Michael Michaud
Academic Background
Ph.D. Composition and Rhetoric, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, 2007.
Dissertation: IT Managers, Construction Marketers, and Emergency Medical Technicians: Professional Adult Learners in Higher Education (chair, Thomas Newkirk)
M.A.T. English Education, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 1999.
B.A. English, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, 1996.
I joined the English Department at Rhode Island College in the fall of 2008, having completed my doctorate at the University of New Hampshire in English with a concentration in composition and rhetoric. Most of the courses I teach are writing courses, all of which focus on helping students develop as writers and some of which introduce students to research and scholarship about writing and rhetoric. I teach professional writing, digital and multimedia writing, first-year composition and a range of other writing courses. I also sometimes teach themed courses in which students write about food and eating and/or gender and masculinity.
My research frequently investigates the processes by which people learn to write. An early project focused on the experiences of adult students returning to school, learning or re-learning to produce academic forms of writing. A more recent project investigates the ways in which student-writing interns learn to write in new professional settings. I am also interested in the history of writing instruction in colleges and universities and towards these ends, I am currently working on a project focused on the development of writing instruction at my alma mater, the University of New Hampshire. Finally, because I frequently work with faculty in other disciplines on how to teach writing, I’m also interested in research in the area called Writing Across the Curriculum.
Outside of my teaching and service commitments to the English Department, a significant part of my work at the college comes in the form of my engagement with the RIC Writing Board. I have been chair of the board for several years and via this work I have taken on a professional identity as someone who supports other faculty as they learn to implement effective writing pedagogy. In my capacity as Writing Board chair, I offer seminars, workshops, and one-on-one guidance on how to teach writing in the disciplines. I am the founder and lead-facilitator of the annual Summer Seminar for the Teaching of Writing (SSTW) a weeklong intensive course for faculty on writing pedagogy. Working with faculty in other disciplines has become one of the significant pleasures of my work here at RIC.
Outside of work here at the college, I’m an active tennis player, swimmer, and runner. I have two children whose lives I have been documenting for many years via weblogs or “blogs.” I enjoy cooking for and with family and friends. The beach is a place of special significance for me and I spend many hours at Rhode Island’s beaches—swimming, walking the dog, or just playing with my kids in the sand.
Courses Taught
ENGL 010: Basic Writing Skills
FYW: Introduction to Academic Writing
ENGL 230: Writing for Professional Settings
ENGL 231: Expository Writing
ENGL 232: Writing for Digital and Multimedia Environments
ENGL 378: Studies in Composition
ENGL 460: Seminar in Major Authors and Themes
ENGL 477: Internship in Rhetoric and Writing
ENGL 520: Topics in Composition, Theory, Rhetoric and Language Study
Selected Publications and Works in Progress
Notes of a Native Son.
Intermezzo (spring, 2017).
“Assemblage Composing, Reconsidered.”
In Assembling Composition Eds. Kathleen Blake Yancey and Stephen McElroy. Urbana, IL: NCTE, 2017.
“Who Teaches TPC Service Courses? Survey Results and Case Studies from a National Study of Instructors from all Carnegie Institutional Types.” w/Sarah Read (Programmatic Perspectives, forthcoming, 2017).
“Hidden in Plain Sight: Findings from a Survey on the Multi-Major Professional Writing Course.” w/Sarah Read (Technical Communication Quarterly, forthcoming, 2018).
