Our students are the heart and soul of our program and our greatest strength. Dedicated scholars and teachers and good departmental citizens, our students stand out for the professional support they offer each other. One of the highlights of our program is our weekly Chalk and Cheese lunch, an informal professional development seminar run by the third-year cohort for the benefit of the first- and second-year students.
Our students also work together on dissertation writing groups, and many are closely involved in campus and community groups. Explore the exciting work our students are doing or, to learn more about life in the program, contact our program ambassadors.
Anna Almore
aalmore@umich.eduAnna's research collages together learning and schooling as queer sites for feminist coalition building. Read more…
Jodi Berry
jodimae@umich.eduJodi's research interests are literacy and writing pedagogies, sociolinguistics, and discourse analysis. Read more...
Aaron Bush
aabush@umich.eduAaron's research interests are in hip-hop literacies and writing center pedagogy. A teacher at heart, Aaron is also interested in higher education pedagogies' place in rapidly changing University systems. Read more...
Alyse Campbell
alysec@umich.edu
monét cooper
monetc@umich.edumonét’s focus is the strategies African-American and Latinx girls develop and use in order to navigate their academic environment and the impact of teacher intra-racial bias on relationships with students and families. Read more…
Carlina Duan
linadaun@umich.eduCarlina is interested in how writer-teachers might activate and participate in poetic process, community archives, and space-making in and beyond the classroom. Read more…
Kitty Geoghan
kgeoghan@umich.eduKitty is exploring disability studies, autism/neuroqueerness, and queer rhetorics. Read more...
Marquise Griffin
marjamgr@umich.eduMarquise's research interests are in how creative writing spaces come into contact with physical places. He's particularly interested in how this process contributes to collective identity formation, resiliency, and educational outcomes for Black communities. Read more...
Jason Godfrey
jgod@umich.eduJason’s research focuses on how modality (re)forms both student and instructor literacies in college composition classrooms. Read more…
Kelly Hartwell
khartw@umich.eduKelly’s research interests focus on the interplay among rhetorical agency, metacognition, and identity: how people (whether novice scholars or newcomers to a private sector organization) language their ways into particular kinds of membership. Read more...
Sarah Hughes
sbhghs@umich.eduSarah’s research centers on narrative discourse: how the stories we tell reveal insight into ideology and how stories can activate audiences toward social action. Read more…
Christopher Kingsland
cwkingsl@umich.eduChristopher is interested in improving writing instruction and student writing outcomes in secondary classrooms through examination of writing identities and related instructional practices. Read more…
Alaina Perez
perezala@umich.eduAlaina's research interests include teacher advocacy and wellness, writing pedagogy, and adapting and differentiating canonical works for today's learners. Read more...
Meg Perry
megpe@umich.eduMeg is exploring indigenous studies, composition, literacy, and qualitative research. Read more...
Andrew Appleton Pine
andrewap@umich.eduAndrew will continue to read and write about (among other things) accessibility, antiracist pedagogy, and literacy. Read more...
Michelle Ratering
ratering@umich.eduMichelle is interested in teacher education and professional development, international education, and in the ways in which technology is transforming learning and the landscape of education. Read more...
Stephanie Renteria
stephren@umich.eduStephanie Renteria is especially passionate about language policy, language rights, and antiracist writing pedagogy. Read more...
Jody Rust
jodyrust@umich.eduJody is most interested in theories and pedagogies grounded in different Indigenous philosophies and epistemologies and how these perspectives influence teaching, writing, and literary criticism. Read more...
Melissa Valerie
vmeliss@umich.eduMelissa's interests include writing pedagogy, developmental education, and access and equity in higher education, specifically at community colleges. In her spare time Melissa enjoys reading, exploring museums, going to the movies, and spending time in nature. Read more...
Kathryn (Katie) Van Zanen
vanzanen@umich.eduKatie’s research interests center on ethical negotiation in writing and writing instruction. Her dissertation project examines this among raised-evangelicals writing back to their home communities on social media.
Read more…
Catherine Ventura
venturca@umich.eduCatherine is researching the relationship between adolescents’ civic engagement and their literacy skills as well as the empowerment of underserved students as it relates to reading and writing. Read more...
Elizabeth (Adelay) Witherite
adelay@umich.eduAdelay studies how felt senses, such as emotion or other gut reactions, motivate and mediate discussions about social differences (e.g., race, class, gender, sexuality, dis/ability). Read more…
Crystal Zanders
czanders@umich.eduCrystal is interested in literacy studies and race-related rhetorical analysis. Read more…