Carolyn D. Commer

Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Writing

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Teaching

I approach my classroom as a collaborative, proto-public space for guided inquiry. 

In my teaching, I help students connect rhetorical theory with practice, specifically providing the rhetorical footing for students to take action in their professional and local communities. I am especially interested in experimenting with how the rhetoric classroom can support new modes of public engagement, such as non-profit consulting and Community Think Tanks. My teaching style is active, discussion-based, and regularly includes workshops in which students practice making their writing publicly visible for different audiences.

In 2015 I was the recipient of Carnegie Mellon University’s English Department Graduate Student Teaching Award.

In 2022 I was the recipient of Virginia Tech’s Certificate of Teaching Excellence Award.

GRADUATE-LEVEL COURSES TAUGHT

Virginia Tech

  • Classical Rhetoric
  • Modern Western Rhetoric
  • Critical Theory

Carnegie Mellon University

  • Nonprofit Advocacy: Genres, Methods, Issues
  • Rhetorical Grammar
  • Style

UNDERGRADUATE COURSES TAUGHT

Virginia Tech

  • Acts of Interpretation
  • Technical Editing and Style
  • Writing from Research

Carnegie Mellon University

  • Writing for the Professions
  • Interpretation and Argument: What is Education For?
  • Interpretation and Argument: The Politics of Genocide
  • Composition and Introduction to Literature: Identity in America

Intellectual Risk-Taking

Types: Pedagogy Research

Teaching the Community Think Tank

Types: Pedagogy Research

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ccommer@vt.edu

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