Christine Alfano

Bio

Christine Alfano is the Associate Director of PWR and has been a lecturer in the Program since 1998. She holds a BA from Brown University and PhD from Stanford and specializes in digital media rhetoric, video game studies, and technologies of writing. In her recent PWR courses, “The Rhetoric of Gaming" and “Networked Rhetoric,” Christine challenges students to explore how writing in different digital modes (from collaborative Google texts to social media posts and multimedia compositions) transforms the modern practice of communication and how we represent ourselves online and off.

Her ongoing research project involves studying effective pedagogical applications of technology for composition studies in the classroom; however, her recent interest is in supporting FLI students and others as they transition into the college environment. In the past, she received a grant from the Vice Provost for Online Learning (VPOL) to develop a series of video activities designed to support writers in their writing process and also received a Hoagland Curricular Innovation grant with a team from PWR to help develop and pilot an innovative writing studio class to support multilingual student writers.

She is the co-author (with Dr. Alyssa O'Brien) of the Envision textbook series, the most recent editions being Envision: Writing and Researching Arguments, 5th edition, and Envision In Depth, 4th edition.

Academic Appointments

• Senior Lecturer, Writing and Rhetoric Studies

Administrative Appointments

• Associate Director, Program in Writing and Rhetoric (2014 - Present)
• Writing Specialist, History Department (2013 - 2014)
• Assistant Director, Program in Writing and Rhetoric (2007 - 2010)