Discussions on Writing and Rhetoric

Episode 24: Hannah Benton - Fanfiction and Disability Studies

Transcript Episode 24
Many students can get stuck in the idea that college is just time spent waiting between high school and actual adulthood, confined only to completing coursework before heading off into the real world to get actual experience. But what if I told you there are plenty of opportunities already to get your voices heard? Hannah Benton, a UCF Writing & Rhetoric graduate who worked in the writing center, is here to clear up those misconceptions. Writing an Honors Undergraduate Thesis, “Fanfiction as a Reflection of Available Representation: A Critique on Mass Media,” and presenting it at Knights Write, UPenn’s National Research Conference, and the Conference on College Composition and Communication, instilled her with the confidence that has helped in pursuing her pedagogical interests.
It’s crucial for us writing students to recognize our value, so join us as we make a place in the conversation!
Time Stamps
· 00:07 - Intro
· 01:46 - Hannah’s Writing and Rhetoric History
· 11:09 - How Hannah Views Disability Studies
· 14:14 - Fan Culture and the Need for More Fan Studies
· 20:47 - Hannah’s Research/Problematic Disability Representation in Comics
· 36:04 - Fan Culture Influencing Mass Media
· 41:09 - Hannah’s Perspective When Tutoring/Teaching
· 46:51 - Allow Yourself to Take Up Space
Rhetorical Concepts
· 21:50 - Adrienne Raw, “Normalizing Disability: Tagging and Disability Identity Construction through Marvel Cinematic Universe Fanfiction”
· 31:42 - Narrative Prosthesis
· 37:50 - Stuart Hall’s Encoding/Decoding Model

Episode 23: Dr. Joel Bergholtz - Digital Rhetorics

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 Writing in Digital Environments, is here to answer just that as we discuss his research into social media pedagogies, online circulation, LLMs, and if we’ve gone post-human.
It’s always important to re-evaluate our rhetorical understanding as the forms we communicate in evolve, so join us as we brave these uncharted waters together!
Time Stamps
· Introduction - 00:07
· Joel’s Goals: Compassion in Rhetoric - 02:09
· Context, Intent, and Bridging Ideologies - 07:30
· How Culture is Engaged with and Circulated Online - 16:42
     o Are We Post-Human? - 23:46
     o How Social Media Platforms are Run - 27:41
· "R-R-R-Reeeemixxxx” - 35:53
     o How AI Retrieves Info - 43:43
     o What Makes Productive Political Debate - 46:40
· Engaging with Rhetoric Going Forward - 50:14
· Closing Thoughts - 59:48
Rhetorical Concepts
· 05:38 - The Rhetorical Situation
· 15:37 - Doxa After Digitality
· 54:22 - “The Perils of Not Paying Attention,” “Made Not Only in Words”
· 1:00:24 - Doxa, Nicomachean Ethics, techne

Episode 22: Dr. Esther Milu - Global Black Rhetorics

Our guest for this episode is Dr. Esther Milu, Associate Professor here at the University of Central Florida. Dr. Milu’s research includes language diversity, multilingual pedagogies, translingual writing, immigrant Black literacies, and Global Black Rhetorics. Dr. Milu has been published in multiple publications, most recently including Composition Studies, Rhetoric Society of America Quarterly, and College Composition Communication, along with contributing to several books. 

Episode 21: Dr. Kara Taczak - Reflection, Metacognition, and Transfer

Our guest on this episode is UCF Assistant Professor Dr. Kara Taczak. Dr. Taczak is currently co-editor of  College Composition and Communication, and her award winning research examines composition theory and pedagogy, with a focus on teaching for transfer and reflection. Her work has appeared in numerous edited collections as well as in CCC, Writing Spaces, International Journal of Work Integrated Learning, the WAC Journal, Composition Forum, Teaching English in a Two-Year College, and Across the Disciplines. 
This episode also features our Assistant Producer, and DWR Podcast Intern, Madelyn Alvarez joining in the conversation.  

Episode 20: Heather Vazquez - UCF Global / Florida Prison Education Project

In this episode we are joined by Heather Vazquez, a lecturer here at the University of Central Florida in our Department of Writing and Rhetoric. Heather is the Education Coordinator and an instructor with the Florida Prison Education Project, or FPEP, working with incarcerated Central Floridians to achieve an undergraduate degree. Additionally, Heather is one of our designated UCF Global instructors, teaching student populations of international students. Beyond FPEP and UCF Global, her teaching and interests include first-year composition, multilingual writing, language diversity, translingualism, and World Englishes. 

