Cristina Ramirez

PhD - Rhetoric and Writing Studies

Curriculum Vitae

Cristina Ramirez

8639 Wells
El Paso, TX 79907
915.373.5988 Mobile
cdramirez@utep.edu
www.cristinadramirez.com

Academic Preperation

University of Texas at El Paso

Dissertation: Claiming the Discursive Self: The Rhetoric of Mexican Women Journalists, 1876-1940

Committee: Beth Brunk-Chavez, dissertation director, Rhetoric and Writing Studies
Carol Clark, 2nd reader, Rhetoric and Writing Studies
Sam Brunk, 3rd reader, History, 20th Century Mexican History

Dissertation Abstract:

Claiming the Discursive Self: The Rhetoric of Mexican Women Journalists, 1876-1940 introduces women rhetors who participated in not only in creating a Mexican national identity, but also constructed that identity to insure women’s place in history as well as in their current and future politics. Framed as a rhetorical historiography, this study fills a space in rhetorical history that has recently turned its gaze toward Latin American rhetors/rhetorics. It closely examines the rhetorical strategies of Mexican women unknown to rhetoric, such as Laureana Wright de Kleinhans (1846-1896), Hermila Galindo (1885-1954), Juana Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza (1875-1942), and a group of women from 1900, las mujeres de Zitácuaro. These women employed their discourse to traverse the borders of gender identification, impacting the ideas in culture, politics, religion, and feminist beliefs.

This dissertation examines unrecognized writings by Wright de Kleinhans, such as a history of notable Mexican women titled, Mujeres Notables Mexicanas. Also considered are primary documents I located on three research trips to archives in Mexico. These documents from 1900 bridge the reform writings of Wright de Kleinhans to the revolutionary era writings of Gutiérrez de Mendoza and Galindo. The scope and sequence of this project provides an in depth understanding of late nineteenth and early twentieth century Mexican women rhetors/rhetoric, demonstrating that they were not static individuals in rhetorical history, but strategic rhetors, who projected their voices in an intellectual conversation on identity creation.

Master of Arts - English Education | May 2004
University of Texas at El Paso

Thesis: Voice in Writing: History, Analysis and Pedagogy
Committee: Keith Polette, thesis director, English Education
Doug Meyers, 2nd reader, English Education
Greg Rocha, 3rd reader, Political Science

Bachelor of Arts - English Literature with a Minor in Spanish | December 1993
University of Texas at El Paso

Post-Doctoral position - June 2009 - Present
In a post-doctoral position at UTEP, I am working as a research and writing specialist for The National Center for Border Security and Immigration (NCBSI), a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funded Center of Excellence. NCBSI’s mission is to develop a HS education program based on the needs of the agency’s employees. I am involved in a nation-wide Education Needs Survey, which I participated in developing to determine the needs of Homeland Security employees. I am traveling around the country to survey the employees of Border Patrol, Customs and Immigration Services, Transportation Security Administration, Secret Service, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As a key member of the team which developed the survey, I am administrating and presenting this survey at agency locations around the country and also within the university setting. Through the research and work of this position, I have gained experience in quantitative research, extensive public speaking opportunities, and administrative experience in managing a grant.

Publication

“Forging a Mestiza Rhetoric: Mexican Women Journalist’s Role in the Construction of a National Identity.” College English 72.1 (2009).

Presentations

“Discovering Spaces for Writing: The Need for Writing Instruction in Law Enforcement.” Rhetoric Society of American Frontera Retórica Chapter. University of Texas at El Paso, September, 2009. Invited.

“Improving Peer Review with On-line Technologies.” International Sun Conference on Teaching and Learning. University of Texas at El Paso, February, 2009.

"Mestiza Rhetoric: The Rhetoric of Mexican Women Journalists (1876-1940)," Presentation by invitation given at Florida State University. January, 2009.

“Writing the Personal Statement: Open Doors to Graduate Schools with Narrative.” Professional and Scholastic Development for Undergraduates Workshop. University of Texas at El Paso, November, 2008.

