On Research
My research is informed by my multi-faceted perspective as a queer female scholar, as well as my tireless commitment to humanizing, complicating, and otherwise reinventing university systems, teaching methods, and classroom structures.
Innovating | Imagining | Investigating
Brief Research Statement
My research primarily explores the complexities, joys, and intersectional experiences of teaching, mentoring, and rhetorical frameworks. From Writing Program Administration scholarship to queering pedagogical practices, I combine qualitative methodologies to investigate hopeful possibilities, theorize new futures, and build new protocols for being in the classroom and engaging with students. Rooted in a Student Affairs heuristic, my approach to research is collaborative, creative, and implementation-forward.
My research has been recognized in numerous avenues, and I was the recipient of the 2022 Barbara Ellen Smith Award for Outstanding Research. I was also a finalist for the 2023 WAC Clearinghouse Emerging Scholar Fellowship.
Publications
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
Ryan, Mollison. “Re-envisioning the Abstract: Visual Abstracts in Writing Studies.” Kairos, vol. 28, no. 1, August 2023. 10.7940/M328.1.PRAXISWIKI.RYAN
Ryan, Mollison. “Stepping Outside the (Straight) Box: Queering Literacy in the First Year Writing Classroom.” The Sandbox, vol. 1, no. 1, February 2024. Open Access Link.
Ryan, Mollison. “Writing on Riding: The Value of Experiential Learning and Multidisciplinary Experience.” About Campus, vol. 22, no. 3, July 2017, pp. 13–20, doi:10.1002/abc.21291.
Peer-Reviewed Book Chapters
Ryan, Mollison. “A Found Family: Queerness, Becoming, and Methods of Care in Rhetoric and Composition Studies.” Radical Transparency: Perspectives on Graduate Education in Rhetoric and Composition. Ed. by Justin Cook and Skye Roberson. (Accepted, publication forthcoming, expected 2024).
Ryan, Mollison. “Coaching Queerly: Embracing the Joy of Creating Safe Spaces in Writing Center Work.” Where Have We Been, Where Are We Going? Stories About Writing Center Labor.
Ed. by Genie Giaimo and Daniel Lawson Jr.. (Accepted, publication forthcoming, expected 2023).
Clary-Lemon, Jennifer; Grayson, Samira; Mueller, Derek; Pantelides, Kate; Rogers, Christopher; Ryan, Mollison. “Methods in Dialogue.” Evolving Writing Studies: Sustainable Graduate Education in the 21st Century. Ed. by Sarah Henderson Lee and Kirsti Cole. (Expected 2024).
Ryan, Mollison. “Missing the Mark.” With Hope: 18 Inspiring Interviews on Higher Education
in America. Ed. by Frank Shushok. SAGE. (Accepted, publication forthcoming, expected 2024).
Ryan, Mollison. “Inclusion.” Constructing the Threshold: A Reference Work of Concepts between Teaching for Transfer and Teaching Writing. Ed. by Tom Skeen, Mona AlQadi, Allison Ellsworth, and Duane Roen. WAC Clearinghouse. (Accepted, publication forthcoming, expected 2024).
Ryan, Mollison. “Rhetorical Pronia.” Constructing the Threshold: A Reference Work of Concepts between Teaching for Transfer and Teaching Writing. Ed. by Tom Skeen, Mona AlQadi, Allison Ellsworth, and Duane Roen. WAC Clearinghouse. (Accepted, publication forthcoming, expected 2024).
Online Publications
Ryan, Mollison. “The Queer Coach: Affirmation and Discovery of Scholarly Identity Through Writing Center Work.” Another Word. Ed. by Ellen Cecil-Lemkin and Jenny Conrad. University of Wisconsin. May, 2023.
In Progress
“(Un)Questioning Authority: Critical Micropedagogy, Queer Positionality, and Building Trust in First-Year Writing” (Proposal Accepted)
“A Case for Causing a Little Trouble: Developing Queer Positionality Through Disciplinary Homemaking” (Proposal Accepted)
(Untitled) Invited Contribution: University of Illinois Springfield Writing Textbook (Proposal Accepted)
“Abstracting the Future: WAC-Forward Genres and Worldbuilding Pedagogy in the First-Year Research Writing Classroom” (Under Review)
International and National Conference Papers
“Challenging the Deficit Lens: Understanding the Resourcefulness of International Student Writers” Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCCs) Spokane, Washington. April, 2024 (Accepted).
“Radical Reimagining: Enacting A Student-Centered Model of Critical Pedagogy” Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy, Virginia Tech. January, 2024.
“Building From Rubble, Rising From Reason: Tracking Pedagogical Ghosts Past, Present, and Future in a Year of Teaching First-Year Writing” Corridors, The Blue Ridge Writing and Rhetoric Conference, Virginia Tech. October, 2023.
“The Wicked Pedagogue: Dismantling Dominance and Building Radical Accomplicehip in First Year Writing” Feminisms and Rhetorics Conference, Coalition of Feminist Scholars in the History of Rhetoric and Composition. Spelman College. October, 2023.
