2025 Thomas Huckin Distinguished Lecture

The Department of Writing & Rhetoric Studies is proud to announce this year's Thomas Huckin Distinguished Lecture. 

Guest lecturers Dr. Jennifer Sano-Franchini, Dr. Megan McIntyre, and Dr. Maggie Fernandes present “Unpacking Generative AI Refusal in Higher Education.” This lecture focuses on refusal as a principled and rational response to the incursion of generative AI products in higher education. The speakers will discuss, contextualize, and expand on their website, Refusing Generative AI in Writing Studies. As they do so, they will further unpack what it means to refuse generative AI in higher education, particularly at a time when our democracy hangs in the balance.

Join us on April 24th in LNCO 2110 at 3:30pm.

Refreshments will be served in the LNCO lobby after the lecture.

Learn more about out lecturers:

Jennifer Sano-Franchini (she/her) is the Gaziano Family Legacy Professor and an associate professor of English at West Virginia University. Her research and teaching interests are in the cultural politics of user experience design, technical communication, Asian American rhetoric, and the rhetorical work of institutions. She has published widely and currently serves as Chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication.

 

Maggie Fernandes (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Composition at the University of Arkansas. Her scholarly expertise is in digital/cultural rhetorics, writing assessment, institutional oppression, and user experience design. Her work has been published in Computers and Composition, Composition Studies, Enculturation, Kairos, and Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric. 

 

Megan McIntyre (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Composition and Director of the Program in Rhetoric and Composition at the University of Arkansas. Her scholarly interests include digital rhetoric and writing, antiracist pedagogy and writing program administration, and postpedagogy.