Department of English

Academic Specialty:

• Cultural, digital, and feminist rhetorics
• Multimodal composition theory and pedagogy
• Appalachian studies and critical regional rhetorics

Education:

• Ph.D. English, University of Arkansas
• M.A. English Education, Appalachian State University
• M.A. Appalachian Studies, Appalachian State Univeristy
• B.A. English, Brenau Women's College

Selected Publications:

Co-authored. “Haute Appalachia: Wine and Wine Tourism.” The Food We Eat, the Stories We Tell Contemporary Appalachian Tables. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2019.

“Digital Rhetorics of Appalachia and the Cultural Studies Classroom.” Appalachia Revisited: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives on Regional Continuity and Change. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2016. 

"[E]ppalachia: Rural Ethos, Online Discourse, and Cyber-Frontiers." The Appalachian Journal vol. 41.3-4 (2014).

Across the Disciplines vol. 11.3 (2014). Co-edited with Heidi Harris. Special issue on innovative, multimodal, and multidisciplinary composition at rural, regional, and satellite institutions.

Introductory essay. Across the Disciplines vol. 11.3 (2014). Co-authored with Heidi Harris.

"Feminist Composition Pedagogies and the Hypermediated Fractures in the Contact Zone." Composition Forum vol. 25 (2012).

"The Web Surfer: What (Literacy) Skills Does It Take to Surf Anyway?" Composition Forum vol. 21 (2010).

"The Irony of YouTube: Politicking Cool." Harlot: A Revealing Look at the Arts of Persuasion vol. 3 (2009).

Rev. of Who Owns School?: Authority, Students, and Online Discourse, by Kelly Ritter. Computers and Composition vol. 28 (2011) 73-75.

Rev. of Literacy, Sexuality, and Pedagogy: Theory and Practice for Composition Studies, by Jonathan Alexander. Journal of International Women's Studies vol. 10.2 (2008): 226-230.

Conference Papers:

Plenary Speaker. “Bottling Steep Slopes: Mediating the Historical, Cultural, Regional, Recreational, and Environmental Subjectivities of Appalachian Mountain Vineyards.” 46th International Conference of the Austrian Association for American Studies; University of Innsbruck, Austria. November 22–24, 2019.

“Trauma-Informed Writing Program Administration: Leading Even When the House Is on Fire.” Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC); Spokane, WA. April 7-10, 2021. 

“In Troubling Times: Trauma-Informed Writing Program Administration.” Council of Writing Program Administrators (CWPA); Reno, NV. July 19-20, 2021.

Panel Organizer and Discussant. “Many Hands: Collaborative Writing Program Administration as Inclusive Practice.” Council of Writing Program Administrators (CWPA); Baltimore, MD. July 25-28, 2019. 

Roundtable Organizer and Discussant. “Farming, Foodways, and Regenerative Community Organizing in the North Carolina High Country.” 42nd annual Appalachian Studies Association Conference; Asheville, NC. March 14-17, 2019.  

“Reproducing Europe: The Old World Wine Rhetorics of a New World Wine Region.” 8th Euroacademia International Conference – Europe Inside-Out: Europe and Europeanness Exposed to Plural Observers; Lucca, Italy. September 20-30, 2018. 

"Locating the Vineyard: Heritage Aesthetics and the Farm-to-Table Menu." Popular Culture Association and American Culture Association Conference; San Diego, CA. April 12-15, 2017.

"The Humble Table: Vitis Vinifera and Haute Cuisine." Appalachian Studies Association Conference; Blacksburg, VA. March 9-12, 2017.

"Adapting Appalachia and Bending the Frame: Wine Rhetorics of a New Regional Wine Trail." Popular Culture Association and American Culture Association Conference; Seattle, WA. March 22-25, 2016.

"The Regional Wine Trail: Identity Rhetorics and New Appalachian Landscapes." Appalachian Studies Association Conference; Sheperdstown, WV. March 18-20, 2016.

"Thinking Big on a Small Campus: Innovative Composition at Regional, Branch, and Satellite Institutions" (organized and convened this special panel). Conference on College Composition and Communication; Tampa, FL. March 18-21, 2015.

"Risking Exclusion: WPAs Who Innovate and Differentiate on Isolated Campuses." Conference on College Composition and Communication; Tampa, FL. March 18-21, 2015.

"On & Off The Grid: Multimodal Composition and Digital Humanities at Rural, Regional, or Branch Universities." Pacific American Modern Language Association; San Diego, CA. Nov. 1-3, 2013.

"[E]ppalachia: Marxist Feminism, Cyber-frontiers, and Rural Ethos." Ninth Biennial Feminisms and Rhetorics Conference; Stanford University. Sept 25-28, 2013.

"Rural Universities, Composition Classrooms, and Multimodal Literacies." Appalachian Studies Association Conference; Boone, NC. March 28-30, 2013.

"Mending the Cracks: Inside the Hypermediated Fractures of the Undergraduate Writing Classroom." Conference on Digital Collaboration in the Academy & Beyond; Kingston, Ontario. May 11-13, 2012.

"Digital Appalachia: Rural Ethos, Online Discourse, and Cyber-frontiers." Appalachian Studies Association Conference; Indiana, PA. March 23-25, 2012.

"The Hypermediated Fractures in the Contact Zone." Northeast Modern Language Association Composition Panel; Rochester, NY. March 15-18, 2012.

"The Affordances and Constraints of 'Doing' Multimodal WPA Work at Rural Institutions." Council of Writing Program Administrators Conference; Baton Rouge, LA. July 14-17, 2011.

"Beneath the Bandwidth: How, Why, and When Feminist Pedagogies and Digital Media Intersect Inside the Academic Composition Classroom." Feminism and Teaching Symposium; Nottingham, England. April 8-9, 2011.

"Re/considering Composition Studies' Lingering Hesitations about Digital Literacies" (organized and convened this panel). Conference on College Composition and Communication; Louisville, KY. March 17-20, 2010.

"The Stigma of Web Surfing: Critical Digital Literacy and the New Literacies Our Students Might Teach Us." Conference on College Composition and Communication; Louisville, KY. March 17-20, 2010.

"I'll Meet You Behind the Words: Identity Politics in Language" (organized and convened this panel). Expanding Literacy Studies: An International, Interdisciplinary Conference; The Ohio State University. April 3-5, 2009.

"Seeking Ethos in the Rhetoric of Obama, Clinton, and McCain: Literacy as Agency as Our Students Learn to Talk Back Online to Politics." Expanding Literacy Studies: An International, Interdisciplinary Conference; The Ohio State University. April 3-5, 2009.

"The New Work of First-Year Composition: Remixing Attitudes about Digital Literacy" (chaired this session). Expanding Literacy Studies: An International, Interdisciplinary Conference; The Ohio State University. April 3-5, 2009.

"Getting Words out of the Way: Is There Space on the Page for Identity?" (organized and convened this panel). Conference on Literature and the Humanities; The University of Arkansas. March 27-28, 2009.

"'Rage Against the Machine': When Our Students Contest e-Rhetoric and the Borders of Digital Discourse Communities." Conference on Literature and the Humanities in Arkansas; The University of Arkansas. March 27-28, 2009.

"Language, Power, and Identity: Modern Composition Theory and the Freshman College Composition Classroom." Appalachian Studies Association Conference; Huntington, WV. March 29, 2008.

Follow this link to view Jessie Blackburn's full CV.