And... ABD!

Tomorrow morning my husband and I will pack up our Honda Element, pick up our dogs from a sitter, and hit the open road to live and dissertate in the midwestern United States. The move is a good opportunity for my husband professionally, will offer us more travel mobility, and gives me the chance to teach online and focus on my dissertation writing. All of that, however, does not make leaving a beautiful state, wonderful friends, and an established life in AZ any easier. I've really loved living in Arizona, and I have made some really good friends and great memories during our time here. It will always hold a special place in my heart. Monica Gellar has summed up my bittersweet feelings in the GIF below: 

All of this is possible, though, because... 

I AM ABD

ABD is an acronym for All But Dissertation, signaling that I have finished all of the requirements towards my Ph.D. beside writing my dissertation. As I discussed in my last blog post, I passed my written comprehensive exams with a High Pass. I then met with my committee members Elenore Long and Patricia Boyd on April 20th, 2016 for my dissertation prospectus colloquy. We met for two hours, and after I introduced the impetus and my train of thought for my study, they helped me to further clarify my purpose, frame my study, and plan for completion. My chair then offered feedback to the plan we drafted in the colloquy from Austria. The colloquy and feedback was so helpful and invigorating as I plan to start writing my dissertation in June. 

After completing my comps and colloquy (some of the sources referenced in both pictured on the right), all I had left to do was finish courses! The BEST advice that I was given in graduate school by colleagues and professors was to make everything-- class work, completion work, conferences, publications, etc.-- work together towards my dissertation goal. I was able to follow that advice in the final projects for my two courses this semester. The comments from my professors in those courses then contributes to my dissertation planning and writing work. After struggling a bit with the myriad of responsibilities I placed on myself this semester, I am happy to have received an A and an A- in my final two classes. That brings my graduate school GPA to a final 3.97. The course work this semester was so beneficial to my individual scholarly work, but I am SO glad to be done with courses. 

Other final elements of the semester also wrapped up well. My students in both classes presented well researched and clearly articulated proposal presentations on a variety of topics. I submitted a revised book chapter to Asao Inoue and Mya Poe for their forthcoming edited collection. I am excited about the work that this book will do. I was also honored to receive an award from the ASU English department and attend a graduate reception and award ceremony to receive the award, gifted to the department from a generous donor. In the picture on the left, I am receiving the award from the English department chair, Dr. Mark Lussier. Both my mother and my mother-in-law were able to attend the ceremony with me, as they were both in Arizona to help us pack up our townhouse for the upcoming move. 

In honor of being ABD at ASU and the impending move, I want to include five of my very favorite aspects of our Arizona life. Other than the opportunities afforded by my program and teaching assistantship, the list and photos of my faves can be found below in no particular order: 

1. DELICIOUS FOOD THROUGHOUT THE VALLEY & STATE

2. MOUNTAIN VIEWS & LIVING 

3. TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES IN THE WESTERN U.S.

 4. FRIENDS, COLLEAGUES, VISITORS, & FAMILY 

 5. FRIENDS FOR LIFE ANIMAL SHELTER

To conclude this blog post at the end of this momentous semester with the full knowledge of the changes and work still to come, I rest in the memory of what has been and hope for what is to come. I can say that this chapter of my life has ended much like the final sentence in Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows, quoted below. Thanks, readers. Peace to you. 

"All was well." 

J.K. Rowling; 

Lots of Cs!

Here we are, finally, in the last few weeks of the semester! In some ways, it feels like the semester just started and in other ways it feels like it's been endless. While I am glad that the semester is wrapping up, I also struggle to see how I will be able to complete everything that I need to by the end. It does, somehow, always get done. I just hope that I haven't actually taken on more than I can handle this semester. But, without further ado, here are the "C" occurrences of this semester!

Comps and Colloquy 

I took and passed my comprehensive exams, and I have my prospectus colloquy scheduled!

