Elisabeth Whitehead
Associate Teaching Professor
whitehe@wfu.edu
I am coming to writing studies with a background in poetry and psychology. After finishing my undergraduate studies in Psychology at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, I worked in a homeless shelter in Washington D.C. where I counseled homeless veterans, provided literacy tutoring, and conducted my first writing workshop. It was here that I began to fully comprehend the power and privilege inherent in language and literacy, in its ability to heal, to educate, to arm, protect, and give voice. I am interested in the intersection between rhetoric, psychology, social justice, and the art of language (in its music, materials, meaning, and textures, and the ways in which it connects to effective advocacy). Increasingly, I am also exploring contemplative practices in higher education, such as exercises in mindfulness, to help promote greater insight, creativity, depth, and focus in the classroom. I have graduate degrees in Creative Writing from both the University of Montana and the University of Iowa’s Writers’ Workshop.