My CV

I’m Laura Leigh. I’m a 4th year in the PhD Rhetoric and Writing Studies program at BGSU.

Education

Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH

  • PhD, English (Rhetoric and Writing Studies) (2019-present)
  • Currently a 4th year student in the program
  • Research interests: Weaponization of rhetoric in the media, rhetoric and the law, feminist rhetoric in popular culture

Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester, NH

  • Master of Arts, English and Creative Writing (2015)
  • Fiction thesis: Seven chapters of science fiction novel completed

University of Toledo, College of Law, Toledo, OH

  • Juris Doctor(2002)
  • Admitted to Michigan State Bar (2002)

Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH

  • Bachelor of Arts, Psychology (1999)

Higher Education Teaching Experience

Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH

  • Graduate Assistant, University Writing Program
  • Courses taught:
    • WRIT 1110: Seminar in Academic Writing (face-to-face)
    • WRIT 1120: Seminar in Academic Research (face-to-face/online)

Monroe County Community College, Monroe, MI

  • Adjunct Faculty, English (August 2016 to August 2017; May 2018 – present)
  • Full-time Faculty, English (one-year temporary position, August 2017 to May 2018)
  • Courses taught:
    • ENG 090: Basic Writing Skills (face-to-face)
    • ENG 151: English Composition I (face-to-face, online, and summer sessions)
    • ENG 152: English Composition II (face-to-face and summer sessions)
    • HUMAN 151: Intro to Humanities (face-to-face)

Tiffin University, Tiffin, OH

  • Adjunct Faculty, English (August 2016 to December 2016)
  • Courses taught:
    • ENG 142: Rhetoric and Academic Writing (English Composition II) (face-to-face)
    • ENG 291: British Literature I (Old English through the Restoration) (face-to-face)

Higher Education Administrative Positions

Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH

  • Graduate Assistant, Webmaster/Social Media Assistant (Summer 2020 – Summer 2022)
  • Updated and created website pages for English Department; created and updated BFA Thesis page which includes uploading/editing/captioning of BFA student video presentations; regular communication with faculty and staff; regular postings to English Department social media pages on Facebook and Instagram of upcoming events and news.

Fellowships

Digital Rhetoric Collaborative, University of Michigan (2021-2022)

  • Attended monthly meetings with other fellows and leadership team; maintained DRC social media accounts; created DRC Instagram account
  • Created and edited a podcast with Laura McCann (Carnegie Mellon) about digital research methods and methodologies; interviewed four individuals in the field of digital rhetoric.

Publications

“Navigating Dual Identities as Doctoral Student and TA/RAs at Bowling Green State University”

  • Publication forthcoming in Threshold Conscripts: Rhetoric and Composition TAships
  • Co-authored with Neil Baird, PhD, Daniel V. Bommarito, PhD, Annie Cigic, Rachel Flynn, Emma Guthrie, Travis Hein, Krys Ingman, Morgan McDougall.

Digital Exhibits

“The Other ‘Othered’: Bodily Rhetoric and the Women of Ravensbrück Concentration Camp”

“Embodiment and Femininity: The Complexity of Femininity During World War II”

“Memory, Memories, and Public Memory at BGSU“

Conferences, Workshops, Showcases:

National:

Computers and Writing Conference, May 19-22, 2022, Practicing Digital Activisms

  • Greenville, NC/Virtual; Concurrent mini-workshop/roundtable with other Digital Rhetoric Collaborative Fellows titled: “Digital Assignments with the DRC: Toward a Pedagogy of Accessibility, Ethics, and Activist”
  • My portion of the mini-workshop/roundtable included a pre-recorded virtual discussion with Alyse Campbell (Univ. of Michigan) and Laura McCann (Carnegie Mellon) on the ethics involved in digital assignments.

CCCC Annual Convention, April 7-10, 2021, panel cancelled when conference moved to virtual due to COVID-19

  • Spokane, WA/Virtual; Would have presented a concurrent panel with Rachel Flynn (BGSU) and Annie Cigic (BGSU) titled: “Promoting Learning Amidst Student Resistance through Labor Based Assessment”
  • My portion of the panel included discussion of invisible student resistance (students resist engaging fully in the coursework or reading materials and doing what is needed to pacify the instructor in order to pass the class), and the instructor’s role in diminishing it including the use of labor-based grading contracts.

