The Rhetoric and Composition Reading Group, which is affiliated with TCU's Winifred Bryan Horner Rhetoric Society of America chapter, met at Dr. Carrie Leverenz's house for their last meeting of the semester. There, members exchanged cookies they baked and discussed Heather Lindenman et al.'s "Revision and Reflection: A Study of (Dis)Connections between Writing Knowledge and Writing Practice."

This semester the group chose recent readings coming from prominent journals in the field (Kairos, CCC, and RSQ). Conversations for each meeting centered around how we can all find ways to engage with current trends in rhetoric and composition.

Next semester, the group will be reading recent publications from TCU faculty. Faculty will discuss their papers and the publishing processes they all went through, which should prove helpful for graduate students.

One of WBH's missions is to provide a space for members to navigate our program and the larger field of rhetoric and composition. This past meeting, members gathered to hear from a panel on preparing for and taking PhD qualifying exams at TCU. Panelists included Whitney Lew James, Tim Ballingall, and Dr. Brad Lucas. Each presenter started by speaking generally about their exam experience, but most of the time was devoted to allowing WBH members to ask questions and (hopefully) dispel their own fears.

Panelists received and answered questions concerning such topics as: 1. How to choose exams committee members and a chair. 2. When to start thinking about exams. 3. Why panelists (if they had a choice) chose one exam format over another (i.e. portfolio exams vs. timed exams). 4. What general process panelists followed for constructing their lists, taking notes, and keeping track of all of the information.

Other faculty and students who had taken exams also weighed in, describing their experiences and reassuring those in the audience that exams do not have to be painful and, while certainly not fun, can be generative.

This Fall, TCU's Winifred Bryan Horner (WBH) Rhetoric Society is holding most of its meetings at the University Pub near TCU's campus. The casual atmosphere provides a great space for rhetoric and composition faculty and graduate students to discuss current research in the field.

This week, the group discussed Laurie Gries's Kairos article "Mapping Obama Hope: A Data Visualization Project for Visual Rhetorics." Along with Gries's piece, the group spoke to general merits and concerns of digital scholarship and publication. 
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Next time, the group will meet for a cookie exchange and read Heather Lindenman et al.'s "Revision and Reflection: A Study of (Dis)Connections between Writing Knowledge and Writing Practice."

TCU's Winifred Bryan Horner Rhetoric Society of America (WBH) had their first meeting Thursday, Sept. 6, from 12:30 - 1:30. Before the meeting members collaborated on a list of successful (accepted) proposals submitted to Rhetoric/Composition conferences. During the meeting, members shared their experiences with conferences - applying to them, presenting at them, and networking with scholars in our field at them. Dr. George and Dr. Leverenz offered helpful advice for graduate students thinking of submitting proposals to and/or attending Rhetoric Society of America (RSA) and Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC), respectively. Dr. Enos, Dr. Hogg, and Dr. Helms also gave advice on these and other conferences in our field.

At the next meeting (Oct. 18), veteran graduate students will "demystify" the exams process, speaking to processes such as creating exams lists, deciding on the structure of and writing their exams, and just making something as scary as doctoral exams seem...less scary. Finally, on Nov. 29, members will meet one last time before the close of the semester for WBH's Draft-a-palooza, a designated hour for members to work on final projects alongside faculty members who will also be working on papers of their own.

What do rhetoric graduate students and faculty at TCU do for fun before a new school year kicks in? They do an escape room and share a meal and conversation together in Fort Worth. Dr. Ann George suggested the event, remembering fondly camp rhetorics she participated in as a graduate student at Pennsylvania State University. TCU's version of the event may have only lasted a day, but it gave students and faculty a chance to collaborate and engage in ways they don't often get to during the busy academic year.

The festivities occurred in Fort Worth's "Magnolia" disctrict. The TCU campers split up into teams and escaped three challenging rooms at Fort Worth Escape and then moved on to Brewed for dinner. As the semester gets underway, students and faculty in TCU's rhetoric program know they have a community and network of support to lean on.

(Photos courtesy of TCU alumna and OSU-Newark faculty Elizabeth Weiser)

This June, at the Rhetoric Society of America's (RSA) 18th Biennial Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, TCU students, faculty, and alumni gathered for a special purpose in addition to sharing their research: Celebrating Dr. Enos who received the Cheryl Geisler Award for Outstanding Mentor. Every year the conference meets, rhetoric and communications scholars and teachers across the nation nominate faculty for this award. After the ceremony, TCU students, faculty, and alumni gathered with Dr. Enos for a private celebration, organized by Dr. Ann George. 

To all who know Dr. Enos, RSA's decision to honor him with such an award comes as no surprise. "You know, God only gives you 24 hours in a day," is a common refrain that can be heard outside of his office in Reed. With "only" 24 hours, Dr. Enos manages to find all the time in the world for his students and colleagues.

Thank you, Dr. Enos.

(Spoiler alert: You are worthy.)

Two upcoming events for the ole packed calendar:

RHET/COMP READING GROUP: Friday, March 23 at 1 p.m. in Reed 135. We'll be discussing Maggie M. Werner’s 2017 Rhetoric Review article, “Deploying Delivery as Critical Method: Neo-Burlesque’s Embodied Rhetoric.” 

CONFERENCE PROPOSAL WORKSHOP: Thursday, March 29 at 12 p.m. in Palko 225. We'll look at the CCCC 2019 CFP and talk about what makes an effective and successful conference proposal. If you want lunch, email our fearless leader Nick Brown by Monday at 11 a.m.!

We were privileged to have Dr. Shari Stenberg visit TCU in February to give the second annual Winifred Bryan Horner Memorial Lecture in February 2017. In her talk "'Tweet Me Your First Assaults': Writing Shame and the Rhetorical Work of #NotOkay," Dr. Stenberg analyzed the rise of the hashtag #notokay, which women used to share their experiences of sexual assault around the time of the release of President Trump's Access Hollywood tape and the 2017 election. Dr. Stenberg explored how shame can be a source of political emotion, rhetorical agency, and revisionary work, By writing shame, sexual assault survivors can foster connections, challenge the normalization of assault, and reveal the emotional habitus that silences women.

Following Dr. Stenberg's lecture, we had a lively seminar discussion in which we talked about online spaces, participation, pedagogy, vulnerability, difference, and rhetorical theory. The next day, Dr. Stenberg joined RCRG to discuss her article "Teaching and (Re)Learning the Rhetoric of Emotion," though our conversation ranged far afield of her article (as RCRG discussions frequently do). Additionally, many of us had the opportunity outside of these formal meetings to spend time with Dr. Stenberg and ask further questions about her research and teaching.

We enjoyed having Dr. Stenberg on TCU's campus, though the time seemed all too short. We appreciate her taking time out of her busy teaching and research schedule to leave the chilly Nebraskan north to join us in Texas for a few days. Dr. Stenberg's trip was made possible by the RSA's 2017 Student Chapter Special Event Funding Award and the Radford fund. Special thanks to RSA and the Radford Chair and WBH advisor Dr. Richard Enos.

The WBH RSA is excited to welcome Dr. Shari Stenberg to campus for our second annual Winifred Bryan Horner Memorial Lecture on February 15, 2018. Join us for her lecture and the following seminar (or one of the two events)! RSVP to n.brown [@] tcu.edu by noon on February 13 to receive lunch.