Department of Writing Studies
Welcome to the web site for the Department of Writing Studies. Part of the University of Minnesota’s College of Liberal Arts, we are an academic department with nationally recognized strengths in teaching and scholarship in rhetoric, writing, and technical communication. With 15 tenured or tenure-track faculty, over 20 full-time instructors, and degrees from the bachelor's to the doctorate, we offer a diverse set of research, teaching, and learning opportunities.
The department touches the lives of every undergraduate on campus, teaching over 170 sections of first-year writing as well as courses in technical writing and communication, rhetorical theory, composition, and environmental communication. Graduates from our B.S., M.S., and certificate programs are prepared for successful careers in scientific and technical communication and are in high demand by companies both local and national. Our M.A. and Ph.D. graduates pursue careers primarily in academic settings, becoming college professors and instructors.
We are also the administrative home of the Center for Writing, which provides face-to-face and online writing assistance as well as other programs of interest. Faculty and staff in both the center and the department enjoy many collaborative relationships including funded research to study how writing is most effectively taught in different academic disciplines.
We hope you find what you are looking for on our web site. If you have any questions, please email or call us. Or stop in and visit us in Wesbrook Hall, located on the Minneapolis campus.
Sincerely,
Laura J. Gurak, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Featured Items
Faculty Position Opening -- Professor or Associate Professor of Writing Studies
Faculty
Professor or Associate Professor of Writing StudiesThe Department of Writing Studies in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota invites applications for a full-time, nine-month faculty position beginning fall semester 2009 (August 31, 2009). Appointment will be made at the rank of professor with tenure or associate professor with tenure, depending on qualifications and experience and consistent with collegiate and University policy.
October 27th, 2008Professor Berkenkotter's New Book Available
Patient Tales: Case Histories and the Uses of Narrative in Psychiatry
In this engrossing study of tales of mental illness, Carol Berkenkotter examines the evolving role of case history narratives in the growth of psychiatry as a medical profession. Patient Tales follows the development of psychiatric case histories from their origins at Edinburgh Medical School and the Royal Edinburgh Infirmary in the mid-eighteenth century to the medical records of contemporary American mental health clinics. Spanning two centuries and several disciplines, Berkenkotter's investigation illustrates how discursive changes in this genre mirrored evolving assumptions and epistemological commitments among those who cared for the mentally ill.During the asylum era, case histories were a means by which practitioners organized and disseminated local knowledge through professional societies, affiliations, and journals. The way in which these histories were recorded was subsequently codified, giving rise to a genre. In her thorough reading of Sigmund Freud's Fragment of an Analysis of a Case of Hysteria, Berkenkotter shows how this account of Freud's famous patient "Dora" led to technical innovation in the genre through the incorporation of literary devices. In the volume's final section, Berkenkotter carries the discussion forward to the present in her examination of the turn from psychoanalysis to a research-based and medically oriented classification system now utilized by the American Psychiatric Association. Throughout her work Berkenkotter stresses the value of reading case histories as an interdisciplinary bridge between the humanities and sciences.
October 21st, 2008Bernadette Longo: OIT-DMC Faculty Fellow
From Bernadette Longo--
"For the next three semesters, I will be working with OIT-DMC staff as one of five UMN faculty fellows exploring opportunities in emerging learning environments, asking how we can incorporate these innovative environments more intentionally into UMN courses and programs. We have been working on this topic since August and it promises to be an exciting adventure.
"We have established a blog to invite people from UMN and anywhere else to join this exploration. We hope you will add your ideas and comments there. We are exploring a real issue that will impact the learning environment at UMN and your voice can make a difference.
"Please check the blog regularly because we will be adding posts and continuing the conversation there. And tell your friends!"
Congratulations Bernadette!
October 6th, 2008