Sara Kelm
Degree and Focus Area
PhD, Rhetoric and Composition
Previous degrees/universities
MA in English, Baylor University
BA in Writing/Literature, George Fox University
Describe your research and its purpose/applications
I study the intersections of personal narrative/memoir, feminist rhetorics, and composition pedagogy. My dissertation argues for the rhetorical value of memoir, by examining the contemporary professional memoirs of women who are public figures in the male-dominated rhetorical fields of American comedy, politics, and protestant Christianity--women like Tina Fey, Ali Wong, Sonia Sotomayor, and Nadia Bolz-Weber. In particular, I examine how these writers build their ethos in their professional memoirs and how their rhetorical choices and the ensuing audience uptake reflect the professional norms of their fields and the societal values of their cultural moments. My master's thesis explored the intersection between composition pedagogy, creative nonfiction (spiritual autobiography), and the spiritual/religious lives of emerging adult undergraduate students.
Conference Presentations
“Funny Girls, Hysterical Women: Ethos Construction in the Contemporary Memoirs of Women Comedians, ” Rhetoric Society of America, June 2020 (conference cancelled due to COVID-19)
“Join the [Multi-Level Marketing] Movement: Women, Leggings, and the Corporate Mythology of LuLaRoe,” Feminisms and Rhetorics Conference November 2019 (Harrisonburg, VA)
“Becoming Ethical Researchers: Graduate Students on the Messiness of Learning Research Methodologies,” Watson Conference on Rhetoric and Composition, October 2018 (Louisville, KY)
“The Values of Resist!ance: Comics Newspaper Resist! as Feminist Epideictic Rhetoric,” Rhetoric Society of America, June 2018 (Minneapolis, MN)
“Arguing Peacefully: Creating a Nonviolent Composition Classroom within a Violent Public Discourse,” Conference on College Composition and Communication, March 2018 (Kansas City, MO)
“A Conversion Narrative: The Effect of Adapting a Narrative from Paper to Audio on Students…”, Conference on College Composition and Communication, March 2017 (Portland, OR)
"Coming to Terms: The Value of Spiritual Identity and Autobiography in the Composition Classroom,” Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture, October 2016 (Waco, TX)
“A Dangerous Liaison: Creative Nonfiction and Spiritual Identity in the Composition Classroom,” Conference on College Composition and Communication, March 2015 (Tampa, FL)
"Sharing What We Know: Celebrate and Participate with the SCWCA Newsletter,” South Center Writing Center Association, March 2014 (Stillwater, OK)
“A Failed Success: Divine Right Davenport as a Hero for the Hippie Counterculture,” SW/TX Popular Culture and American Culture Association, February 2012 (Albuquerque, NM)
Awards/Honors
TCU English Department Graduate Instructor of the Year, 2019-2020
TCU Global Outlooks on Education (GO) Institute Fellow, 2019
TCU Radford Fellow, 2016-2017
Why TCU English?
I chose TCU English because of the department's commitment to both teaching and research through the teacher-scholar model. TCU English has knowledgeable and engaging faculty, valuable professional resources, and a supportive graduate community. My thinking has been challenged, my abilities affirmed, and my scholarly interests encouraged at TCU.
What interests you about being involved in WBH?
WBH is an opportunity to engage with my colleagues, both faculty and fellow students, about recent scholarship, professional careers, and personal identities (and the intersections of all three) in a relaxed and open atmosphere.
Fun Fact?
I desperately wanted a pet hedgehog growing up, but I was forced to settle for hermit crabs instead. (I named one H.C. Dud because he was so boring.)
PhD, Rhetoric and Composition
Previous degrees/universities
MA in English, Baylor University
BA in Writing/Literature, George Fox University
Describe your research and its purpose/applications
I study the intersections of personal narrative/memoir, feminist rhetorics, and composition pedagogy. My dissertation argues for the rhetorical value of memoir, by examining the contemporary professional memoirs of women who are public figures in the male-dominated rhetorical fields of American comedy, politics, and protestant Christianity--women like Tina Fey, Ali Wong, Sonia Sotomayor, and Nadia Bolz-Weber. In particular, I examine how these writers build their ethos in their professional memoirs and how their rhetorical choices and the ensuing audience uptake reflect the professional norms of their fields and the societal values of their cultural moments. My master's thesis explored the intersection between composition pedagogy, creative nonfiction (spiritual autobiography), and the spiritual/religious lives of emerging adult undergraduate students.
Conference Presentations
“Funny Girls, Hysterical Women: Ethos Construction in the Contemporary Memoirs of Women Comedians, ” Rhetoric Society of America, June 2020 (conference cancelled due to COVID-19)
“Join the [Multi-Level Marketing] Movement: Women, Leggings, and the Corporate Mythology of LuLaRoe,” Feminisms and Rhetorics Conference November 2019 (Harrisonburg, VA)
“Becoming Ethical Researchers: Graduate Students on the Messiness of Learning Research Methodologies,” Watson Conference on Rhetoric and Composition, October 2018 (Louisville, KY)
“The Values of Resist!ance: Comics Newspaper Resist! as Feminist Epideictic Rhetoric,” Rhetoric Society of America, June 2018 (Minneapolis, MN)
“Arguing Peacefully: Creating a Nonviolent Composition Classroom within a Violent Public Discourse,” Conference on College Composition and Communication, March 2018 (Kansas City, MO)
“A Conversion Narrative: The Effect of Adapting a Narrative from Paper to Audio on Students…”, Conference on College Composition and Communication, March 2017 (Portland, OR)
"Coming to Terms: The Value of Spiritual Identity and Autobiography in the Composition Classroom,” Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture, October 2016 (Waco, TX)
“A Dangerous Liaison: Creative Nonfiction and Spiritual Identity in the Composition Classroom,” Conference on College Composition and Communication, March 2015 (Tampa, FL)
"Sharing What We Know: Celebrate and Participate with the SCWCA Newsletter,” South Center Writing Center Association, March 2014 (Stillwater, OK)
“A Failed Success: Divine Right Davenport as a Hero for the Hippie Counterculture,” SW/TX Popular Culture and American Culture Association, February 2012 (Albuquerque, NM)
Awards/Honors
TCU English Department Graduate Instructor of the Year, 2019-2020
TCU Global Outlooks on Education (GO) Institute Fellow, 2019
TCU Radford Fellow, 2016-2017
Why TCU English?
I chose TCU English because of the department's commitment to both teaching and research through the teacher-scholar model. TCU English has knowledgeable and engaging faculty, valuable professional resources, and a supportive graduate community. My thinking has been challenged, my abilities affirmed, and my scholarly interests encouraged at TCU.
What interests you about being involved in WBH?
WBH is an opportunity to engage with my colleagues, both faculty and fellow students, about recent scholarship, professional careers, and personal identities (and the intersections of all three) in a relaxed and open atmosphere.
Fun Fact?
I desperately wanted a pet hedgehog growing up, but I was forced to settle for hermit crabs instead. (I named one H.C. Dud because he was so boring.)
