I’m a Professor of English and Endowed Chair of Rhetoric and Composition at the University of Louisville where I teach and write about issues of literacy, identity, sustainability, digital media, popular culture, and community writing. My recurring research interests have been the intersections of the the writing and reading people engage in through their daily lives and the literacy practices they encounter in schools and universities.

Current Book

Literacies in Times of Disruption: Living and Learning During a Pandemic - The wide-ranging disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic altered the experiences of place, technology, time, and school for students. This book explores how students’ responses to these extraordinary times shaped their identities as learners and writers, as well as their perceptions of education. My most recent book before this, Literacy Practices and Perceptions of Agency: Composing Identities,  focused on issues of literacy, identity, and perceptions of agency. 

Other Research Interests

Climate Change Education and Rhetoric: I have ongoing interests in digital media technologies and literacy with a current focus on a global climate change education project involving middle school students in different countries.

Community Writing and Writing Centers: Other current projects include work on community writing projects and writing center research. 

I also write creative nonfiction, both as an approach to my scholarly writing and as essays on other subjects. My interest in cross-cultural communication and identity has also taken me to a number of different countries for teaching and research, including the United Kingdom, the Philippines, and Kazakhstan. You can also find further information about my previous books as well as journal and other publications.

Teaching

My teaching is inextricable from my writing and research. I believe that we need to build on the knowledge our students bring into the classroom, and that we can only do this when we listen carefully to what they have to say. Although we cannot prepare our students for every rhetorical or literacy challenge they will meet in their lives, we can work to help them develop a rhetorical awareness that will help them negotiate the unfamiliar writing and reading situations they encounter both inside the classroom and beyond. I have had a broad range of teaching experiences in composition and rhetoric, writing center studies, literature, creative writing, and popular culture. My other passions are playing music, hiking, travel, and movies.

8/23

Contact Information

Department of English
University of Louisville
Louisville, KY 40292
502-852-2186

bronwyn.williams@louisville.edu