About the Department of Writing & Rhetoric

Learn about our department faculty and program offerings.

Department of Writing & Rhetoric

The Department of Writing & Rhetoric is the institutional home of first-year writing, speech communication, and the writing centers community at the University of Mississippi. Officially classified as a department in 2014, the DWR continues expand with new upper-division course offerings in Writing and Speech, a B.A. in Rhetoric, a professional writing minor, and a maturing writing enriched curriculum program.

Welcome from the Chair

Welcome! The Department of Writing and Rhetoric is the largest department on campus, and we are also one of the friendliest and most supportive. Students in our courses receive individual attention from dedicated teachers, and they find valuable opportunities for work, study, and pre-professional training grounded in the liberal arts. Please read through our website and visit us in Lamar Hall to learn more about our major in Writing, Rhetoric, and Speech Communication and our minor in Professional Writing. Students in these programs grow as writers, thinkers, and speakers. They also develop marketable digital skills and learn how to use AI effectively and ethically.

We are also very proud of our Writing Centers and Speaking Center, which serve thousands of students each year. All UM students and graduate students can get help at these centers (free of charge) to become more confident and effective communicators. As a rhetoric student said to me recently, “No matter what I do in my life, if I want to succeed, I’ll need to be a strong writer and speaker. Those skills affect everything.

Stephen Monroe

Chair and Associate Professor of Writing and Rhetoric, Department of Writing & Rhetoric

What We Do

The Department of Writing and Rhetoric supports UM students’ rhetorical development at every stage. First- and second-year courses cover the fundamental writing, speaking, and analytic skills college demands. Upper-division courses focus on specific rhetorical contexts, media, theories, and audiences to develop skills in hearing, reading, composing, and delivering effective messages.

In addition to its innovative curriculum, the Department of Writing and Rhetoric offers a range of programs and resources that support students beyond the classroom. These include the Writing Centers and Speaking Center, which provide individualized support for writing and oral communication; the TEDx University of Mississippi program, where students help produce a major public speaking event; and competitive opportunities like the Warren Debate Union and Speaker’s Edge. The department also celebrates excellence in storytelling through the prestigious Willie Morris Awards for Southern Writing.

What We Offer

B.A. in Rhetoric, Writing, and Speech Communication. Students learn to speak, write, and design effectively while also becoming discerning critics of the communication practices saturating our world. Students can choose from a wide variety of speech, writing, and rhetoric classes that examine communication in interpersonal, community, civic, academic, professional, and historical contexts. Studying writing, rhetoric, and speech communication allows students to look at modern problems– and into the future– through the lens of a time-tested discipline.

The Minor in Professional Writing allows students to hone their communication skills for a variety of digital, disciplinary, and workplace environments.

UG

Rhetoric, Writing, and Speech Communication, B.A.

Learn the art of effective communication.

Oxford

UG

Professional Writing, Minor

Gain the skills most desired by employers.

Oxford

What We Value

The University of Mississippi is categorized as an R1 research institution, which means that our faculty are at the top of their fields and actively conducting groundbreaking research. It also means students work and study alongside some of the best.

The DWR has a longstanding commitment to innovative teaching and outreach, and much of our work has been funded by grants. For example, the department has been a state and national leader in the Open Educational Resources (OER) movement. Bob Cummings, former chair, and Stephen Monroe, current chair, won a multi-year grant from the Hewlett Foundation to promote the use of OER at community colleges and universities across Mississippi. Called Z-Degree Mississippi, this program has resulted in student textbook savings of more than seven million dollars.

Many DWR faculty have incorporated OER and other technology into their courses. Guy Krueger, Karen Forgette, and Andrew Davis have led an effort to develop adaptive learning modules for Writing 100 and 101. This project was undertaken in partnership with Lumen Learning of Portland and was supported by grant funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Association of Public Land Grant Universities.

Most recently, the DWR has become a national leader in applied artificial intelligence, developing new methods for teaching AI literacy. Marc Watkins and other DWR faculty and students were featured in the Washington Post for their innovative efforts.

Leadership and Core Faculty

The Writing & Rhetoric leadership team supports students in First-Year Writing and Public Speaking courses, as well as Professional Writing minors and Rhetoric, Writing, and Speech Communication majors.

Stephen Monroe

Chair and Associate Professor of Writing and Rhetoric

Karen Forgette

Senior Lecturer in Composition and Rhetoric & Assistant Chair

Guy Krueger

Senior Lecturer in Writing & Rhetoric

Jenny Bucksbarg

Lecturer in Composition & Rhetoric

Andrew Davis

Instructional Design and Training Specialist and Lecturer of Writing and Rhetoric

Chip Dunkin

Senior Lecturer in Writing & Rhetoric

WENDY Goldberg

Senior Lecturer in Composition & Rhetoric

Angela Green

Writing Enriched Curriculum Senior Lecturer

Kate Hooper

Senior Lecturer in Speech

Karla Lyles

Senior Lecturer in Writing and Rhetoric

Joanne Mitchell

Communications Specialist

Chad Russell

Lecturer and Assessment Coordinator

Glenn Schove

Administrative Coordinator II

Colleen Thorndike

Lecturer in Composition & Rhetoric

Daryleshia Ward

Coordinator of Community Literacy

Center Directors

The Department of Writing & Rhetoric supports a Speaking Center and Writing Centers on the Oxford, DeSoto, and Tupelo campuses. Each center has its own faculty director.