Kathleen E. Welch

Prof. Welch is the author of Electric Rhetoric: Classical Rhetoric, Oralism, and a New Literacy (MIT Press, 1999) and The Contemporary Reception of Classical Rhetoric: Appropriations of Ancient Discourse (Erlbaum, 1990). Her articles on classical rhetoric, contemporary rhetoric, composition theory, technology, literacy, and women's writing have appeared in Written Communication (1988), Journal of Advanced Composition (1988), Browning Institute Studies (1988), College Composition and Communication (1987), Rhetoric Society Quarterly (1987, 1986), Rhetoric Review (1987), and in many collections of essays, including Writing Histories of Rhetoric (ed. V. Vitanza), Learning from the Histories of Rhetoric (ed. T. Enos), and A Short History of Writing Instruction (ed. J. Murphy).

At the undergraduate level, Prof. Welch teaches writing and literacy, including freshman writing. At the graduate level, she teaches classical rhetorical theory, twentieth-century rhetoric and composition theory, current technology and literacy studies, feminist theory, and historicized rhetoric. Her teaching "centers on privileging the production of student writing and then working through histories and theories of discourse that enable students to write more powerfully in an expanded repertoire."

Prof. Welch serves on nine national and international editorial and advisory boards, including the Coalition of Women Scholars in the History of Rhetoric and Composition (she was the founding president, from 1990 to 1995); the Rhetoric Society of America (president, 1995-97; board member for ten years); the Executive Council of the International Society for the History of Rhetoric (1997-2001); the Advisory Board of Publications of the Modern Language Association (1996-99); the Association of Teachers of Advanced Composition (president, 1989-91); Advances in the Study of Rhetoric (1997-2001); the Encyclopedia of Rhetoric (1992-96); and the Board of Visitors, Ohio State University, Department of English (2000-2).

Prof. Welch has been a visiting professor at the University of Colorado, the University of Utah, and Texas Christian University; a visiting scholar at M.I.T.; and a distinguished visiting professor at Ohio State University. She has presented over sixty-five papers at international and national conferences (twenty-two of them invited for plenary sessions).

Contact:
Office: Cate 2, Room 314
Email: kwelch@ou.edu

Research and Teaching Interests:
Writing and literacy; classical rhetorical theory; twentieth-century rhetoric and composition theory; current technology and literacy studies; feminist theory; historicized rhetoric

Bookshelf:
Electric Rhetoric: Classical Rhetoric, Oralism, and a New Literacy (MIT Press, 1999)  
The Contemporary Reception of Classical Rhetoric: Appropriations of Ancient Discourse (Erlbaum, 1990)