholarship, as the Director of Writing I enjoy the opportunity to work with closely with graduate students. This partnership often focuses on their development as teachers, but I also collaborate with students on writing-related research projects. A recent example of this partnership is the essay “Taking Stock: Surveying the Relationship of the Writing Center and TA Training,” forthcoming in the Fall 2007 WPA,and I’m currently working with some of our graduate students on an essay exploring the intersection of graduate student identity and their work as writing program administrators.