In preparation for my exams, I studied the bibliography that had been approved by my committee, and then I annotated that bibliography. After that, I identified the main points and quotes that I thought were most pertinent or descriptive from each text, and I drafted a study guide. The study guide is composed of one slide for each source. This was very helpful to me in summarizing the sources and beginning to put them into conversation with each other. I also wrote a synthesis essay for each area of scholarship. I studied three areas of scholarship for my comps: Feminist Theory, Feminist Pedagogy, and Qualitative and Feminist Research Methods. Writing the synthesis essay for each of the three areas was very helpful to me in seeing how the sources were or were not related to each other.



I took my exam on Monday, March 14th. I met the English Department administrative assistant at 10:00am in the morning armed with my computer, snacks, water, and the comprehensive exam bibliography (not the study guide). Sheila showed me up to the sixth floor and gave me the list of questions for my exam. I was asked to write three answers (three essays) in response to three sets of questions. I was able to pick one question from the first set of three questions, one question for the second set of two questions, and one question from the third set of two questions. I had a deadline for submission at 2:00pm. Except for a couple quick trips to the bathroom, I stayed in that room and wrote for four hours. At about 1:58pm, I emailed the completed exam to Sheila!

I waited eighteen days for the results, but it was totally worth it because I received a high pass! I was floored. I was hoping to pass, but I honestly hadn't even considered a high pass. I posted the results on Facebook, and I was move by all of the support and encouragement. So many friends and family encouraged me and asked about the results, and Abby helped me study prior to the exam. She was SO helpful, and I don't think I would have gotten the high pass without her help and questions about the connections between the texts. I was totally surprised and relieved by the results, and then I immediately started planning the next step.

The next step was drafting the prospectus and scheduling the colloquy (prospectus defense). I have scheduled the colloquy with my committee for Wednesday, April 20th. I'm actually pretty excited about it! My dissertation chair, Maureen, is currently in Austria on a Fulbright, so, unfortunately, she will not be able to participate in the colloquy. She has given me feedback on my prospectus, and then I will meet with my other committee members, Ellie and Trish, at the colloquy. Other than finishing my courses, this will be the last step before I can jump into my dissertation writing!

Conference on College Composition and Communication

Another highlight from this second half of the semester was attending CCCC. I arrived in Houston on Wednesday, April 6th in the evening, and I met up with my friend from ISU, Laurenn York, at our Airbnb rental. Laurenn and I presented together at CCCC 2014 in Indianapolis, IN, so we say that we are Cs buddies for life! We picked up our poster for our poster presentation on Thursday morning, and then we attended conference events during the day. We presented our poster on Friday afternoon, and then I presented at a Special Interest Group (SIG) with Ellie Long on Friday evening. The SIG was called "Undergraduate Consortium in Rhetoric and Writing." I talked about the work that I did in my internship with Ellie, as the focus of the SIG was the creation of writing and rhetoric undergraduate majors. The women who attended the group were very kind and engaging. It was a productive hour. 



The poster presentation was also productive, although we didn't get as much traffic as we would have liked. We did talk to other poster presenters about our work, and the chair of the convention, Joyce Locke Carter, asked about our work and was very encouraging about the progress. Our poster was titled "Identifying and Demonstrating Genre Knowledge: A Preliminary Assessment Heuristic in FYC Classrooms." The poster summarized the assessment work that Laurenn and I started at ISU in the spring 2013 semester. The conference also inspired us to redraft an article and look for a publication venue based on this work. One other positive aspect that came out of the poster presentation was that it forced us to compile our assessment drafts and current research into one place. I created a new page on this blog called Initial Genre Assessment (IGA) where the assessments and more information can be found. 


I enjoyed my time in Houston. I felt energized and encouraged in my work as I left, and that is always the best outcome from conferences. I hope to channel that energy into work I am now doing. 

Classes 

I can't forget about the "regular" work that I am doing this semester as well! Taking two classes and teaching two classes hasn't always been easy with the other things that have been going on, but I am happy with the way that they have been progressing. Really, the focus for the rest of the semester is on presentations. After the presentations that I give and watch are over, I will need to focus on writing and grading to finish off the semester.

