Assistant Professor
English
Rhetoric and composition has always felt like the right field for me because I enjoy working across complex theoretical questions about how individuals communicate in the world and pragmatic questions of how to teach these communication practices. While earning my Ph.D. at the University of Washington, I taught writing to students from an array of majors and became invested in understanding what their writing experiences looked like across the university. My interest in writing in scientific disciplines grew, especially in health and medicine, where students learn to translate the technical world of scientific research to public audiences and where communication is verbal, visual, and embodied.
My current research interests include rhetorics of health and medicine, feminist rhetoric, professional and technical communication, and writing in the disciplines. My dissertation project, which I continue to develop, examined how clinical nursing simulations initiated students into the writing, talk, and action of the nursing field. Other projects in progress investigate how freshman use conversation to make connections about writing in their disciplinary courses and how graduate science students develop embodied strategies for public communication.
As a writing teacher, I aim for my courses to act as venues for students to practice being critical readers and writers in their future disciplines, professions, and lives. Many of my courses include fieldwork—much like my own research—to help students not just acquire different modes of writing, but also better understand how communication practices can exclude and oppress others and how they might be changed.
Courses Taught
- Rhetoric and Composition
- Technical and Professional Communication
Research Interests
- Rhetoric of Health and Medicine
- Feminist Rhetoric
- Writing in the Disciplines
- Writing across the Curriculum
- Composition Theory and Pedagogy
- Qualitative Research Methodologies
Publications
- "Embodied Healthcare Intuition: A Taxonomy of Sensory Cues Used by Healthcare Providers." Rhetoric of Health & Medicine, Vol 2, No. 4, (2019), 353-383.
- "The Rhetoric of Health and Medicine as a ‘Teaching Subject’: Lessons from the Medical Humanities and Simulation Pedagogy.” Technical Communication Quarterly, 17:1 (2018): 7-20.
- "Co-Constructing Writing Knowledge: Students’ Collaborative Talk Across Contexts.” With Misty Anne Winzenreid, Alison Cardinal, and Roger Chao. Composition Forum, 37 (2017).
- "Simulation Genres and Student Uptake: The Patient Health Record in Clinical Nursing Simulations.” Written Communication, 34:3 (2017): 255-279.
- “Learning to Write like a Nurse in Clinical Simulations.” Simulation Scenarios for Nurse Educators: Making it Real (3rd Edition). Eds Suzanne H. Campbell and Karen Daly. Springer Publishing, 2017: 625-32.
- “Intuition in Healthcare Communication Practices: Initial Findings from a Qualitative Inquiry.” With Elizabeth Angeli. 2017 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference Proceedings.
- "‘MacGyver-meets-Dr. Ruth’: Science Journalism and the Material Positioning of Dr. Carla Pugh.” Women’s Studies in Communication. 37:1 (Feb 2014): 44–65.
Honors and Awards
- University of Washington Hermione and Louis Brown Graduate Prize for Best Article Accepted by a Journal, 2016
- University of Washington Expository Writing Program Research Grant, 2013, 2015
Additional Information
Office Hours
Spring 2021
To maintain social distancing and protect the health of students and faculty, office hours will, in most cases, be virtual. Please email your instructor to set up an appointment.
Teaching Schedule
Spring 2021
- 3222/101 MWF 12:00-12:50
- Writing for Health and Medicine