Lisa Arnold

My name is Lisa Arnold, and I have a PhD in Rhetoric and Writing Studies from the University of Louisville (Kentucky, US, 2011). Since 2015, I have worked at North Dakota State University (Fargo, US). My first academic position was at the American University of Beirut (Lebanon).

Please visit my website to learn more about my research, teaching, and community work

My research focuses on global and multilingual sites of writing pedagogy and practice. I approach my research through both contemporary (qualitative) and historical (archival) lenses. My research has been published in various book chapters and journals of the field, including College Composition and Communication, College English, Research in the Teaching of English, and Composition Studies. I am the author of a single-authored book,An Imagined America: Literacy, Identity, and Coloniality at Syrian Protestant College, 1866-1920 (University of Colorado Press/WAC Clearinghouse, 2025), as well as a co-editor of Emerging Writing Research from the Middle East-North Africa Region (University of Colorado Press/WAC Clearinghouse, 2017), both open-access publications.

I have accumulated more than a decade of experience as a writing program administrator at both universities where I have worked, and I also wrote a genre-oriented textbook that is used in all first-year writing classes at NDSU. I am passionate about supporting writing teachers at the college level and ensuring that students in our classes develop strong critical thinking, writing, and research skills appropriate for college and beyond.

Teaching forms the core of my professional identity. I have taught writing, rhetoric, and pedagogy at the undergraduate and graduate level for more than 20 years. I work hard to engage and energize students, helping them make connections between course content and their personal lives. The joy of teaching is learning, and I never stop learning from my students, whether it is a new insight on a course reading or working collaboratively on a research project. It has been an honor to receive awards for my teaching and mentorship.

On weekends, I facilitate volunteer-run English language classes for adult immigrants in the community through a local nonprofit.

After more than a decade of study, I am conversationally proficient in Arabic (Lebanese, Egyptian, and Sudanese dialects).

Rhetoric and writing studies
Histories of writing and rhetoric
Global and multilingual contexts of writing pedagogy and practice
Writing program administration
Mentorship

At NDSU, I have taught or created curriculum for:

Undergraduate

• Advanced Writing Workshop (ENGL 458)
• College Composition I (ENGL 110/112)
• College Composition II (ENGL 120/122)
• Introduction to English Studies (ENGL 167)
• Introduction to Writing Studies (ENGL 275)
• Literacy, Culture, and Identity (ENGL 456)
• Women's Writing (ENGL 330)

Graduate

• Composition Research (ENGL 756)
• Composition Theory (ENGL 755)
• Decolonization and Writing Studies (ENGL 758)
• History of Writing Instruction (ENGL 759)
• Historical Methods in Rhetoric and Writing Studies (ENGL 758)
• Literacy, Culture, and Identity (ENGL 656)
• Teaching Workshop for Writing Instructors (ENGL 764)

I am grateful to have received the following awards and honors during my career at NDSU:

• NDSU Excellence in Mentoring Award (AY 2023-24)
  University-wide award that recognizes outstanding mentoring by faculty of undergraduate/graduate students, faculty, and others.
• NDSU Faculty Fellow for NSF ADVANCE (Fall 2022 – Spring 2024)
  Researched, planned, and implemented a university-wide faculty mentorship program.
• NDSU Tapestry of Inclusion Award (Spring 2023)
  University-wide award in recognition of students, faculty, staff, and alumni for their accomplishments regarding cultural pluralism.
• NDSU Innovation in Teaching Award (Spring 2023, Fall 2024)
• NDSU College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Service Award (Spring 2021)
  College-wide award that recognizes outstanding service that clearly exceeds the norms associated with the professional service expected of the faculty.
• NDSU Department of English Vogel Teaching Award (Spring 2021, Spring 2023)
• Human Rights Award (Education): City of Moorhead, Minnesota (December 9, 2019)
• Faculty Mentor Award: NDSU English Graduate Student Organization (Spring 2019)
• NEH Summer Stipend Grant (Summer 2017)
  8% of all applicants awarded
• Richard Braddock Award for Outstanding Article in College Composition and Communication (2015)