Gold University of Minnesota M. Skip to main content.University of Minnesota. Home page.

university of minnesota


 

  

graduate minor in literacy
& rhetorical studies

description

requirements

advising


selected students & sample programs

 

 

 

requirements

Our goal is to encourage students to contribute to interdisciplinary activity and to create a forum for them and several dozen faculty members at the University whose research and teaching emphasize various facets of writing and communication. By crafting an individualized program of study, including theory, pedagogy, and research, often in a historical context, students can complement their disciplinary degree, and thereby open up new perspectives for their scholarship and teaching.

A Master’s Minor requires three graduate courses or seminars (9 credits minimum), one from each of the following categories: literacy theory or practice, including pedagogy; research methods and practices in one of the areas of the Minor; and a historical topic, e.g., history of the book, or rhetoric, or literacy. Students must also write a substantial paper that emerges from one of the three courses.
Go to masters planning form

A Doctoral Minor requires a minimum of four graduate courses or seminars (12 credits minimum). Three courses must be in each of the categories enumerated above for the Masters Minor. In addition, after those three courses have been completed, students must take either a capstone writing seminar specifically offered for the Minor, or a seminar that involves a substantial term paper or a completed dissertation chapter on a topic related to the Minor. In order to make the Minor interdisciplinary, no more than one of the three courses at the master's level, or two of the four courses at the doctoral level, may be from the students home department.
Go to Ph.D. planning form

advising

All minor students are advised by the minor DGS, Donald Ross, and are encouraged to speak to other students as well as the following contacts:.

Donald Ross
Director of Graduate Studies, LRS Minor
Professor, Departments of Writing Studies and English
207 Lind Hall
207 Church Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
rossj001@umn.edu

Tom Friedrich
Graduate Assistant, Center for Writing
Graduate Student in Literacy Education
LRS Minor Student
frie0275@umn.edu

Kirsten Jamsen
Director, Center for Writing
10 Nicholson Hall
216 Pillsbury Drive SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
kjamsen@umn.edu

selected students & sample programs

Susan Meyers, a Master's student, constructed her minor around composition, praxis, and gender by taking the following classes.

Literacy Theory or Practice
Linguistics: Introduction to Language Acquisition

Research Methods and Practices
Sociolinguistics: Histories of Literacy, Rhetoric, and Composition

Historical Topic
Seminar in Literacy, Composition, and Rhetoric: Gendered Rhetorics

Sara Berrey focused on American literacies by taking the following classes:

Literacy Theory or Practice
Womens Studies: Feminist Pedagogies

Research Methods and Practices
Journalism: Research Methods in Mass Communication

Historical Topic
English: Seminar in Cultural Theory and Practice—Material Text

Capstone Seminar
American Studies: Topics in American Studies—Liberal Virtues

Elizabeth Leer maintained a pedagogical emphasis taking the following classes:

Literacy Theory or Practice
Womens Studies: Feminist Pedagogies

Research Methods and Practices
Work, Community, and Family Education: Foundations of Inquiry

Historical Topic
English: Teaching Writing in the College Years

Capstone Seminar
English: Seminar in Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy Studies

Liza Allen focused on culture and communication, constructing the minor with the following classes:

Literacy Theory or Practice
English: Introduction to Composition Research and Theory

Research Methods and Practices
Teaching English as a Second Language: English for Special Purposes

Historical Topic
Comparative Studies in Discourse and Society: The Academic-Knowledge Enterprise—Discourse, Practices, Institutions

Capstone Seminar
Rhetoric: Topics in the Rhetoric of Science and Technology

 

10 Nicholson Hall
216 Pillsbury Drive SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455

writing@umn.edu
612.626.7579
fax 612.626.7580
The Center for Writing appreciates acknowledgments for reproduced or adapted materials found on this site. Please send comments or queries to writing@umn.edu. ©2003 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. The U of M is an equal opportunity educator and employer.
Trouble seeing the text?
 |  Contact U of M  Privacy  Last modified on May 6, 2008 .
center for writing home