Writing and Communication Program News
2022
Oxford student attends Naylor Workshop on Undergraduate Research in Writing Studies
From September 30 to October 2, Oxford sophomore Anusha Kothari attended the Naylor Workshop on Undergraduate Research in Writing Studies in York, Pennsylvania. At the workshop, Anusha presented her work-in-progress "Transforming Taboo: Discursive and Generic Uptake in South Asian Mental Health Recovery Narratives" and received feedback from Writing Studies faculty mentors and undergraduate researchers from across the U.S. and Canada. Anusha began her project in her Discovery Seminar and attended with her advisor, Dr. Gwendolynne Reid, Assistant Professor of English, who was invited to mentor other undergraduate researchers with their works-in-progress. Anusha was interviewed about her experiences here.
Oxford Writing Program hosts first annual Writing Showcase
Oxford's 16th annual Celebration of Scholarship and Creative Expression (CSCE) featured a new addition sponsored by the Oxford Writing Program: a Writing Showcase. The Showcase featured sixteen Oxford writers, who presented written work in a range of genres and media, some academic and others deeply personal. Co-hosted by Writing Program Director, Dr. Gwendolynne Reid, and Writing Center Director, Dr. Leigh Elion, the Showcase was moderated by Writing Center consultants Jenna Holton, Jaytrice Mackey, Uma Shenai, and Mia Usman. Read more about the 2022 Writing Showcase in the Oxford News feature on CSCE 2022.
Oxford student named finalist for 2022 Eagle Award for First-Year Writers
Lily Bluestein was named one of the finalists for Emory College’s 2022 Eagle Award for First-Year Writers. Each year, faculty for ENG 101, CPLT 101, or OX_ENG 185/6 courses may nominate up to two works for consideration from each of their sections. The judging panel includes both Emory College and Oxford College faculty and meets in spring to judge the previous calendar year’s entries. Lily received an honorable mention for her paper “Reforming Sex Education in America: A Comprehensive Model" completed in Prof. Eric Solomon’s English 185 class. In the piece, Lily invites readers to consider a comprehensive model of sex education that goes beyond a risk-reduction framework to one that is inclusive of positive views on sex and relationships and that is targeted to age-appropriate audiences. Lily was honored at the spring 2022 Emory College English Department Awards Night and received a $100 prize. Her work will be published on the Eagle Award for First-Year Writers website.
2021
Oxford students named finalists for 2021 Eagle Award for First-Year Writers
Two of the four finalists for Emory College's 2021 award for student writing in First-Year Writing courses are from Oxford College. Entries for the Emory Writing Program’s Eagle Award for First-Year Writers were solicited from all 2020 sections of First-Year Writing at both Emory College and Oxford College. The final Eagle Award rankings were announced at the Emory College English Department Awards Night on Wednesday, April 21.
In his autoethnography “Real Men Wear Pink: An Autoethnography of a Gay Athlete,” Oxford sophomore Ben Archer examined the relationships between sexual orientation, gender identity, and athletic development, focusing on the conflicts and struggles young gay athletes face related to identity formation and coming out. Archer completed this paper in Prof. Gwendolynne Reid's spring 2020 English 185. Read Archer's paper on the Eagle Awards website.
Oxford first-year student Anji Ni drew on his experiences with bilingualism to examine the question of how language may impact personality and behavior, exploring the common experience among bilinguals that they have different personalities in each language. Ni completed his paper, entitled "An Autoethnography: Personality Changes of Bilinguals in a Second Language," in one of Prof. Gwendolynne Reid's fall 2020 online sections of English 186 while working from China. Read Ni's paper on the Eagle Awards website.
2020
Oxford students among finalists for 2020 Eagle Award for First-Year Writers
Two of the five finalists for Emory College's 2020 award for student writing in First-Year Writing courses are from Oxford College. Faith Ford was recognized for her paper on her experiences as a Haitian-American, "Cultural Imposter Syndrome: An Autoethnography of a Cultural Fraud," and Katie Balderson was recognized her rhetorical analysis, "The Rhetoric of Glacial Melting: Scientific Literature Versus Popular Science." Both Ford and Balderson were nominated by Prof. Gwendolynne Reid for their work in her spring 2019 sections of English 185. Entries for the Eagle Award for First-Year Writers were solicited from all 2019 sections of First-Year Writing at both Emory College and Oxford College. Read Ford and Balderson's papers on the Eagle Awards website.
First-year writers Julie Zhu and Anna Cai publish in undergraduate journal
In January 2020, Huisheng "Julie" Zhu and Qinyan "Anna" Cai published “Flexible Intimacies in Three Moves: A Genre Analysis of the Scholarly Book Preface,” a genre analysis of scholarly book prefaces in the 17th volume of the undergraduate journal, Young Scholars in Writing. Zhu and Cai began this paper in English 186, which they took with Prof. Gwendolynne Reid, assistant professor of English, in fall 2018.
2019
First-year writer Danielle Collett publishes in undergraduate journal
In August 2019, Danielle Collett published "Oprah Winfrey at the Golden Globes: Using Epideictic Rhetoric to Celebrate an Alternative Vision for America," a rhetorical analysis of Winfrey's acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille award, in the 16th volume of the undergraduate journal, Young Scholars in Writing. Danielle completed this paper in First-Year Writing, which she took with Prof. Gwendolynne Reid in spring 2018.
Oxford Writing Center represented at 2019 Southeastern Writing Center Association
Prof. Belle Wang, interim writing center director, along with students Ninika Osuji, writing consultant, and Abby Filer, writing fellow and consultant, presented their research projects/papers at the Southeastern Writing Center Association (SWCA) conference February 21-23 at Coastal Carolina University in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Wang and Osuji discussed writing-center assessment and Filer talked about a translingual pedagogy for ESL students. Their session proposals were accepted for the conference program after a blind review process.
2018
First-year writer Sam Gardner shares his experiences in the AJC
Sam Gardner (19Ox, 21C) published an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reflecting on his experiences volunteering as a mourner for those with no one to grieve for them. Gardner wrote the piece in his First-Year Writing course with Prof. Sarah Higinbotham in 2018.