Bio
Courses I am teaching
ENGL 2140
ENGL 2500
ENGL 2500H
ENGL 3020
ENGL 3140
Research areas
South African Literature, African American Literature, American Literature 1920s to Present
About my teaching
I especially enjoy teaching my students about argumentation styles, visual communication in advertisements, textual rhetorical analysis, composing resumes and cover letters, and styles of persuasive writing. In English 250 I often supplement my chosen reader with extra texts that promote diversity in the curriculum as well—Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I A Woman?” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, Katha Pollitt’s “Adam & Steve: Together at Last,” and excerpts from Nelson Mandela’s presidential acceptance speech, to name a few. Implementing these speeches and essays better reflects who I am as a scholar as well as provides students with opportunities to learn rhetorical strategies while also reading texts that they might otherwise never encounter. I am also a big believer in the power of correct grammar, so I emphasize accurate usage of language whenever possible.
How I came to teach English at Iowa State
I began my journey at Iowa State as a Teaching Assistant in 2008, teaching English 150 and 250, and in Spring 2012, I returned to ISU to take on those same courses as a lecturer. I have since added Business Communication to my repertoire, and I enjoy the variety this class brings to the daily routine. I have always been interested in rhetorical studies and visual communication (I was an art history minor in college), so these courses align well with subject areas that I was not able to explore more fully when I was a student.
Outside of the university
I keep busy by reading, writing, teaching dog and cat behavior courses for children, and spending time with my husband, son Finley, and daughter Teagan. We frequent the area parks with our dog, a Great Dane/Golden Retriever mix named Bash, but we also like a good lazy weekend at home.