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My dissertation introduces the notion of "augmented authorship" and applications for prompt engineering with generative neural networks inspired by Gregory Ulmer's theories of electracy (2003) to the interdisciplinary fields that teach writing and rhetoric. With the goal of inspiring the general practice of electracy, I introduce prompt engineering as practice in flash reason (Ulmer 2008; 2012), a new collective prudence emerging from the apparatus of electracy. By situating electracy and flash reason as threshold concepts in writing studies, and by aligning principles of electracy with ACRL and NCTE digital literacy frameworks, I demonstrate how prompt engineering across modalities can help students meet digital literacy goals, before providing accessible models or "relays" in the form of AI-coauthored texts, course modules, and aesthetic models deployed in the game world Roblox.

While previous research in rhetoric and composition investigates how novice composition instructors negotiate the boundaries of professionalism and identity (Dall'Alba; Grouling; Restaino), the role of dress, or "performative strategic attire" (Mckoy), in crafting these teaching personas has not yet been explored. Viewing everyday dress choices through the lens of embodied rhetoric allows for a deeper understanding of the complex decision-making process of choosing what to wear (Woodward). Further, analyzing dress choice through embodied rhetoric showcases how clothing becomes a tool to craft a persona and inhabit an identity or role. Through positioning instructor's self-identity and naming their experiences and influences used in navigating the indeterminate boundaries of professionalism, we can further understand how novice instructors leverage dress to embody their new identity in academia. This study focuses on a sample population of three current Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) and three recently graduated GTAs, all currently teaching first-year composition within a large state university in Florida. Borrowing from methodologies used previously in the interdisciplinary field of fashion studies research, this study combines qualitative research methods of interviews with deep descriptions of outfits participants wore while instructing and visual analysis of those clothing items (Smith and Yates; Woodward) to locate concrete stories of the prior expectations imparted both by the institution and the novice instructors themselves. From this analysis, I argue that dress provides a material and visual space representing core aspects of how GTAs mediate their position as in between dichotomous identities of student and instructor. Ultimately, I suggest that by studying how the liminality of these positions is expressed and experienced through dress, we can move towards more equitable practices in the field of rhetoric and composition, in the process interrogating the idea of what it means to be "professional."

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Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / F. Todd Goodson / This study poses questions about the nature of tutoring processes in college level writing centers. As tutors engage student writers, they are presented with complex rhetorical and interpersonal decisions. This researcher seeks to understand deliberate strategies and thought processes applied by tutors to encourage critical thinking abilities in students. How do writing center tutors decide which strategies are needed for different tutoring situations? How do they perceive the reasons why they themselves apply particular strategies? In order to explore these and other questions, the researcher observes tutorial sessions conducted by ten college-level writing center tutors. Triangulated research methodologies are applied, including observation/video-taping, audio-taped think-aloud protocols, transcribed text analysis, a group exit interview, and external collaborator analysis. Immediately following each video-taped tutorial session, the researcher views the video-tape with each respective tutor. Following instruction in think-aloud protocol process, tutors are asked to reflect orally on the process and decision-making strategies applied throughout the tutorial session. Each of these think-aloud sessions is audio-taped. All ten of the video-taped and audio-taped tutorial sessions are then transcribed and coded for thematic patterns. Two credible outside co-raters are asked to analyze the texts, as well, providing interater reliability. Conclusions and implications about how writing center peer tutor perceive individual strategies applied in tutorial sessions are considered. How do tutors decide what types of questions and comments to ask? How do they facilitate the process of fostering student learning and critical thinking? What are the perceived barriers to success in each session?

In first-year composition courses, there are three aspects of teaching that are researched well so far: disclosure of trauma in student writing, instructor feedback, and emotional labor. The disclosure of trauma is almost completely unavoidable in first-year composition. We encounter an issue with instructor feedback; how do we provide feedback to student writing, like grammar and mechanics, when the student has disclosed trauma in the writing? Additionally, we can build off this with emotional labor, which already occurs consistently in teaching but is heightened in this instance. When providing feedback to a student who has disclosed trauma, this can be emotionally taxing on the instructor, as they may have to hide emotions regarding feedback to disclosure. How can the instructor manage their emotional labor in this instance – or how can instructors provide feedback to student disclosure of trauma in a manner that both prioritizes the student and instructor’s mental health?