Michael Harker
Associate Professor, Director of the First Year Writing Program, Director of the Writing Studio English- Education
Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2010
- Specializations
History and Theory of Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy Studies
- Biography
Michael Harker's research and teaching interests include rhetorical theory and history, writing studies, literacy, aging, and archival studies. His most recently published book, The Archive as Classroom (co-edited) was an honorable mention for the "2019 Computers and Composition Distinguished Book Award." The second edition of his scholarly monograph, The Lure of Literacy: A Critical Reception of the Compulsory Composition Debate was published in 2016 by SUNY Press and reviewed in College English and Literacy in Composition Studies (see publications).
In addition to his scholarly books, Michael has published articles in College Composition and Communication, Writing Across the Disciplines, Literacy in Composition Studies, Computers and Composition: An International Journal, Computers and Composition Online, and Composition Forum. His most recently published book chapter, "Presence as Participation: Reflections on COVID 19's Impact on a Graduate Seminar at an Urban Research University" (co-authored with Georgia State graduate students, Keaton Lamle and Rachel Woods) appeared in the collection, Go Online! Reconfiguring Writing Courses for the New Virtual World (Peter Lang Publishing, 2022). In February of 2023, Michael presented on critical archival studies alongside his co-authors at Writing Research Across Borders in Trondheim, Norway.
In addition to teaching first-year writing and graduate seminars focused on literacy studies and writing program administration, Michael Harker is Director of Georgia State's First-Year Writing Program and The Writing Studio. He is also Co-Director of The Digital Archives of Literacy Narratives (DALN), a publicly available research archive of literacy narratives for which Georgia State University is a Contributing Partner and Sponsor. Email: [email protected]
- Publications
The Archive as Classroom: Pedagogical Approaches to Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives. With Ben McCorkle and Katie Comer. Forward by Cynthia Selfe, Scott DeWitt, and H. Lewis Ulman. Utah State University Press/Computers and Composition Digital Press. January 2019. (HONORABLE MENTION: DISTINGUISHED BOOK AWARD, Computers and Composition, 2019.)
The Lure of Literacy: A Critical Reception of the Compulsory Composition Debate. Albany: SUNY Press. January 2016. Paperback edition.
Reviews of The Lure of Literacy:- Kirk Branch’s review of The Lure of Literacy in College English
(2017) - Meaghan H. Brewer’s review of The Lure of Literacy in Literacy in Composition Studies (2018)
- Interview with WABE about The Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives
The Lure of Literacy: A Critical Reception of the Compulsory Composition Debate. Albany: State University of New York (SUNY) Press. January 2015. Print. Published Articles and Those Accepted for Publication:
“Unruly Practice: Critically Evaluating The Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives.” With Kathryn Comer and Ben McCorkle. Across the Disciplines. SPECIAL ISSUE: Unsettling Archival Research Across the Disciplines: Engaging Critical, Communal, and Digital Archives. Eds. Gesa Kirsch, Caitlin Burns, and Walker P. Smith. Spring 2021.
“Heuristic-Based Learning and Doctoral Preparation: Revising Georgia State University’s PhD Exam in Rhetoric and Composition.” With Ashley J. Holmes and Lynee Lewis Gaillet. Composition Forum 45, Fall 2020.
“Coming of Age in the Era of Acceleration: Literacy Narratives and Composing
Temporality.” With Douglas Hall. Literacy in Composition Studies. Special Issue: Composing a Further Life. Eds. Lauren Bowen and Suzy Rumsey. Fall 2018.“The Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives as Public Utility.” With Ben McCorkle. Composition Forum. Special Issue: Public Writing in Composition. Summer 2017. Digital.
“The Digital Literacy Narratives of DMAC: Developing Contexts, Experiences, and Identities.” With Matthew Sansbury. Computers and Composition Online. Special Issue: CIWIC, DMAC, and Technology Professional Development in Rhetoric and Composition. Spring 2015. Digital.
“The Pedagogy of the Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives. A Survey.” With Kathryn Comer. Computers and Composition: An International Journal. Vol. 35. (65-85). March 2015. Print.
“The Legibility of Literacy in Composition’s Great Debate: Revisiting ‘Romantics on Writing’ and the History of Composition.” Literacy in Composition Studies. Vol. 1, No. 2. October 2013. Digital.
“The Ethics of Argument: Rereading Kairos and Making Sense in a Timely Fashion.” College Composition and Communication. Vol. 59. No. 1 (77-97). September, 2007. Print.
Published Book Chapters and Those Accepted for Publication:
“Presence as Participation: Reflections on COVID-19’s Impact on a Graduate Seminar at
Urban Research University.” With Keaton Lamle and Rachel Woods. Go Online! Reconfiguring Writing Courses for the New Virtual World. Eds. Laura Gray-Rosendale and Steven Rosendale. Peter Lang Publishing. January 2022.“Strengthening Faculty Community: Intradisciplinary Reciprocal Mentorship to Support Innovative Teaching.” With Ashley J. Holmes, Gina Caison, Mary E. Hocks, Melissa McLeod, and LeeAnne M. Richardson. Scaling Up Student Success. Eds. Jeffery Gale and Denise Domizi. Rowman and Littlefield, 2021. Spring 2021.
“The Success of This Course Depends on Your Participation: Technology, Topoi, and Infrastructure in the Era of MOOCs.” Co-authored with Mary Hocks and Matthew Sansbury. The Rhetoric of Participation: Interrogating Commonplaces in and Beyond the Classroom. Eds. Banaji, Blankenship, DeLuca, Obermark. Computers and Composition Digital Press/Utah State University Press. February 2019. Digital.
“Stories within Stories: Making the Personal Public and the Public Personal with the Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives.” With Paige Arrington and Ben McCorkle. Getting Personal: Teaching Personal Writing in the Digital Age. Ed. Laura Gray-Rosendale. Albany: SUNY Press. January 2018.
Pedagogical Publications:
Commonplace: A Citizen’s Guide to Persuasion for an Age that Desperately Needs One. Co-authored with Scott Lloyd DeWitt and Aaron McKain. McGraw Hill Companies and Learning Solutions, 2008. Digital“Made Actual Through Pain: A Literacy Documentary.” With Aaron McKain and Cormac Slevin.” Multimodal Composition: Resources for Teachers. Cynthia Selfe. Ed. Hampton Press, 2007. Digital.
“What’s at Stake?”Multimodal Composition: Resources for Teachers. Cynthia Selfe. Ed. Hampton Press, 2007. Digital.
- Kirk Branch’s review of The Lure of Literacy in College English