English

Amy Mossman

Amy Patrick Mossman

Professor

Sustainability Studies; Ecocriticism; Rhetoric; Writing Studies; Env. Communication
Ph.D. Rhetoric and Scientific and Technical Communication

Amy received her doctorate in Rhetoric and Scientific and Technical Communication from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities with a focus in environmental rhetoric. She also holds an M.A. in Literature and Environment from the University of Nevada, Reno and a B.S. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in Geology and Earth Systems. At Western, she teaches environmental humanities, rhetoric, and writing courses (first-year writing and professional writing). Her research interests originate at the intersection of environmental sustainability and rhetoric. Her upcoming project will examine the links between contemporary pagan belief systems, environmental ethics, and activism: the ways in which eco-pagans define and express their environmental ethic and their relationship to the nonhuman in their discourse and rituals, and how they balance the more self-focused aspects of personal development and well-being with the expressed commitment to the greater environment. 

Select Courses

  • American Nature Writing
  • College Composition I & II
  • Contemporary Theories in Rhetoric and Composition
  • Environmental Discourse and the Rhetoric of Sustainability
  • Environmental Literature
  • Grant and Proposal Writing
  • History of Writing Studies
  • Literature of Place
  • Professional Editing
  • Rhetorical Grammar
  • Rhetorical Theory and Criticism
  • Technical Communication

Publications

“Retrofitting the Ivory Tower: Engaging Global Sustainability Challenges through Interdisciplinary Problem-Oriented Education, Research, and Partnerships in US Higher Education.” Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, Mar 2018, vol 22, no 1, pp. 35-60.

“V Is for Voices: Engaging Student Interest, Sustaining Student Thinking and Writing in Today’s Writing Classrooms with Fountainhead Press’s V Series.” Composition Forum Spring 2012, vol 25. Online.

“Sustaining Writing Theory.” Composition Forum 21 (February 2010). Online. Rpt. in The Best of the Independent Rhetoric and Composition Journals: 2010. Eds. Steve Parks and Brian Bailie. Anderson, SC: Parlor Press, 2011.

“Apocalyptic or Precautionary? Revisioning Texts in Environmental Literature.” Coming into Contact: New Essays in Ecocritical Theory and Practice. Eds. A. Ingram, I. Marshall, D. J. Philippon, and A. Sweeting. Atlanta: U of Georgia P, 2007. 141-53.

Additionally, her poetry has appeared in Flyway, Magnolia, Mizna, and Anchor Magazine.