In the ENG 301 course that I teach, my students will be presenting in teams of three to propose a social media plan for a small restaurant based on primary and secondary research. This assignment is productive in that it asks students to take ownership of the work they have been doing throughout the semester and learn how to engage with that work rhetorically. My ENG 102 students are also doing proposal presentations in groups of two or three. Their assignment asks them to identify a problem and solution and then propose a call to action that their peers can act upon. I have enjoyed teaching both of these assignments in past semesters, and I look forward to the work that my students will produce this spring.

In the classes I am taking, I also have two presentations. In my qualitative methods class (COE 503), I just have a short presentation to round out the semester. My feminist methodologies (WST 603) class, however, will be more labor and time intensive. I need to facilitate a discussion on theoretical reading, as well as write a seminar paper. This is due at the same time as the revision for a book chapter for an edited collection, so I need to get a move on! The semester is coming to a close. It's been rough at points, and I don't feel that there will be some triumphant end. As long as I can get over that finish line, though, I will consider it a victory. To paraphrase T.S. Elliot:

"This is the way the [semester] ends/ Not with a bang but a whimper." 

The 21st Annual Southwest English Symposium

One of my primary focuses this semester thus far has been the 21st Annual Southwest English Symposium (SWES) that I co-chaired with Abigail Oakley. The symposium was on Friday and Saturday of this weekend, February 19th & 20th, and I'm happy to say that it went very well! Here is a reflection on symposium by the numbers, and then I will sum up my reflections and reactions to hosting the symposium following: 

• At the opening Friday night social at Zipp's on Mill Ave, we hosted over ten visiting students for appetizers and fun conversations. 
• At the symposium, we had just over 30 individual presentations in four sessions with two or three presentation panels presenting in each session. The presenters were from about 15 different universities from all over the country. 
• The opening panel consisted of two visiting lecturers from Kinnaird College for Women in Lahore, Pakistan, Saifyia Fawad and Zahra Hanif, and a Ph.D. student in literature from ASU, Matt Henry. Their panel was labeled "Postcolonial Perspectives on South Asia and the Americas," and it was a unique and enlightening way to open the conference.
• Dr. Ian Bogost, an author, professor, and award-winning game designer, gave the keynote
  address that was attended by conference participants, committee, and other ASU affiliates. His talk focused on "ironia" and the way that it is understood in relationship to objects and nostalgia, historically and today. His unique style of delivery and innovation in theoretical and public knowledge was exciting and revelatory. 
• The final event, a poetry reading at Rula Bula Irish Pub, was attended by SWES participants and families who had the opportunity to listen to seven ASU MFA students read original works of poetry and fiction. At the poetry reading, we were excited to award a travel grant to Ben Larsen from the University of Wyoming, as well as registration refunds from a random drawing to Tyler Ringstad from Washington State University and Nanette Schuster from Arizona State University. The poetry reading was a lovely way to conclude the symposium, and we were glad to be able to host and offer the awards to presenters. 

As I conclude this post, and this weekend, and reflect back over the preparation and hosting of the conference, I am struck by two reflections:

The first thought that I have is that hosting a conference can be somewhat lonely. The nitty gritty tasks that go into planning even a small, regional symposium are, at time, overwhelming and difficult to keep track of. I was so lucky to have shared the chairing responsibilities with Abby, and we truly had a wonderful committee that worked with us. As the symposium was running, though, I was conscious of the many times that I was alone-- hanging up signs, organizing lunch boxes, or sending last minute emails. There was a lot of "behind the scenes" work that contributed to a, hopefully, well-run conference.

