Dr. Eric Stottlemyer
Teaching Professor, Associate Dean for the Engaged Liberal Arts
stottlem@wfu.edu
Much of my work in the writing classroom and in my scholarship is centered on contemplative pedagogy and environmental rhetoric. I have found that introducing contemplative practices in the classroom empowers young writers, many of whom struggle to find an authentic voice amid the rhetorical demands of academic writing and formal academic argument. My loftiest goal is to provide my students with opportunities to fall in love with writing. Not all of them will. But behind all the choices we make about infrastructure, scaffolding, and revision—the choices that provide the bones to any piece of writing—is a kind of magic. It’s a magic of language and communication, identity and connection, and for many young writers, this magic translates into a nascent power of expression. In my research, I’m interested in how we communicate about the environment, and especially how the words we use shape our attitudes toward, and our relationships with, the natural world.