Paul Walker

Associate Professor of English
Co-Director, Purchase Area Writing Project

"I try to help students recognize writing as not just a skill, but a method of inquiry that leads to a richer understanding of the world and its complexities. Writing to inquire allows us to explore how our perspectives connect with the ideas of others, while making us more adept at communicating those ideas in various situations.”

Paul Walker

Education

Ph.D.

Arizona State University

M.A.

Northern Arizona University

B.A.

Brigham Young University

Highlighted Publications
“Composition’s Akrasia: The Devaluing of Intuitive Expertise in Writing Assessment.” Enculturation 15 (2013).

“Pausing to Reflect: Mass Observation, Blogs, and Composing Everyday Life.” composing (media) = composing (embodiment). Eds. Kristin Arola and Anne Wisocki. Logan, UT: Utah State University Press, 2012.

“Robert Moses vs. Charles Abrams: Rhetorics of Urban Shelter.” Rhetoric Review 31.3 (2012). 289-308.

“(Un)Earthing a Vocabulary of Values: A Discourse Analysis for Ecocomposition.” Composition Studies, 38.1. Spring 2010.

“Finding the ‘Lovely Lower Purposes’ of Writing.” Writing on the Edge, 20:2. March 2010.

“What Do Students Think They (Should) Learn at College? Student Perceptions of Essential Learning Outcomes.” Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 8.1. (2008): 45-60.

Areas of Specialization

Rhetoric

Composition

Environmental Literature

Professional Writing

Technical Writing

Courses Taught

ENG 105 Critical Reading, Writing, and Inquiry

ENG 226 Argument and Discourse

ENG 324 Technical Writing

ENG 371 Literature and the Environment

ENG 404 Advanced Composition