The second thought that I have about the symposium may seem contradictory to the first, but I don't think it is. I was struck by the importance of the work of symposiums and conferences because of the way they bring individuals and groups together. Last year, when Abby and I were initially asked to take on the co-chairing responsibilities, I would have never imagined that our conference, with the theme "Objects and Commodities", would open with visiting Pakistani scholars, have a delightful and and revealing keynote including images of Walmart items for sale (to be found in Dr. Bogost's next book), contain a conversation with a Creative Writing Ph.D. student from University of Illinois-Chicago about David Foster Wallace, include a connection with a Literature Ph.D. candidate from the University of Colorado-Boulder about comprehensive exams and mutual friends, and then conclude with a lovely poem about a dead dog by ASU MFA candidate, Dustin Pearson. That is what happened, though, and there is no other place, specifically in academia, where ideas, stories, and experiences are shared and appreciated so readily, excitedly, and with such impact. I think it is especially important for graduate students and early-career scholars to feel welcomed and supported in these ways, and we were happy to welcome several scholars who were presenting their work for the very first time. If we could provide that kind of support for even a few people, then all of the work and planning and emails and runs across campus in preparation for the symposium over this past year have been all worth it.

If you are interested in learning more about the symposium, visit our website, take a look at the SWES 2016 Program, or scroll through photos taken by myself and Wade E. Bruce.

Opening Panel Speakers

Individual Session Presentation

Lunch Time

Ian Bogost's Keynote. Photo by ASU English Department Photographer, Bruce Matsunaga.

Gary Garrison at the Poetry Reading. Photo by Wade E. Bruce.

//Six of Sixteen//

Week six of the sixteen week semester is now complete!

I have several big deadlines and responsibilities in the second part of this semester, however, the first six weeks of the semester have been quite busy and exciting. I have enjoyed teaching both my CGCC ENG 102 class and my ASU ENG 301 class. Both classes are hybrid, so it has been an adjustment figuring out how to best communicate and help my students when I only see them one day a week. I have been enjoying the classes and my students this semester.

Two new items of note occurred as a result of my internship that I completed last fall semester with Dr. Ellie Long. One outcome was an invitation to participate in an interview with Ellie on rhetoric in this political season. The ASU News Article came out on January 29th, and I have seen and heard positive feedback in terms of the ideas we shared and focus on rhetorical action that we discussed. A second outcome that was more closely related to the internship was the publication of the press release that I wrote discussing the ASU new undergraduate English concentration in Writing, Rhetorics, and Literacies. The article was published in the ASU English alumni letter, Accents on English, on February 16th. The ASU alumni letter goes out to over 8,000 alumni and donors, and I was glad to have been able to participate in the marketing of the new major. My friend and colleague, Rebecca Robinson, summed up the excitement well when she shared the article on Facebook:

"I'm excited for this new undergraduate major in the ASU Department of English! Studying writing and rhetoric at the graduate level has certainly been a huge benefit to me; 

I hope we'll see more and more undergraduate degrees in this area as well." 

I have enjoyed the two classes that I am taking this semester as well. I am taking a qualitative methods class through the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College and a feminist methodology class through the Women and Gender Studies department. Both have been eye opening in terms of the framing and understanding needed to complete my prospectus and dissertation. I have completed one project for my methodology class that asked us to create a metaphor for feminist methodology. I decided on the metaphor of "feminist methodology as embodied movement." I presented this metaphor through a discussion of my personal yoga practice. My presentation and a yoga flow that I posted on YouTube can be found here: Feminist Methodology & Yoga Flow Project. I enjoyed the project and the creativity involved in linking and presenting of feminist ideology, theory, and methodologies.

The work I have been doing in my classes has been helpful in understanding the texts I am reading on my list for my comprehensive exams. Just tonight, I read the final source on my comps list! It feels like a milestone, even though I have quite a bit of studying left to do. I take my exams in three weeks, so I know that that needs to be my primary focus in the time in between. The source that I read was Dr. Eileen Schell's article "Materializing the Material as a Progressive Method and Methodology." This article just happened to be the final one on my list, but the reading was appropriate in summing up not only some ideas and questions I had been considering about qualitative methods, but it explicitly discussed the relationships between rhetorical theory, material culture, and feminist theory and methodology. Dr. Schell's writing was helpful and revelatory in regards to these specific intersections that I have been working to articulate in my own research. She writes:

"Studying material practices is useful for feminist rhetoricians as it will allow us to examine how women's texts and voices have been 'culturally silenced' or muted" (129). 