Episode 19: Megan Lambert - Internship Program / Stylus / Professional Editing

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 and tricks on how to find the internship that’s best for you, and the unique and eye-opening opportunity Stylus offers to young writers.
Seeing our work get published and officially recognized is what every writer strives for, so join us as we discuss how you can make that dream a reality!
Time Stamps
· 00:07 - Intro
· 01:28 - What’s the Value of an Internship Course?
· 13:34 - Advice for Finding the Right Internship
· 18:09 - The Value of Writing & Rhetoric Everywhere
· 21:39 - Stylus Editorial and Publication Process
· 37:12 - Complicated Screening Process
· 46:32 - The Transformative Experience of Stylus
· 51:55 - How Professor Lambert Teaches Professional Editing
· 1:03:16 - Closing Thoughts

Episode 18: Material Rhetoric & Craftivism with Dr. Rebecca Watkins

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 materialism and craftivism, how it’s inspired her writing (including the award-nominated “Blonde Venus”), and the creative empowerment it unlocks in the classroom and beyond.
We should always take opportunities to broaden our understanding of writing, so join us as we discuss the meaningful ways it can exist beyond the page!
Time Stamps
· Introduction - 00:07
· Personal and Social Significance of Material Rhetoric - 1:16
· Subverting Genre and Form - 9:49
· Composing Materially in a Digital World - 17:39
· What is New Materialism? - 23:37
o Metacognition - 27:49
· Empowerment Through Knowledge-Making - 31:04
· Dr. Watkins’s Writing Journey - 37:49
· Being Vulnerable as Writers - 43:34
· Closing Thoughts - 50:52
 
Rhetorical Concepts
· 05:06 - Craftivism
· 6:31 - Jody Shipka
· 14:02 - Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences
· 18:30 - Susan Sontag, On Photography
· 21:38 - Techne
· 29:29 - Shipka (again)
· 35:58 - Donald Murray and Peter Elbow

Episode 17: (Not So) Total Eclipse of the Arts 2024

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, what eclipses have meant throughout human history, and how they’ll continue to live in our hearts and minds going forward.
So join us today as we try to answer what it is about solar eclipses that captivates us.
Time Stamps
Introduction - 00:07
A History of Eclipses - 07:29
First Batch of Interviews: Personal Significance - 12:47
Michael Zmed - 13:31
Natalie Madruga - 14:17
No Name Given - 14:57
Cassie - 15:22
Muhammad - 16:10
Sydney - 16:29
Coming Together as a Community - 17:18
Second Batch of Interviews: Community - 20:46
Megan Lambert - 20:56
Daniel Manrique - 21:45
Name Not Given - 22:27
Ariada - 23:51
How People Interpret Eclipses - 25:03
Last Batch of Interviews: A Moment in History - 31:09
Kevin Yee - 31:12
Rachel - 33:03
Steve Eikenberry - 33:55
Veronica Donoso - 34:40
The Most Beautiful Government Document Ever Written - 36:36
Goodbyes - 39:05
Rhetorical Concepts
· 3:35 - Kairos
· 18:18 - Writing Happens in Communities

Episode 16: Dr. Shane Wood - Director of First-Year Composition and Host of Pedagogue

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 Dr. Wood’s award-winning podcast Pedagogue, which aims to bridge institutional gaps in writing education, and how it inspired his recent book, Teachers Talking Writing: Perspectives on Place, Pedagogies, and Programs.
How students receive feedback is the backbone to promoting learning, so join us in discussing how assessment can be made as productive as possible!
Time Stamps:
• Introduction - 00:07
• The Origin of Pedagogue - 01:42
• The Importance of Academic Institutional Podcasts - 12:02
• UCF’s Writing Department vs. Others - 17:16
• Why Writing Program Administration? - 22:21
• What’s Interesting about Assessment? - 26:12
• Subverting Assessment as Punishment/Reward - 32:53
• How Enthusiasm for Writing is Squashed - 39:37
• A-F Grading Scale - 43:17
• Collaborative Efforts - 48:26
• Inspiration for Teachers Talking Writing - 52:00
• Valuing Diverse Writing Voices/Identities - 58:20
• Closing Thoughts - 1:02:55
Rhetorical Concepts:
• Teacher Response to Student Writing - 26:55
• Exclusionary Methods of Assessment - 34:44
• Punished by Rewards - 42:59
• Writing Tied to Identity - 58:47

Episode 15: Knights Write Showcase 2024

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 publications Stylus, Convergence, and Imprint, and also The University Writing Center, undergraduate, and graduate student work.
In this episode, we talk with the following students who participated in the event:
(0.00-15:24) Rosalind Rohrbaugh “Stephen King Is Right: We’re All a Little Nuts, and That’s Okay”
(15:25-32:49) Erick Rodriquez “How Course Requirements are Communicated to Students” / Imani Rodriguez “Online Identification of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Creators”
(32:50-52:59) Evonne Simpron “Beta Incels vs. The World” / Jenna Sutphin “Online Book Communities”
(53:00-1:11:45) Kaitlyn Pottinger “The Fool’s Journey to Enlightenment: How Tarot Cards Work” / Mikayla Crawford “Graphic Pathography” / Tasha Rentas “Graphic Journalism: The Stanton Energy Center”  
(1:11:46-1:31:59) Bella Love “Scrapbooking as Narrative”
Thank you to all the wonderful students who shared their experiences with us!