“Recovering Lost Rhetorics: The Feminist Manifesto of Las Mujeres de Zitácuaro.” Feminist Rhetorics and Social Justice Research Forum with Karlyn Kohrs Campbell, Syracuse University, October 2008.

“Mestiza Rhetoric: Mexican Women Journalists and Activists 1876-1940.” Retórica Frontera Symposium and Open House, University of Texas at El Paso, April 2008.

“La Direción de Estudios Retóricas en los Estados Unidos / The Direction of Rhetorical Studies in the United States.” Meeting with Director of Culture of the State of Durango, Mexico, Gonzlo Salas, and Director of Library and Archives, Oscar Jiménez Luna, Durango, Dgo., Mexico, March 2008.

“Service Learning: A Graduate Student’s Experience.” Border Learning Conference, Las Cruces, NM, February, 2008.

“Juana Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza´s Turn of the Century Mexican Feminist Civic Discourse.” Feminisms and Rhetorics Conference, Little Rock, AK., October 2008.

“On the Border of Transforming Race, Pedagogy and Community.” Race and Pedagogy National Conference. University of Puget Sound, September 2006.

“Machela O’oba: A New Beginning for Man: A Cross Border Non-Profit Organization.” Lineae Terrarum: International Border Conference. University of Texas at El Paso, March 2006.

“Narratives Bridging Borders: Cross Border Writing Collaboration.” Second Annual Border Literacy Festival, University of Texas at El Paso, December 2003.

“Teaching an Ancient Genre of Argumentation: The Fable.” West Texas Writing Project Spring Conference, University of Texas at El Paso, February 2002.

Teaching Experience

University of Texas at El Paso

Summer 2003 and Spring 2005-Spring 2009

Department of English, Rhetoric and Writing Studies
Assistant Instructor

Work Place Writing and Organizational Communication 3355
Technology Enhanced, Computer Classroom
As part of the program’s push to realign the writing curriculum, the Work Place Writing and Organizational Communication course was restructured to emphasize rhetorical theories of workplace writing. The course positions students as knowledge workers in distributed work and classroom environments, has them discuss and respond to current rhetorical theory, and engage in meaningful research. I have been involved in the piloting of this new course, teaching three sections, and contributing my own unique pedagogical approach.

Teaching Grammar and Through Writing 3303
Technology Enhanced, Computer Classroom
I developed and implemented the syllabus of this English Education based course. The class took a three tier pedagogical approach. The first component of the course surveyed the current research on teaching grammar in the classroom from grades K – College. In the second part of the course, I taught grammar in the context of writing, taking a rhetorical approach. And lastly, the students developed lessons to use in their future classrooms.

Writing Processes of Children 4354
Across the nation, writing is at the center of cognitive development and learning in each discipline, also known as Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC). Writing Processes of Children introduces teachers from any discipline with the pedagogical techniques to teach writing to their future students in the K -12 classrooms. I introduced future teachers how to engage their students in writing activities that are context based, meaning that the students first read to write, which produces richer and more complex texts. The culminating project asks the students to write a process oriented lesson that they can immediately use in their classes.

Research and Critical Writing 1312
Realigned Rhetoric and Writing Studies Curriculum
Technology Enhanced, Computer Classroom

Expository English Composition 1311
Realigned Rhetoric and Writing Studies Curriculum

El Paso Community College Rio Grande Campus

Summer 2005 and 2006

English Faculty Adjunct Instructor

Expository English Composition 1301
Technology Enhanced, Computer Classroom

El Paso Independent School District

1993 – Spring 2005

Full-Time Instructor
Henderson Middle School | Grades 7 – 8
Lincoln Middle School | Grades 7 – 8
El Paso High School | Grades 9 – 12 and Dual Credit