Following my comps, this semester I was accepted to present at the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) that will be in Houston from April 6-9th. I'm excited to present there, and I recently received this flyer advertising my poster session with Laurenn York. I also just received an email with a notification that I have received a generous individual travel grant from the ASU Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA) covering all of my expenses for the trip to Texas! Following the conference, I will then need to shift my focus to completing and defending my prospectus and then composing my final projects and an invited book chapter revision. Now on to week seven!

New Year, New Post!

Happy New Years! Here's to 2016 as a year of progress, peace & purpose.

The spring 2016 semester starts in two days, but even thought it hasn't started yet, I wanted to post an update with photos about my break, my progress, and my goals:

My parents landed in the desert on Tuesday, December 22nd, 2015. That was also the start of my two week, self-designated break from work. It was a really, really nice two weeks off. Refreshing and relaxing. We celebrated Christmas with my parents, took them to some of our favorite spots, visited the mountains in Payson, and watched the Green Bay Packers get creamed by the Arizona Cardinals. It was a nice visit. The photo on the right was taken just before Christmas dinner in our dining room.

The day after my parents left, we hit the road for New Years in Durango, CO. We spent about five days up there with some good friends. We read, played games, and celebrated New Years Eve by watching skiers ski down a mountain holding torchlights under fireworks. Pretty cool! And literally, very cool. We were freezing. Time in the mountains is always so refreshing, and we thoroughly enjoyed our mini-vacation. The photo on the left was taken a few miles from my Grandpa's condo in Durango. We are standing on top of a natural hot spring that has mineralized into the mound you see there. The spring is just off of the main highway, and it is a favorite for visitors and bikers to stop and take photos or baths at, respectively. The water is pretty warm and coppery tasting, though. Not great for a drink. 

During the break, Wade and I binged watched the BBC reality show, The Great British Bake Off. It is truly a lovely show, and we became so invested with the contestants and the show itself. Even when I am breaking from my scholarly work, I am still enthralled by discussions and representations of food. Food brings people together. It speaks to culture, community, and identity in ways that no other medium does. The first challenge of every episode is the "Signature Challenge," where the bakers are instructed to represent a part of themselves in the bakes. I mean, so, so fascinating.

Over the break, I also read my first book of 2016. I read Mindy Kaling's newest memoir, Why Not Me? Again, even when taking a break, I still love to read memoirs. I guess that means my work in women's food memoirs really is what I should be studying. I love these glimpses into people's lives, specifically, strong, smart, accomplished women. Mindy's book is honest, funny, and inspiring. In her final chapter she writes, "work hard, know your shit, show your shit, and then feel entitled" (223). If that's not the mantra that I need to adopt to get me through this semester of conferences, my written exam, my dissertation prospectus, and finishing my class work, then I don't know what is. 

The day in between my parents leaving and us leaving for Colorado, I received an email saying that my two portfolio papers and my compiled bibliography to be used for my comprehensive exam had been approved by my committee! This is a the first of the five steps towards completion of the degree, and I was really happy to receive that email even before the spring semester started. It is but one step towards completion, but it feels good to have it checked off after a year of drafts, revision, and feedback. It also means that I am now able to move forward on the other steps that I need towards degree completion. I am very thankful for my chair and committee that offer this feedback and are willing to help me advance towards my degree. 

Finally, I want to address a personal goal that I have adopted for this new year, but one that will be intricately related to my work. I have been trying to think of a word to focus on in this new year in my prayer and mediation time, but also in my work and everyday life. Yesterday I attended my weekly yoga class with my friends and colleagues Casie and Jess, and the theme of the class was "presence." The instructor said several times that in presence there is choice. There is the choice of focus, attitude, and attention. So, this semester and this year, I intend to focus on the word presence. I want to explore what that means in all areas of my life. 

