Elham Khamoushi is a PhD student of rhetoric and professional communication at ISU. She earned her BA and MA degrees in English Literature, laying solid groundwork for her current academic pursuits. In part of her research, she examined the Through the Woods (2014) graphic novel as a multi-modal mode of literacy, decoding trauma and the unspeakable truth of women's characters via the analysis of verbal and visual interdependence. Her research interests are centered on the intersection of cultural studies, trauma narratives, feminism, women's studies, and gender rhetoric, specifically gender barriers in women’s entrepreneurship in developing countries. Navigating between teaching and researching, she hopes to trigger a change via rhetoric in women's plight and empower them to resist prevailing socio-cultural manipulations that hinder their progress within the global arena. Outside of academia, she enjoys books, poems, music, illustration, creative writing, photography, traveling, meditation, and yoga.