Related Work Experience

International Research Trips to Durango, Durango, Mexico | April 2008, March 2007, December 2006
One of the Mexican women journalists I am researching, Juana Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza, was born in San Juan del Río, Durango January 27, 1875, and I took several trips to the region in order to find primary research material for my dissertation. On the first trip to Durango, Dgo., Mexico, I foolishly did not bring any advanced technology, such as a digital camera or a computer. I did not know that I was going to find such an extensive archive as the one I found in the public library of Durango. On the first trip, though, I traveled to San Juan del Río, Durango and located Gutiérrez de Mendoza’s baptismal record, an important primary document. On the second and third trips, I brought an advanced digital camera and took pictures of the newspapers, such as a 1900 communist newspaper called La Bandera Roja, a newspaper that I have not been able to locate in any other documents or archives. From these two trips, I have created my own extensive digital archive of various historical newspapers that I referenced and shared for research.

Writing Tutor and Lab Coordinator | Aug. 2004 – May 2005
El Paso High School
Because of my graduate work, and my experience with the West Texas Writing Project, I was selected to work closely with the writing lab. In the lab, I worked with students from grades 9 -12 on writing projects, monitored the opening and closing of the lab, scheduled classes, and introduced students to writing in digitally enhanced environments. I worked with a Smart Board on various occasions, demonstrating the use of writing in real world situations.

Children’s Literature Conference | Fall 2004
Coordinator and promoter
As coordinator of this conference, I was in charge of assuring that the conference, attended by 300 + people, started and ended smoothly. The coordinating job involved advertising, securing the venue, ordering the food, organizing and distributing the packets, and recruiting volunteers to work at the conference.

West Texas Writing Project | Summer 2002 – 2003
Assistant Director
As Assistant Director in the West Texas Writing Project, I provided support in many areas, such as coordinating the summer program, and presenting lessons. On several occasions, I planned and carried out writing retreats, accompanied and presented with the Directors in the Central Texas Region where we discussed current issues of our Writing Project, and consulted with members of the Texas Education Agency. Part of my Master’s Thesis was adopted as a component of the West Texas Writing Project curriculum guide.

Community Book Promoter and Sales Director | Fall 1997 - 2001
1997 - 2001 focused in underprivileged El Paso Communities
After working four years at Henderson Middle School, which is situated on the Mexican border, I proposed incorporating Scholastic Book Fairs to promote literacy while raising funds to purchase books for the classroom. For four years, I coordinated book fairs with the entire school, aligning class schedules for visits, encouraging the PTA’s involvement, advertising the fair to the surrounding community, and handling the monies. In 1999, we were recognized for the fourth highest book sales in the El Paso region.

Honors and Awards

Graduate School Dodson Doctoral Fellowship | Spring 2008
The Dodson Doctoral Fellowship is an endowment from Lee and Harriet Dodson Estate established at the University of Texas at El Paso in order to assist doctoral candidates in their final semester of studies. Each year, six doctoral candidates are selected from a pool of applicants to receive funding for time off to concentrate on and complete the dissertation.

Teachers for a New Era Carnegie Research Grant | Spring 2006
This project was carried out under the auspices of Keith Polette. I was charged to write the research proposal and seek IRB Board approval. The plan involved visiting classrooms of model teachers, videotaping their lessons, and sharing them as case analyses in the college education classroom. Mr. Jim Marshall, ESL instructor at Guillen Middle School, located less than one mile from the Mexican border, served as my main model teacher. He presented lessons on how he has successfully raised ESL student’s test scores to passing in only one year’s time.

Outstanding Graduate Award | Fall 2004
University of Texas at El Paso

Community Work

Citizenship Fair, ACORN | Summer 2007 and 2008
ACORN is an active not-for-profit organization in El Paso, Texas, educating low income earners on home ownership, and providing legal services to immigrants. Twice a year, they hold a Citizenship Fair that welcomes immigrants to bring their residency paper work to be filled out free of charge. For two summers, I participated in the fair, filling out ten to twelve N-400 forms on each occasion.