Thanks for reading! I'll be back with a new post soon as this busy, but hopefully very productive, semester gets underway. 

Three, Two...

The fall 2015 semester has come to a close! That means that now is the time for editing, reflection, and getting ready for next semester. This semester was the semester of "threes," while I see next semester being the semester of "twos," which will then hopefully lead to the one thing: the dissertation!

Fall 2015

This semester, I taught three different classes. At ASU, I taught the upper division (meant for sophomores and above) courses ENG 217:

ENG 301 students working at the board.

Writing Personal Essays and ENG 301: Professional Writing. At Chandler-Gilbert Community College I taught an ENG 102: First Year Writing class that was comprised of non-traditional students. The variety in classes, schedules, and focuses was a bit challenging to balance at times, but I can really say that I had some of the best students. This is the first semester that I have not taught any 18 years olds. This happened by coincidence, but I noticed the difference in some marked ways:

1. My students were very articulate about their needs from the very beginning of the semester. Many first time college students are not sure what they will need from a professor or a class in order to be successful, but I would say the vast majority of my students this semester approached me within the first couple weeks of the semester to tell me their learning needs or ask me very specific questions. 
2. The students were also able to stake their ground in issues more readily and firmly, most likely because they had already had class discussions and interactions that enabled them to form opinions prior to entering my classroom. 
3. My students this semester were less willing or ready to adapt to new styles of learning. As my teaching is heavily informed by the genre studies model, I have noticed that 18 year olds can understand and adapt readily to that style of instruction and composition. Some of my older students struggled a bit more to grasp the reasoning behind the model or the shift in thinking. 

I really like teaching 18 year olds, but I appreciated the differences in the students populations this semester. Of course, the classes were also very different, and the teaching persona that I had to enact in each class shifted as well, due to the institution, course content, and student goals.

The cover of a children's book composed
by an ENG 217 student for their
final course project.

One last note about teaching this semester is that I can really say how thankful I am to have been initially taught how to teach in a genre studies model. I really struggled with the concepts at first, but once I got on board, I can say it has revolutionized every class that I have taught and taken. Stemming from scholars like Anis Bawarshi, Mary Jo Reiff, and Elizabeth Wardle, the genre studies model states that genres are not just static categories, they are dynamic compositions that are created for a purpose and a specific audience. In the classroom, that means that I don't teach essays (except for the first assignment in my ENG 101 class), I teach white papers, professional letters, memos, advocacy proposals, blogs, memoir chapters, podcast scripts, research reports, and the list goes on and on. This makes my time teaching and grading so much more enjoyable, and it makes the students take aways from the class so much more tangible and rewarding. Here are just three student comments on genre use in the classroom from this semester:

• ENG 102: "I'm glad that in your class you had different assignments done in different formats. I think before this class I only knew one, but now I know a few more that will help in the future." 
• ENG 217: "I never would want to be an English teacher unless it was teaching the stuff you taught us, real life writing." 
• ENG 301: "I really appreciated [learning] how to construct with memos and how to use genres. I am already using it in my job now when speaking with other companies or prospective employees."

This semester I also took three classes. Well, really, I took two classes and completed an internship. I took a class on how to teach professional writing from Dr. Mark Hannah, which obviously helped me teach ENG 301. I took a class on feminist and composition theory from Dr. Trish Boyd, and that helped me to prepare for my dissertation work. Finally, I completed an internship with Dr. Ellie Long that was eye opening in terms of institutional communication and opportunities. The logs from the internship as well as the final products of this work can be found under the "Internship" tab on this blog.

I also submitted three documents towards the completion of my doctoral degree this semester. In a simplification of the requirements, my Ph.D. will be completed in five steps:

1. Course work 
2. Two portfolio papers & a bibliography submission
3. A comprehensive exam based on the bibliography
4. A dissertation prospectus setting up my dissertation work
5. Writing and defending the dissertation work. 