Popular Culture Association National Conference, April 17, 2020 – Cancelled due to COVID-19

  • Philadelphia, PA; Would have presented paper “Powerful Women, Sexual Agency, and Science Fiction: The Heterosexual Script in Another Life.”

Local:

21st Century Englishes Conference, November 6-7, 2020 – Co-Chair of Conference

  • Bowling Green State University; Co-Chaired Conference with Annie Cigic and Rachel Flynn.
  • Co-created theme and CFP for conference: Critical Divides: Coming Together in Crisis.
  • Headed accessibility committee.
  • Updated website to accommodate for a virtual conference which included adding pages with accessibility documents, pre-recorded and poster presentations, virtual meeting links and recorded meetings, keynote speaker page and link to recorded address.
  • Created RSVP link to track attendees.
  • Moderated the panel: “Now You Hear Us”: Transmodal Approaches for Refugee Learners in Online Contexts.

BGSU Grad Student Spotlight, March 12, 2020

  • Presentation title: “Celebrated Evil: Media Rhetoric and Serial Killers” (presented initial dissertation ideas and received feedback from PhD faculty and other PhD students)

The Ray Browne Conference for Popular Culture Studies: Collections, Curation, and Collectors: An Exploration of Gathering, March 7, 2020

  • Bowling Green State University; Presented paper. “The Rhetorical Value of Nostalgia in Star Wars LEGO Collections.”

21st Century Englishes Conference, November 2, 2019

  • Bowling Green State University; Workshop with Muhammad Alamri, Clayton Chiarelott, Annie Cigic, Rachel Flynn, Emma Guthrie, Travis Hein, Morgan McDougall, “Researching, Writing, Teaching: Using Archival Photo Collages as a Metaphor to Explore Historical Research Methods.”

Professional Development

  • “Saying No So You Can Say Yes: Time Management Strategies”
    • 2019 Attendee, Rhetoric and Writing Brown Bag Series, Bowling Green State University
  • “Popular Culture in Post-Secondary Writing and Pedagogy”
    • 2019 Attendee, 21st Century Englishes Conference, Bowling Green State University
  • “Art and Creative Writing in/as Scholarship: Creative-Critical Approaches to Research and Pedagogy”
    • 2019 Attendee, 21st Century Englishes Conference, Bowling Green State University
  • “Write What You Know: Exploring Trauma in Cross-Genre Research and Writing”
    • 2019 Attendee, 21st Century Englishes Conference, Bowling Green State University

Awards and Honors

  • 2017, Nominated for Adjunct Faculty of the Year, Monroe County Community College
  • 2001 Nathan Burkan Memorial Copyright Competition [sponsored by the American Society of Composer, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP)], 2nd place winner for “The Case Against Napster”

Service

To the institution:

  • Rhetoric Society of the Black Swamp (RSBS), Member/Officer, 2019-present
    • Bowling Green State University Rhetoric Society of America (RSA) Chapter
  • 21st Century Englishes Conference, Co-Chair, 2020
    • Rhetoric and Writing Studies, Bowling Green State University
  • 21st Century Englishes Conference, Committee Member, 2019
    • Rhetoric and Writing Studies, Bowling Green State University
  • 21st Century Englishes Conference, Proposal Reviewer, 2019
    • Rhetoric and Writing Studies, Bowling Green State University
  • WRIT: Journal of First Year Writing, Submissions Reviewer, 2019-2020
    • University Writing Program, Bowling Green State University
  • One Book, One Community, Committee Member, 2017-18
    • Social Sciences and Humanities Division, Monroe County Community College
  • One Book, One Community, Book Selection Sub-Committee Member, 2017-18
    • Social Sciences and Humanities Division, Monroe County Community College

Other Professional Experience

  • Menard Law Office, LLC, Toledo, OH
    • Owner/Head Attorney (May 2011 to December 2014)
    • Bankruptcy/Debtor Law and Social Security Law
  • Frego & Associates, PLC, Dearborn Heights, MI
    • Senior Associate Attorney(December 2006 to May 2011)
    • Bankruptcy/Debtor Law
  • Stephen A. Thomas, PLC, Detroit, MI
    • Associate Attorney(February 2003 to December 2006)
    • Bankruptcy/Debtor Law and Social Security Law