Bio


I received my B.A. in English from Yale University and my Ph.D. from Stanford's Program in Modern Thought and Literature. My dissertation looked at how a single text, Uncle Tom's Cabin, was re-mobilized by various social and political actors after the Civil War to construct a variety of contradictory positions on slavery, civil war, and political activism. In that spirit, I approach writing as a performative act not just for authors but for audiences. My work on science communication is similarly concerned with the way shifts in audience and context create challenges for science writers both popular and professional. Apart from teaching in PWR, I am the Artistic Director and Non-Fiction Editor for Aunt Lute Books, an independent press located in San Francisco. I am the co-editor of the two -volume Aunt Lute Anthology of U.S. Women Writers.

Academic Appointments


  • PWR Advanced Lecturer, Writing and Rhetoric Studies

Professional Education


  • PhD, Stanford University, Modern Thought and Literature (2000)

Current Research and Scholarly Interests


SPECIALIZATION: Rhetoric of Science and Technology, Science Communication, Publishing as Process and Institution