I plan to have steps 1, 3, and 4 completed by May, but I was able to submit step 2 at the end of last semester! The portfolios and bibliography can be tough to get approval on, but I have a wonderful committee who gave me feedback and approved my work for submission. The above elements, as well as three cross country trips, a trip to Europe, my participation at Fem/Rhet, and planning for SWES has made this semester a busy one. Glad it's done, but I had a lot of fun.

Spring 2016

In a preview for spring 2016, I see things slowing down at least a little bit and coming in set of twos instead of threes:

Abby and awesome SWES committee
members sending proposal responses and
mapping sessions. 

• I am taking two research methods courses, both outside of the English department, but I hope that both will very helpful to me in coding and using data collected from my ENG 217 class in my dissertation. 
• I will be teaching two hybrid courses. I have never taught hybrid courses before, so I am looking forward to that change. I will again be teaching ENG 301 at ASU and ENG 102 at CGCC. 
• I will be attending two conferences. The first is obviously the Southwest English Symposium, which my co-chair, Abby Oakley, and I have been making good progress towards, and the second is the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) in Houston, TX in April. I am presenting work with my ISU colleague, Laurenn York, which I am really looking forward to. 
• I also plan to complete at least two, and hopefully three, of the steps towards degree completion listed above. Fingers crossed! 

Starting a week from today, I plan to take a two week break. Breaks are important, even if there is still a lingering guilty conscious saying "you should be working!" But I will break. And eat. And breathe. And laugh. My parents will be spending Christmas with us in the desert, and then I will be going to the mountains with friends for New Years. I don't think it gets much better than that.

I will conclude with a quote and a photo of, what I think, is one of the most beautiful places on earth: a small portion of the San Juan Mountains in Durango, CO, that I can't wait to visit again soon.

I opened each of my classes with this quote this semester, and then in a round table reading that concluded my ENG 217 class, a student read it again. I believe that it beautifully and honestly encapsulates the work and struggle of a Ph.D. student, as well as the hope and purpose of the work we do:

“And then you just do it. You just dig in and write it. You use your body. You lean over the computer and stretch and pace. You write and then cook something and write some more. You put your hand on your heart and feel it beating and decide if what you wrote feels true. You do it because the doing of it is the thing. The doing is the thing. The talking and worrying and thinking is not the thing. That is what I know.” ~ Amy Poehler

Wishing all a truly happy and restful Christmas season and start to the new year. Cheers.

Making Moments: A Reflection on the Feminism and Rhetorics 2015 Conference

Fem/Rhet 2015, hosted at ASU and co-chaired by Maureen Daly Goggin and Shirley Rose, was truly a wonderful conference. The theme of the conference was “Women’s Ways of Making,” a play on the well-known feminist discussion of women’s ways of knowing. For this blog title, I played on that theme a bit to highlight the making of moments. Moments may seem to just happen, but I think that there is a constructing of moments that is really important to recognize- especially as it pertains to conference participation.

Because Maureen and Shirley co-chaired the conference and it was held on my campus, I think that the opportunity to make moments was especially viable at this conference. I was part of the volunteer committee, and I was able to help prepare for the conference by consolidating all of the attendees email addresses into one group and compiling a list of local events for the weekend, serve as an attendant at the registration table, usher a concert, and chair for a panel session. I also helped in other areas as I could, answering questions or directing people to locations or locating the right people to get answers from. I enjoyed being on the committee, and I think that manning the registration desk on the first day was probably one of my favorite tasks. It may seem a bit menial, but I was glad to welcome people to the conference and be one of the first faces they saw while giving them a swag bag filled with awesome stuff!

I chaired a session entitled “Recipe Rhetorics: Cookbooks as Arguments” on Thursday, the second day of the conference. There were three women on the panel, and they each presented on cookbooks through a feminist lens. The presentations, as well as the discussion following the presentations, were interesting and informative. Although, I was concerned with some of the essentializing that I heard in two of the presentations in relationship to authorship identity and assumptions of agency. I recognize the complexity of analyzing historical texts that are embedded with personal and cultural meaning for the authors, readers, and analyzers of the cookbooks, but I also think that in food work it is important to not make assumptions or essentialist statements, as is true in any study within the field of rhetoric and composition, and English more generally.

