Department of Writing & Rhetoric Studies
2024-25 Awarded Amount: $11,891
Title: Rhetorics of the Everyday
The Rhetorics of the Everyday project focused on professional and curricular development, student mentorship and networking, and course instruction and student experience. During the 2024-2025 academic year, the Rhetorics of the Everyday project hosted multiple workshop events that featured guest scholars who provided pedagogical and scholarly talks on health disparities, food deserts, and environmental racism.
The pedagogical, scholarly, and mentorship benefits of the Rhetorics of the Everyday project are multiple for instructors and students alike. Educators were able to learn about best practices, pedagogy, curricula, and assessment at the intersections of rhetoric, communities experiencing trauma, and (campus) activism from three workshops held between February and April. These in-person workshops featured and were facilitated by three scholars, who led hands-on discussions on best teaching practices such as (1) how to select readings that are relevant to students’ everyday life, (2) how to design group activities that welcome diverse perspectives, (3) how to design interactive in-class activities to enhance student engagement with theories, (4) how to mediate the emotional labor, and (5) how to develop course assignments that have public implications.
Each scholar also held mentorship sessions open to undergraduate and graduate students where they discussed in-depth research methods, research dilemmas, the state of the humanities, and the state of the job market. Scholar-educators and students from the departments of Communication, English, and Writing and Rhetoric were able to gain mentorship within small-and-large group settings, and left each workshop with nuanced scholarly discussions, innovative teaching techniques, and curricula both for scholarly research and the classroom.
Guest Speakers included (1) Caleb Gonzalez (PhD) from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, who spoke on the difference between serving and enrolling at Hispanic Serving Institutions, (2) Karma Chávez (PhD) from the University of Texas, who spoke on student and scholarly activism, and (3) Walid Afifi (PhD) from the University of California, Santa Barbara, who spoke on militarism, military monitoring, and activism.
The Rhetorics of the Everyday project also benefited course instruction and student experience. WRTG 3800, which carries the same name of the project, is centered on developing an understanding of everyday lived experiences and strengthening a critical perspective on everyday issues. The goal is to democratize knowledge and encourage aspects of civic engagement. The course is the outgrowth of the department’s collaboration with the College of Health and the 1U4U partnership. Ultimately, the course invites students to develop a semester long public oriented and public facing project firmly grounded in aspects of civic engagement along the themes of health disparities, food deserts, and environmental issues.
In Fall 2024 and Spring 2025, WRTG 3800 enrolled students from English, Writing and Rhetoric, Linguistics, Philosophy, Psychology, and one from Pre-Med. For both semesters, students engaged in a series of reflections that culminated into podcasts and museum exhibits (“We live amid and as archives”) at the Marriott Library (Levels 1 and 2). During both semesters, students were able to listen and interact with scholars via Zoom whose expertise are on health disparities, food deserts, and/or environmental issues. Students met with and heard from Dr. Molly Kessler from University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. In class, she spoke about stigma stories around chronic disease and the case of Ostomies. In her presentation she discussed the concerns around one-sided storytelling, especially in the medical field. She rhetorically analyzed one popular television ad about Ostomy use. She explained how negative narratives around ostomies underestimate the value of this device to save lives and empower its users.
Students also met with Dr. Steven Alvarez from St. John’s University. In class, he spoke about food literacy and explored Mexican foodways in the United States. In his speech, he explained how food brings together and connects people, and how food could serve as a gateway into understanding culture by the people who made it. He also discussed the historical ramifications surrounding food recipes and consumptions.
Students also met with a range of other scholars including Gesa Kirsch, Ellen Cushman, Sierra Mendez, and Norma Cantu. One of the outcomes was completion of podcasts and exhibits.
Some quotes from students:
"The content from the readings, research, and guest speakers was focused on disparities within health, food, and environment. I have never taken a class like this before, so I learned a lot about these topics."
"I’ve been exposed to subjects I normally wouldn’t pursue. I was nervous about this class since I had never before taken a college class in person. I was unsure if my writing skills or health knowledge would be up to par with my peers. I have been pleasantly surprised, however, to realize that this class was more about a personal exploration of health, food, and the environment rather than a test of my communication."
"The idea of intersectionality was something that had never really come up in any of my classes, but through gaining a deeper understanding of that, I learned a lot about my privilege. As a white man of a pretty solid socioeconomic status, I have not had to experience many of the problems that others in less privileged situations have to deal with. This feels like a good summary of what the class did for me."
"This class has helped me so much with my reading, writing, and especially my research. Before I took this class, I honestly hadn’t done much reading, and because of that, I realized that I wasn’t learning as much, and so through this class, I rediscovered my love of reading. Also in this class, I have gotten a ton of practice writing, in many forms, but mostly in the research genre, which has been huge for me. Lastly, the research that I have been doing has been really helpful for me to develop habits that will help me later in my college career."
"I am leaving this class with a new appreciation for listening and interacting with others who have different backgrounds, identities, and perspectives than my own."
Overall, the Rhetorics of the Everyday project was a success and was successful in prioritizing scholarly engagement, promoting the University’s commitment to rigorous scholarly and pedagogical conversations and debates, and the University’s commitment to strengthening the student experience.