Michael J. Faris

Hailing from rural Iowa, I am currently working on my PhD in rhetoric and composition in the English Department at Penn State. After growing up on a farm, I went to Iowa State, where I earned a BA in English Education and a BA in History. I taught middle school reading and language arts for two years, which was a joy and great experience. Afterwards, I traveled west and earned my MA in English at Oregon State University, where I wrote my master's thesis on using blogs in the composition classroom.

I taught a variety of courses at Oregon State, including

• First Year Composition
• Business Writing
• Technical Writing
• Intro to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies

I also have experience working in the writing center and as the assistant to the director of the Writing Intensive Curriculum at Oregon State.

While here, I've taught 

• English 15: Rhetoric and Composition
• English 15: Rhetoric and Composition for LEAP
• English 30: Honors Rhetoric and Composition (themed: Language, Technology, and Culture)
• Liberal Arts 101H: Rhetoric and Civic Life
• English 202C: Technical Writing

My research interests within rhetoric are varied, but generally I work at the intersections of technology and rhetoric. I'm an avid blogger and user of social networking sites, and I'm a huge advocate of using technology (critically and rhetorically) in the composition classroom.

Fall 2010 Office Hours

Tuesdays 1:00-2:30

Wednesdays 11:00-12:30