Sarah is a Senior Lecturer and the Coordinator of Social Media for the Department of English at The University of Texas at Arlington where she teaches composition and literature. Her research interests include the materiality of classrooms and of reading and writing processes, posthumanism, posthumanist pedagogy/education, composition and writing studies, speculative fiction, contemporary literature, young adult literature, feminism, fat studies, disability theory, agential realism, and post-qualitative inquiry. Her work in disability and fat studies has been published in Fat Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society. She holds a BA in English from UT Austin and an M.Ed. in Teaching from UTA.

Current Classes: Spring 2023

Past Classes

Flyer for a Spring 2020 American Literature course called Reading in Community: 21st Century American Literature. There is a picture of a #bookstagram feed where books and objects are pictured in a collage of about 15 images. The text description of the course reads: Despite fears about social media ruining our language and brains, eReaders killing print, and brick-and-mortar bookstores dying out, reading and books (especially print and audio) are enjoying a resurgence. Through connections built via platforms like Instagram, YouTube, blogs, podcasts, fanfiction, Amazon publishing, and indie bookstores, more and more readers are discovering and joining both broad and niche “bookish” groups that make reading and talking about reading a community affair. In this American Literature course, we’ll not only engage 21st century texts but also interact with them (and other readers) via many of these 21st century ways of reading in community. Though we will write a traditional essay, students will also choose several other projects in other media such as blogging, podcasting, curating a #bookstagram acount, writing fanfiction and more. This course is active instead of lecture-based and students should be prepared to participate in class discussion, group work, in-class activities, and creative projects. This is not a survey course and will cover contemporary American works in multiple genres (e.g., fiction, film, television, poetry, graphic novel, podcast, essay, memoir, etc.). It meets Mondays and Wednesdays from 1 to 2:20 PM in the Spring of 2020.
Flyer for a Fall 2019 Advanced Exposition. There's a picture of an open notebook, pen, and two books: Steven Pinker's The Sense of Style and one about bookshelves. Above the picture is the course description: An advanced writing course emphasizing writing that explains, demonstrates, or explores a subject. Attention given to audience, invention, arrangement, style, and revision. Prerequisite: C or better in ENGL 1301 and ENGL 1302. English 3371 is a demanding upper level English course where we will think, write, and talk about our own writing, the writing of others, and the ways in which writing has been taught historically. The main objectives are to hone our own style and craft, build a process toolbox to take with us for our future careers and enjoyment, and to understand writing as a conversation in context with other voices. You should be prepared for a considerable amount of writing/composing, both in class and out, formal and informal, every week; like any activity, sport, or other skill, the only way to improve writing is to write (and to read) as often and for as many different reasons as possible. Though we’ll write a more traditional magazine-style expository piece, you’ll also get to experiment with other media and modes of publication (e.g., podcasts, YouTube, blogs, etc.). This is a low-lecture, workshop-intensive class that centers on group work, discussion, and in-class activities. The class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2 to 3:30 PM in the Fall of 2019.
Flyer for an American Literature course called Becoming in America. An image of Michelle Obama's memoir called Becoming is above the course description: Starting with Michelle Obama’s recent memoir, Becoming, and working with a variety of genres (fiction, poetry, movie, non-fiction, etc.) the class will spend the first half of the semester exploring stories of living and being—or “becoming”—in the US. For the second half of the semester, each student will choose an “American story” (a novel, memoir, biography, etc.) to study and research in-depth. Using this primary text along with secondary whole-class readings and discussions, students will propose and create a final project that presents their research and analysis of these stories to the class. This course is active instead of lecture-based and, in addition to traditional essays, students should be prepared to participate in class discussion, group work, in-class activities, and creative projects. This is not a survey course and will cover American works that focus on the theme of becoming. A quote from the book says: “Even when it’s not pretty or perfect. Even when it’s more real than you want it to be. Your story is what you have, what you will always have. It is something to own.” The class meets Monday and Wednesday from 5:30 to 6:50 PM in the Fall of 2019.