Discussions on Writing and Rhetoric

Transcript Episode 23

Internet comment sections can be a complex space for human interaction, to say the least. We’ve all been tempted by some particularly enraging user to throw on the virtual boxing gloves and engage in some rhetorical fisticuffs. But how can we best engage with the Wild West of the internet and its many algorithms as academic rhetoricians? Dr. Joel Bergholtz, currently teaching Composition I and II and ENC 4416 ...

Transcript Episode 22

As rhetoricians, it’s essential that we recognize and study the traditions of not just the English language, but languages from around the world. UCF professor Dr. Esther Milu, our guest this episode, is working to bring one of the more underserved rhetorical communities to the forefront: Global Black Rhetorics. Through research into African rhetorical traditions, Black language diversity, and the history of B...

Transcript Episode 21

One of the more unique aspects of our discipline are the many opportunities we’re given to reflect on our work. From revision to feedback and other forms of collaboration, much of the knowledge we gain as writers is from returning to our work to really think about the choices we make, and how that inspires growth and adaptability throughout our education and experiences. Here to advocate for the importance of ...

Transcript Episode 20

Education should be a right granted to every person willing to seek it out, regardless of upbringing, background, or situation. This a value that our guest today, UCF lecturer Heather Vazquez, strongly believes in. Working in the UCF Global program, Heather helps international students adjust to life and learning away from home, and as the Education Coordinator for the Florida Prison Education Project, she giv...

Transcript Episode 19

Two of the most valuable programs offered by DWR are the Writing Internship course and Stylus, a writing journal that publishes first-year UCF student projects. So, it’s incredibly exciting to be joined by the person in charge of both, Professor Megan Lambert, who also teaches Composition I & II, Professional Writing, and Professional Editing. She goes all in on why an internship course is beneficial, tips...

Transcript Episode 18

Part of our job as rhetoricians is to continuously investigate and challenge the boundaries of language and communication, and what forms writing can take to engage in radical new forms of knowledge-making. Which is why we’ve brought on Dr. Rebecca Watkins, who’s taught Composition I and II and is preparing to teach ENC 4434 Visual and Material Rhetorics. With her, we discuss her pedagogical interests in new m...

Transcript Episode 17

What’s rhetorical about a solar eclipse? That’s what we’re discussing today as we look back on the Not So Total Eclipse event from April 28th, 2024, where students and faculty alike gathered to view a partial eclipse from the reflecting pond, with Professor Gardiakos collecting their thoughts and feelings. As we listen back on these interviews, we discuss the importance of coming together for communal events, ...

Transcript Episode 16

Have you ever found assessment work interesting? If not, then you’ve never met Dr. Shane Wood, the current Writing Program Administrator and Director of First-Year Composition here at UCF, who’s here to break down why teacher responses are so crucial to students’ development, and give a riveting dissection of the reductive history/application of the letter-based grading system. Also discussed is the origin of ...

Transcript Episode 15

The UCF Department of Writing and Rhetoric holds an annual event called Knights Write Showcase to celebrate the work of student writers. This event began in 2010 as a place to highlight and share the research and writing occurring in the first-year writing program, and has since become a multi-day event that encompasses work in composition courses, writing across the curriculum, our three departmental publicat...

Transcript Episode 14

Joining us for this episode is Natalie Madruga, Instructor in writing and Rhetoric at the University of Central Florida. 

Natalie’s research interests include eulogistic rhetoric, public memory and memorialization, critical race theory, cultural rhetorics, and writing pedagogy, with a pedagogical philosophy centered on a foundation in testimonio. Natalie was published in 2023 in Writers:Craft and Context with ...

Transcript Episode 13

We are joined today by Associate Professor in the Department of Writing and Rhetoric and Director of Writing Across the Curriculum in the Center for Writing Excellence both at the University of Central Florida, Dr. Laurie A. Pinkert.  In addition to these positions, Dr. Pinkert also coordinates an interdisciplinary fellowship-writing initiative that is supported by the College of Graduate Studies. 

Dr. Pinkert...

Transcript Episode 11

At UCF, the Department of Writing and Rhetoric holds an annual event called Knights Write Showcase to celebrate the work of student writers. In this special episode we talk with several participants from the poster and panel presentations. The students and work featured in this episode are:

• Jamie Salter “Learning to Keep Up” (0:00-19:04)
• Megan Dever “Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Theatrical Literacie...

Transcript Episode 10

Anthony Lince is a Latinx educator and scholar, and is currently a lecturer at University of California San Diego and other local institutions, teaching rhetoric and writing studies courses. His current work is focused on equitable assessment practices in higher education, which is the praxis in his courses where he utilizes labor-based grading. Anthony has published the journals California English and WPA Wri...

Transcript Episode 9

Dr. Jeremy Carnes is a Postdoctoral Scholar here at UCF specializing in Indigenous rhetorics, particularly visual and material rhetorics. He is working on his first book on comics by Indigenous creators and the rhetorical affordances of comics as a visual medium for considering land-based practices by Indigenous communities. In addition to indigenous rhetorics, Dr Carnes’ research interests include: Comics Stud...

Transcript Episode 8

In this episode we talk with Jaclyn Gardiakos and Jessica Walters, who work in the field of professional writing and are both UCF Alumni. Jaclyn Gardiakos is the communications and public relations manager for Universal Engineering Sciences, the fastest-growing AEC firm in the US, and previously worked for Tupperware as a communications manager. Jessica Walters is a Content Strategist for Deloitte US, and simil...

Transcript Episode 7

In this episode, we interrogate writing with Dr. Martha Brenckle, a full professor and the Interim First-Year Writing Program Director at UCF. With the creation of her new class “Queer Rhetorics and Queer Writing,” we break down what it means to disrupt the status quo and question long held rhetorical beliefs. Beyond that, we consider the often overlooked digital rhetorics, the role that professors are meant to...

Transcript Episode 6

What does writing for social change entail? With Olivia Soloman, a junior at the University of Central Florida and a double major in Writing and Rhetoric and Political Science, we discuss using your writing to effect change, not just inspire awareness. Not only do we touch on courses such as ENC 4353 – Writing for Social Change and ENC 4354 - Writing with Communities and Nonprofits, but we also reflect on strat...

Transcript Episode 5

Gaining insight from Sebastian Garcia, a senior undergraduate at UCF completing a double major in History and Biomedical Sciences, we explore what it takes to tackle research in ENC 1102. It can be difficult to find a way to transfer high school writing skills to the new challenges placed by college classes, but we cover everything you may need to know beginning with the very first step of finding passion and i...