Research Statement

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My research interests have a common thread: using research as a tool for advocacy. I believe that as academics, we have a privilege to be able to study, investigate, and explore ideas and thoughts that interests us. I further believe that we should utilize that privilege and ability to draw attention to marginalized voices and people. When I perform research, I strive to ground my work in Feminist Rhetorical Practices/Methodologies. In the introduction to their book Retellings, editors Jessica Enoch, Jordyn Jack, and Cheryll Glenn write, “Feminist rhetorical methodologies center on and wrestle with the fact that all research contains elements of subjectivity […] The work for feminist scholars then is to acknowledge, make use of, and challenge our trained ways of seeing.”1 In their book Feminist Rhetorical Practices, Jacqueline Jones Royster and Gesa E Kirsch provide scholars with tangible practices to engage in research in ways that “see[s] the noticed and unnoticed” and drawing attention to things that have been dismissed or marginalized.2 In other words, Feminist Rhetorical Methodologies strives to intentionally observe, question, and challenge the assumed norms, bringing to the forefront the voices of those who have been pushed to the margins.

My dissertation, titled Miss Monstress: The Trial of Womanhood and Rhetorical Framing of Texas Women on Trial for Murder, was heavily grounded in Feminist methodologies. involved examining the rhetoric surrounding women accused of violent crimes and the role gendered expectations play in how women on trial are portrayed. I rhetorically analyzed three case studies of women who were charged with murder in Texas, arguing that when women are on trial for murder, there is often a scrutiny of her identity and focus on the ways she (as a woman) fails to meet societal expectations (which are often rooted in the place itself). I call this phenomenon the trial of womanhood and suggest that it results in women being misrepresented and receiving harsher—or at times, fatal—sentences. I am actively working on revising and expanding this work; I picture this research evolving into not only academic articles, but eventually a book project. Furthermore, I envision taking my research to social justice projects outside of academia, such the Innocents Project or prison reform programs.

Feminist rhetorical practices are not confined to studies on women; they can be applied to all areas and types of research. For example, I employ the same methods of questioning norms and advocating for others in my research concerning pedagogical strategies and academic labor. My pedagogical work often revolves around how teachers can create inclusive, accepting classroom environments through course materials, assessment strategies, and compassionate practices. My work on academic labor has revolved around bringing to light the experiences and struggles of graduate student workers, who tend to be underpaid, overworked, and underappreciated. I draw heavily from my own experience being a graduate student myself; now, as a PhD and full-time professor, I strive to use that privilege to advocate for those in situations like mine.

Finally, I strive to use my research as advocacy, even in subjects that I personally find fascinating and might fall outside of the traditional ideas of Composition and Rhetoric. For example, I have published research on children/YA books written by Native American authors, connecting them to Critical Race Theory and the concept of counterstory. I plan to study further the ways modern Indigenous authors use storytelling as a form of both resistance and resilience, connecting to ongoing conversation cultural rhetorics, counterstories, and following the work of scholars such as Shawn Wilson and Aja Martinez. A similar example is my interests in the work of Fred Rogers; I envision doing research connecting his work to Cheryl Glenn and Krista Ratcfliffe’s studies on rhetorical listening and demonstrating how the kindness and care exhibited on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood can be employed in the composition classroom through pedagogies of compassion. 

Overall, whatever I research—whether current work or future, regardless of the subject or genre, whether it’s a conference presentation or publication—I employ the feminist rhetorical practices and methodologies of observing, questioning, and drawing attention to the things that have been dismissed or overlooked. This is because no matter what topic, my purpose and goals are always the same: to use my position and privilege as a researcher to advocate on behalf of those who have been ostracized, marginalized, and silenced.

Works Referenced:

 Enoch, Jessica, and Jordynn Jack, editors. Retellings: Opportunities for Feminist Research in Rhetoric and Composition Studies. Parlor Press, 2019.

Royster, Jacqueline Jones and Gesa E Kirsch. Feminist Rhetorical Practices: New Horizons for Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy. Southern U P, 2012