Nick Sanders

Nick Sanders

Nick Sanders

Part-Time Faculty

Humanities, Social & Behavioral Sciences

(734) 973-3668LA 353U

Course(s) Taught:


About Nick Sanders

My name is Nick Sanders, I use he/him pronouns, and I'm excited to be serving as a temporary instructional faculty in English here at WCC! I'm originally from upstate New York, where I completed my associates in general studies at SUNY Fulton-Montgomery Community College. I've taught part time in English at WCC since last January 2022. I'm passionate about how we write-- and teach writing-- as a matter of social justice. I bring critical approaches to the teaching of writing, including Black, queer, and feminist theories and stories.

I'm a PhD Candidate in Rhetoric and Writing at Michigan State University, and I will defend my dissertation, "A Rhetoric of White Racial Un/learning," in February 2023. I've been teaching since 2016, and I've taught courses such as, first-year writing, professional writing, antiracist pedagogies, critical media literacy, writing center studies, among others. I've served as Assistant Director of the Writing Center of the Writing Center, where I led staff development in areas of antiracist pedagogy and tutoring, assessment, and community engagement.

Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric & Writing, May 2023, ABD April 2021
College Teaching Certificate, May 2023
Teacher-Consultant, Red Cedar Writing Project, National Writing Project, August 2022
Concentration Area: Administrating Writing: Theory, Research, & Practice
Language Proficiency: Black Language, Rhetoric, & Literacy
Dissertation Title: Divesting White Racial Consciousness: A Rhetoric of Coalitional White Racial Un/Learning
Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan

Master of Arts in English, May 2018
University of Maine, Orono, Maine
Concentration Area: Writing Studies & Writing Pedagogy
Thesis: Toward a Theory of Boundary-ness: Assignments and Perceptions of Agency in the College Writing Classroom

Bachelor of Arts in English, May 2016
The College of Saint Rose, Albany, New York

Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts & Sciences (with Honors), May 2014
Fulton-Montgomery Community College, Johnstown, New York

Journal Articles:

Smith, T., Sanders, N., Meadows, B., Baugh, R., & Hawks, A. (September, 2023) Histories, Failures, and Accountabilities: Queer Stories of Administrative Coalition. Peitho: Journal of the Coalition of Feminist Scholars in the History of Rhetoric & Composition, Special Issue: Coalition as Commonplace. Proposal submitted.

Sanders, N., Pouncil, F., Pregent G., Smith T., Aguliar-Smith, S. (June, 2023) Making Good on Our Promises to Language Justice: Spheres of Coalitional Possibilities across the Discipline. College Composition and Communication. Revisions submitted.

Sanders, N. & Smith, T. G. (2022). Nancy Grimm’s Good Intentions Twenty Years Later and the Work Ahead. Writing Center Journal.

Aguliar-Smith, S., Pouncil, F., & Sanders, N. (2022). Departing To a Better World: Advancing Linguistic Justice Through Staff Professional Development. The Peer Review, vol. 6, no. 1.

Pouncil, F., & Sanders, N. (2022) The Work Before: A Coalitional Alliance Heuristic to Move Toward Black Futures in Technical Communication. Technical Communication Quarterly, Special Issue: Black Technical and Professional Communication, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 283-297.

Chapters in Edited Books and Textbooks:

Sanders, N., Pregent, G., & Bauer, L. (in press). Orienting Public Pedagogues: A Black Feminist Approach to Community-Engaged Writing Center Work. Public Feminisms: Community Engagement through Writing, Research, and Activism, edited by Carrie Baker and Avivia Dove-Viebahn.

Sanders, N. Writing Histories, Writing Futures: A Guide to Analyzing Literacy and Identity. Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, Volume 4. Revise & Resubmit. Open access textbook chapter. Revision submitted.

Sanders, N. Making Scyborgs in Undergraduate Consultant Education: Learning Projects for Queer Writing Center Futurities. In Smith, T., Dixon, E., & Pouncil, F., Queer Writing Center Praxis. WAC Clearinghouse. (invited submission). Initial draft submitted.

Sanders, N. & Wansitler, C. Queering Professionalization of Graduate Writing Center Administrators as Campus Leaders, in Eds., Bond, C., Bracewell, J., Moroski-Rigney, S., Roper, K., & Faison, W., Writing Center Administrators as Campus Leaders. Proposal accepted.

Hawks, A., & Sanders, N. Fostering Linguistic Consciousness through Response Practices: Perspectives from a Writing Center with Commitments to Language Justice, in Eds. Blewett, K. & Post, J. Reconceptualizing Response: Using Instructor Feedback to Promote Equity and Linguistic Justice in the Writing Classroom. Accepted. Initial draft submitted.

Teaching Materials

Sanders, N. (July 2021). Writing as Inquiry – “Writing Selves/Writing Futures: Language, Power, & Socialization. Gayle Morris Sweetland Digital Rhetoric Collaborative. Syllabus & Calendar.

Book Review Essays
Sanders, N. (2020). Rereading the Reading Problem in English Studies. Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, Composition, and Culture, vol. 20, no. 3 (Spring 2020). pp. 563-568. Book Review.

Sanders, N. (2018). Securing Composition’s Disciplinarity: The Possibilities for Independent Writing Programs and Contingent Labor Activism. Composition Studies, vol. 46, no. 1 (Spring 2018). pp. 166-174. Long-Form Review Essay.

Creative Nonfiction
Sanders, N. (2016). Fathers, Sons, and Guns. Thoughtcatalog.com. Creative Nonfiction.

Anti-racist approaches to curriculum, program administration, and teacher/tutor development; community literacy and community engagement; language justice and coalition building; critical whiteness studies; critical media literacy; language and literacy studies; research method/ologies; technical and professional communication; document design; grant writing; writing program administration; writing center administration; teaching writing at the two-year college

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