Teaching

Katie’s teaching philosophy reflects her belief in collaborative learning. She is an advocate and believer in student-centered teaching that promotes learning by both students and teachers, encouraging students to speak in conversation in all types of courses. She believes that it is equally important for students to be both readers and writers, and strives to help students recognize the necessity for using these skills for future endeavors, no matter what the career field. 

She also takes great interest in looking at issues faced by first-year writers in college, as well as an invested interest in professional writing, preparing others to feel confident about their endeavors in and outside the classroom. At the core, she is a creative writer and thoroughly enjoys writing and discussing creative works with her students and directing Rosemont’s minor in Creative Writing. 

A copy of Katie's CV can be found here, with select courses highlighted below.

 WRT 0245: Empowered Through Prose: Do words really hold power in today’s climate? What does it mean to be a writer-activist? How can we use our writing to advocate for and enact social change? These are questions we will seek to answer in this creative writing course. This class will be equally focused on both the craft of writing for social action (and reading) and the practice of workshopping your own work through fiction writing, poetry, creative nonfiction, and community writing. 

WRT 0250: THE POWER OF THE PEN, WRITING ABOUT PLACE, THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA:  A study of the historical and literary works in the city of Philadelphia. Through careful reading, critical thinking, and persuasive writing. students will focus on learning the importance of place in writing. This course also explores modes of writing and rhetoric that had influences past and present writers in the city of Philadelphia. Firsthand visits to literary and historical sites in the city will be included on this course.

ENG 0237 - LITERARY PIONEERS OF NEW ENGLAND: A STUDY OF AMERICAN WOMEN WRITERS, THEN AND NOW

A survey of the origins, rebirth, and resurgence of American Women Writers, past and present, from New England. This course will examine the interactions between these writers and their texts- how each shaped American history, contemporary culture, ethnicity, gender issues, religion, and through language. We will explore their contributions to our understanding of socioeconomic and cultural issues today by reading fiction, poetry, autobiography, essays, diaries, and other written and digital materials.

ENG 0270 - SOCIAL JUSTICE IN MODRN & CONTP LIT

In Social Justice and Contemporary Literature, students will explore literary representations of some of the most challenging and important cultural, historical, and moral issues of our time. Students will study and debate the role of literature in recording and challenging issues in social justice, as well as tensions surrounding inequalities due to race, class, gender, citizenship, war, genocide, (post) colonialism, and/or environmental concerns. The thematic focus will vary. 

ENG 0246 - LITERARY JOURNALISM

An introduction to reporting and writing literary journalism and to the works of its best-known practitioners (including Tom Wolfe, Joan Didion, Gay Talese, John Hersey, and John McPhee). Students will receive intensive instruction on nonfiction story structure, narration, scene-setting, dialogue, and characterization and on advanced interviewing and reporting techniques.