Rhetoric & Composition (English MA, PhD)

Marshall Martin

Greetings! I am a rhetoric and composition PhD student and a graduate teaching assistant in the First Year Composition Program here at USF. I received both my BA in philosophy and MA in English from Slippery Rock University in my home state of Pennsylvania. The academic disciplines I was a part of during my undergraduate and early graduate studies led me directly to the sub-discipline of rhetoric and composition. During my MA program, I served as a graduate assistant to the dean of the College of Liberal Arts, where I obtained invaluable administrative knowledge and experience. My research interests include writing program and institutional administration, labor conditions within English studies, attention and screen time management, and composition theory. I enjoy trying new cuisines, being with my family and friends, and traveling whenever I get the chance.

Yulia Nekrashevich

Hello there. I am a PhD student studying rhetoric and composition. I graduated from Barry University with a bachelor’s in professional writing and received my master’s in rhetoric here at USF.

I am mainly interested in Mikhail Bakhtin’s writings on dialogue and the Carnivalesque. Previously, I did research on the Carnival and how it changes cultural hegemony. I am now studying the rhetoric of queer theory and applying my knowledge and skills into this area of focus, with the goal of learning and using methods that challenge social norms.

Michelle Sonnenberg

Michelle Sonnenberg is a second year PhD student studying rhetoric and composition whose interests include the rhetoric of science, the anthropocene, and global climate change. Michelle received her undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus. Her undergraduate degree is in geography and GIS with a focus on water resources. She earned a master of liberal arts from USF St. Petersburg campus focusing on American environmental nonfiction and climate change. At USF, Michelle intends to explore the relationships between humans, nonhumans, and our planet. She sees rhetoric as a tool to engage in effective communication for creating productive change in a time of climatic global unrest. She intends to spend her career exploring interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary pedagogical approaches to rhetoric and the environment. 

On top of teaching and learning, Michelle enjoys exploring the great outdoors, traveling, rain, and the Appalachian Mountains. She is raising a band nerd and a gamer while corralling a dog and three cats. She hopes to include chickens again.