Sitting at the registration desk and chairing the panel were two opportunities that I was able to glean from at the conference. Within those larger opportunities, though, I was able to make smaller moments by introducing myself to attendees at the registration table, or bring up one of my concerns to a presenter regarding the assumptions of agency of women slaves about whom the cookbook was written that she was discussing. While some moments may not have been particularly impactful for all involved, I think that that intentionality is important.

The one drawback about having the conference on my own campus was that there were still everyday responsibilities that needed attention. Since my husband was in CA attending a conference, I was in charge of the dogs and had to keep their needs in mind in deciding how many hours to be away, etc. Also, though I canceled the majority of my classes, I did still need to teach some, which split my attention between the conference and the work that needed to be done to prepare and then teach those classes. As is a common joke in academia, the work-life balance does not always seem like such a balance, but it is a reality that many of us must face.

I was able to make more moments in the following ways at Fem/Rhet:

• I attended a session on feminist pedagogy and was surprised to hear about feminist pedagogies being used in a professional writing classroom. I am teaching my first professional writing class this semester, and I have been contemplating how to bring feminist ideals into the classroom curriculum and discussion. I was happy to hear a discussion of this work in practice, and I was able to ask the presenter a question I had at the end of the session about enacting feminist pedagogy in a professional writing class.

• While I didn’t introduce myself to Gesa Kirsch and Jacqueline Jones Royster, I did attend a collaborative/interactive session that they led in the main ballroom. As a group, we examined texts that they are currently studying and we were able to talk amongst ourselves, but also with them about this work. It was fun to sit at a table with Jackie Royster and hear her take on this developing and important work.

• I participated in a mentorship session with Barbara L’Eplattenier from the University of Arkansas Little Rock and presented my ideas for dissertation work to her. Her colleague Lisa Mastrangelo from Centenary College of New Jersey joined our session, and the two of them asked pointed and insightful questions about my work. It was very helpful to get feedback from two women who are interested in my work but who are not familiar with my research interests. They asked important questions about the framing of the work I am proposing to do.

• My friend Casey helped organize a performance of the 5-time award winning Scottsdale Chorus on the Friday night of the conference. I helped her usher the attendees to the performance, and then I got to watch the concert! It was really a fun evening and a great way to think about women making in a fresh and lively way.

• I attended a plenary talk by Angela Haas during a lunch session. She is a professor at Illinois State University, where I graduate with my MA from in 2014, however, I never got the chance to take a course with her while I was there. I was enthralled by her discussion of feminism as intertwined with cultural and geographical rhetorics. I took over a page of notes at the plenary session, and I look forward to going back over them and further exploring her sources, metaphors, and inventive discussions of feminism and rhetoric.

• I presented my paper, “Motive to Movement: A Feminist Rhetorical Intervention Through Food Memoirs” on a panel entitled “Making Meaning in Constructed Spaces: Women in Comic Books, Food Memoirs, and Professional Writing Classrooms” with my friends and colleagues Casey Moreland and Jessica Boykin on the last day of the conference. Though we had a small audience, they were very engaged in the work and we got to talk about emerging topics related to feminism and rhetoric that I think are pretty exciting.

Feminisms and Rhetorics may be my favorite conference that I have attended to date. The people who were there, the ideas that were expressed, and the attitude of inclusivity and openness that was adopted by the majority of the attendees was energizing and inspiring. The full conference program is a good encapsulation of the variety of discussions and interests represented at this conference. Also, my colleague Stephen Hopkins put together a short video showing a variety of the moments of making that were presented at this conference, including some of the ones I mentioned above. I look forward to attending again in two years in Ohio to make more moments!

Wordle made by Allegra Smith from the compilation of conference tweets hash tagged #FemRhet2015