“All Eyes on Abstracts: Forging the Pronoic Possibilities of Teaching the Visual Abstract in the Composition Classroom.” International Writing Across the Curriculum (IWAC) Conference. Clemson University. June, 2023.
“Wicked, Messy, and Queer: Building a Pedagogy of Compassion and Radical Accompliceship in First-Year Writing.” Women and Gender Studies Conference, Virginia Tech. April 14, 2023.
“Queering Through the Screen: Rhetorical Strategies to Foster Care and Confidence in Virtual Writing Center Environments.” Online Writing Center Association (OWCA) Annual Conference. Virtual. April, 2023.
“A Pedagogical Hauntology: Queerness, Graduate Study, and a Rhetoric of Past Traumas.” Trauma and Nightmare 6th International Interdisciplinary Conference. InMind Support, University of Gdańsk, Poland. March, 2023.
“Scholarly Soulmates: Connection, Kinship, and Placemaking through Mentorship in Rhetoric and Writing Studies.” Coast to Coast Connections 2023 Conference, University of California Davis and University at Albany. March, 2023.
“With Hope: Rhetorical Pronoia, Multidisciplinary Research, and Empathetic Teaching in the First Year Writing Classroom.” GPSS Annual Research Symposium, Virginia Tech. March, 2023.
“Accessibility, Identity, and Expression: Breaking Binaries and (Re)Inventing the Vision of Research Summary Through the Visual Abstract.” Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCCs) Chicago, Illinois. February, 2023.
“Home in the Liminal: Queerness, Pronoia, and Finding an Imaginative Future in Rhetoric and Writing Studies.” SESA Symposium 2022 – Transcending Boundaries: Finding Hope in the Now. California State University. December, 2022.
“Rewriting our Future: Pronoic Storytelling Approaches to Teaching Research Writing in First Year Composition.” Media, Culture, and Society: The Inaugural International Academic Conference of UP Education (Australia and New Zealand), Yoobee College of Creative Innovation, Auckland, New Zealand. December, 2022.
“Rhetorical Pronoia: Speculative Futures in the Composition Classroom.” Corridors, The Blue Ridge Writing and Rhetoric Conference, Virginia Tech. October 2022.
“Queering Invitational Rhetoric: Possibilities for the Composition Classroom.” Politics, Pedagogy, and Performance: Women and Gender Studies Conference, Virginia Tech. April, 2022.
*Recipient of Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award.
Grants
Graduate Student Editorial Assistant. (2023). For the Public Good: Advocating for Higher Education’s Public Promise. Niles Research Grant, Virginia Tech. $6,000. With Dr. Carolyn Commer (Principal Investigator). Responsible for editing book project and ensuring alignment with editorial style and convention.
Graduate Student Researcher. (2022). “Developing Transcultural Competence through Undergraduate
Research in ENGL 1106.” Pathways Grant, Virginia Tech. $10,000. With Dr. Megan Weaver and Dr.
Shakil Rabbi.
Principal Investigator. (2022). “Assessing Pathways Outcomes in English 1105.” Pathways Assessment Mini-Grant. Pathways Program, Virginia Tech.
Fellowships
Cohort Member, Writing Across the Curriculum Faculty Summer Institute, ($1000) 2023
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Selected for participation in multidisciplinary cohort with the purpose of implementing WAC-furthering curricular modeling university wide
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Collaborated with other cohort members to workshop and develop WAC-oriented assignments
Fellow, Virginia Tech Graduate Academy of Teaching Excellence, ($1000) 2023-present
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Selected for highest level of membership for excellence in teaching practices and outstanding student evaluations
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Collaborated with other fellows to bring multidisciplinary programming to GTAs
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Began mentorship program with other fellows
Collaborative Research Experience
Research Team Member, Academic Impressions: Proactive Strategies Managing Diversity and Inclusion Related Incidents, 2019.
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Collaborated with small team to generate materials for international conference
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Wrote case studies with detailed and nuanced analysis of diversity and inclusion related bias incidents on college campuses
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Assisted in preparation of presentations for conference
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Demonstrated in-depth knowledge of university policy and response to bias-related incidents, including assessment of Dean of Students processes, Hokie Handbook, and Student Code of Conduct
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Reported on example incidents with in-depth analysis from cited sources
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Compiled analyses based on multi-media sources with appropriate citations and drew analytical conclusions from sources
Research Team Member, Office of the Senior Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, 2017-2018.
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Personally selected for membership on small team including Senior Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, Director of Student Conduct, and other administrators
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Collaborated on grant writing with the research team
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Participated in publication process for book project
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Coordinated interviews, chapter introductions, and discussion questions from a variety of sources
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Served as point-person for team, managed drafts, and assisted with editing
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Stylized final draft in accordance with publisher style guide
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Edited interviews and introductions extensively in multiple drafts
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Compiled all resources for publication