You may call me Dr. Professor Badass

[lunabee34]

My event I've been planning for six months happened yesterday! It was a success. No hiccups. Went off without a hitch. I was so proud of my students; they are really impressive and did such good work. The HS students at the event were also really impressive; their writing was much more vulnerable than I expected, and they had really interesting things to say about some pretty heavy topics. School and local press came and stuck around for a long time. My gluten free meal was awesome. Data was collected, so now I can start writing my article for publication.

Not gonna lie. I felt like an absolute academic rock star yesterday.

Comments

[lyr]

Go, you! You are an academic rockstar. You should totally do a conference presentation out of that, too. May I suggest the 4Cs? Proposals are due in a couple of weeks.

[lunabee34]

Thank you!

My chair also suggested the 4Cs as a potential venue. I looked at the CFP for next year, though, and it seems to be all about comp-rhetoric, which I don't think this is? I have to admit that I don't really understand what comp/rhet is as distinct from teaching writing and teaching lit.

[lyr]

It doesn't sound like you're doing rhetoric, but it does sound like comp. Teaching writing (and/or using lit to teach writing)is comp, especially if you include some theory or research, but this last is not mandatory. I'd submit it.

[lunabee34]

Okay, that makes sense. :)

How would you describe rhetoric to a lay person in three sentences or less?

[lyr]

You know how literary studies since New Criticism mostly looks at text as closed units, with only some schools of thought, like Marxism, examining social context behind the creation of the text? That last part starts to cross the line into rhetoric. Rhetoric looks at texts (spoken, written, visual, whatever) as persuasive, world-creating instruments that crystallize communication into reality. We are interested in what they influence audiences to do, think, or feel differently, what mechanisms are used to accomplish that, how the audience receives and interacts with the texts, and why these texts were created in terms of both form and content.

If you think about the implications of that, the icon will seem more apropos.

[lunabee34]

Yes! That makes absolute sense. Thank you. I bet your students love your classes; you are very good at explanations.

[lyr]

Thanks! My students do, at least, come to appreciate the power of rhetoric as both weapon and shield in this world.

[lunabee34]

*nods nods*

You are very close to being done, right? Or did you finish already?

[lyr]

I should have defended right about now, but I'm running a little behind. Sigh. My next chance is the fall, which should be plenty of time to finish writing (though I realize I should NOT tempt fate by saying that.)

[lunabee34]

Girl, there's no way in heck you can take longer than I did. If I didn't finish the semester I did, it was over for me. Most of my committee had already retired and the remainder retired immediately after I defended. LOL

When you do go on the market, let me know, and I will help you any way I can. I've got contacts in weird places and I'd be happy to talk hiring committee and all that jazz with you. I want you to end up somewhere that deserves you!

[lyr]

Aww, thanks, love! I will definitely do that. *hugs*