Writing Internship with not-for-profit organization, AVANCE | Fall 2007
The Rhetoric and Writing doctoral program required that we complete a writing internship with a not-for-profit organization of our choice. I chose to work with AVANCE, an organization whose mission is to help parents learn English skills that will help them break the cycle of poverty. I connected my research on Mexican women to the mostly female students at AVANCE. I conducted lessons to promote critical thinking about the English they were learning, which lead the students to develop strategies for using their English skills in their community. Some of the strategies they developed and implemented were translating bills for their neighbors, and accompanying their friends to parent/teacher meetings to serve as a translator.

Eliminating Racism, Empowering Women | Fall 2007
Leadership Institute – YWCA
Selected through a nomination, I participated in a Leadership Institute that required its participants to organize and implement a community project. Our group decided to raise money for two scholarship award of a thousand dollars. When we distributed the project’s jobs, I elected to visit several high schools to publicize the scholarship and offer first-hand assistance in writing the application essay. I recruited, mentored, and directed several students on how to write and present their scholarship papers.

International Research Trip | Fall 2005
In order to write the paper on the cross-border non-profit organization of Machela o’Oba, which means new beginning for man, for the international border conference of Linea Terrarum held at the University of Texas at El Paso in Spring of 2006, I traveled with Moises Guerrero, the founder, and Dr. Neil Devereaux to Chihuahua Mexico to see first-hand the work the organization was involved with. On the first stop in Chihuahua, we interviewed several government officials, Diputado Beto Pérez and Diputado Comaduran, and asked them questions about the treatment, advancement, and political standing of the indigenous people of Chihuahua. The organization of Machela o’Oba was a program started to give money directly to the indigenous people of Guerrero, Creel, and other areas, money directly from American and Mexican sponsors in order to continue an education in Mexico that is not paid for by the government after the eighth grade.

Research and Teaching Interests

Rhetorical History
Border Studies
Latin American Rhetorics
Composition and Writing

Coursework

Concentration Courses
Postmodern Rhetorics | Dr. Helen Foster
Independent Research: Mexican History, 1876 – 1940 | Dr. Samuel Brunk
Special Topics in Rhetoric and Composition (Contemporary Rhetorics) | Dr. Stacey Sowards

Foundational Courses
Introduction to to Rhetoric and Writing Studies | Dr. Beth-Brunk Chavez
Community Literacy Internship | Dr. Isabel Baca
Borderlands History | Dr. Kate Mangelsdorf
Graduate Writing Workshop | Dr. Yolanda Chavez

References

Beth Brunk-Chavez, PhD
Associate Professor
University of Texas El Paso
English/Rhetoric and Writing Studies
Hudspeth Hall 220
El Paso, TX 79986
915.747.5797
blbrunk@utep.edu

Victor Villanueva, PhD
Professor/Director of American Studies
University of Washington – Pullman
Wilson Short 111a
PO Box 644013
Pullman, WA 99164-4013
509.335.2680
victorv@wsu.edu

Clarol Clark, PhD
Associate Professor
Fullbright Scholar
University of Texas at El Paso
cclark@utep.edu
915.747.6244

Greg Rocha, PhD
Associate Professor / Political Science
University of Texas at El Paso
Benedict Hall 305
El Paso, TX 79968
915.747.7977
grocha@utep.edu

Helen Foster, PhD
Associate Professor
University of Texas El Paso
English/Rhetoric and Writing Studies
Vowell Hall 101
El Paso, TX 79968
915.747.6623
hfoster@utep.edu

Joel Bollinger Pouwels,PhD
Associate Professor
University of Central Arkansas
World Language, Literature and Culture
Irby Hall 207
201 Donaghey Ave. | Conway, AR 72035
501.4505644
joelp@uca.edu

Pete Juarez
Assistant to Associate Superintendent
El Paso Independent School District
6531 Boeing Dr.
El Paso, TX 79925
915.881.2700

Robert Stakes
Associate VP of UTEP Library
University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, TX 79968
915.747.5683
rlstakes@utep.edu

Cristina Devereaux Ramirez: cristina@cristinaramirez.com