WEINSTEIN, SUSAN
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
43-C Allen Hall
578-7880
sweinst@lsu.edu
Education
2004 Ph.D. University of Illinois at Chicago, English (Language, Literacy, & Rhetoric).
Dissertation: “That ain't how I write”: What teenagers know about literacy and learning.
Committee: Todd DeStigter & Dave Schaafsma (co-chairs), Bill Ayers, Ralph Cintron, Jamie Daniel.
1998 M.A. University of Illinois at Chicago, English (Teaching of English).
1986 B.A. Pennsylvania State University, English.
Areas of Teaching Competence
(1) Teaching of English; (2) Social/Critical Literacies, New Literacy Studies; (3) Adolescent Literacy Practices; (4) Hip-hop Literacies and History.
Publications
Books
Feel these words: Writing in the lives of urban youth . Book manuscript under contract with SUNY Press (projected publication Spring 2009).
Journal articles
2007. Pregnancy, pimps, and “clichéd love things”: Writing through gender and sexuality. Written Communication 24 (1), pp. 28-48.
2006. A love for the thing: The pleasures of rap as a literate discourse. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy
50 (4), pp. 270-281.
Are Methods Enough? Situating English Education Programs within the Multiple Settings of Learning to Teach. English Education 38 (4), pp. 312-328. Randi Dickson and Peter Smagorinsky with Jonathan Bush, Leila Christenbury, Bobby Cummings, Marshall George, Peg Graham, Pamela Hartman, Carmen Kynard, Hephzibah Roskelly, Susan Steffel, Ruth Vinz, & Susan Weinstein.
2005- I shine with the rhythm: Rap writing, literate identity, and academic achievement. International Journal of 2006. Learning 12 (3), pp. 143-147.
2005. Free style: The role of play in rap composition. Creative engagements: Thinking with children 31 , pp. 103-
106 (eBook). Oxford: Inter-disciplinary Press.
2002. The writing on the wall: Attending to self-motivated student literacies. English Education 35 (1), pp. 21- 45.
Exploring electronic literacy: Learning about language through pager, cell, and Internet talk. Illinois
Reading Council Journal 30 (1), pp. 22-29.
Book chapters
2007. Nas. Icons of hip-hop , pp. 341-363. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Reviews
2006. Our stories told by us: The books of the Neighborhood Story Project. Community Literacy Journal 1 (1).
2005. We are English: Looking for practical relevance in practitioners' relevance (review of The Relevance of
English , Yagelski & Leonard eds.). Pedagogy 5 (3), pp. 483-487.
Popular media
2006. Baton Rouge's Brave New Voices. 225 Magazine, July, pp. 22-28.
Other
2007. WordPlay Annual Report .
Foreword, WordPlay Teen Writing Program Curriculum Guide , 2 nd Edition.
Invited Talks/Panels
2008. Louisiana State Museum “Find Your Muse” Series, Calliope (poetry) panelist (Aug. 3).
LSU College of Education Roundtables on Research.
LSU West Campus Apartments presentation.
EDCI 7920, Issues in Urban Education, LSU (co-taught by Petra Hendry and Lisa Delpit)
2007. Panelist, Hip Hop for Hope Community Forum, sponsored by Teach for America and the Ashé Cultural Arts Center, New Orleans, LA.
Starting from scratch: Kool Herc as leadership model. Convocation address, Louisiana Youth Seminar, Louisiana State University.
“Through knowledge, they'll never con me”: Reading literacy and education in/through hip-hop. Invited lecture, Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Communication, Transylvania University, Lexington, KY.
Selected Conference Presentations
2008. Youth spoken word poetry in a changed landscape. Conference on College Composition and
Communication , New Orleans, LA.
Speaking the truth: Intersections of hip hop and teen spoken word poetry. SW/TX Popular &
American Culture Association , Albuquerque, NM.
Performing pedagogy: The Globe, education, and performance pedagogy. LSU English Graduate Student Association Mardi Gras Conference , Baton Rouge, LA.
2007. Aesthetic and social contexts of teen spoken word poetry. National Council of Teachers of English Annual
Convention , New York, NY.
Teenagers write home. Conference on College Composition and Communication , New York, NY.
2006. A modest proposal: Building a college composition/English education coalition. Conference on
College Composition and Communication , Chicago, IL.
2005. Mad methods: Rap and ELA teacher preparation. Conference on English Education Colloquium ,
Pittsburgh, PA.
I shine with the rhythm: Rap writing, literate identity, and academic achievement. Twelfth International Learning Conference . Granada, Spain.
Spending time writing rhymes: Representations of school, adolescence, and writing in rap. Creative Engagements: Thinking with Children 2nd global conference. Mansfield College, Oxford, UK.
Awards and Grants
2007.
- Outstanding Graduate Faculty Award, LSU English Graduate Student Association.
- Manship Summer Research Fellowship, LSU College of Arts and Sciences ($5,000).
2006. LSU Faculty Research Grant ($10,000).
2005. LSU Council on Research Summer Stipend ($5,000).
2003.
- Robert Corley Memorial Scholarship, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, UIC.
- Rue Bucher Memorial Scholarship, Interdepartmental award for qualitative research, UIC.
- Graduate Student Research Bonus in Memory of Bernard R. Kogan, Dept. of English, UIC.
2002.
- Anne Hopewell Selby Award for distinction in graduate studies in English, UIC.
- Reading Is Fundamental grant to distribute free books at Latino Youth Alternative High School.
2000. Chapbooks.com grant to publish student writing book at Latino Youth Alternative High School.
Professional Affiliations
- Youth Spoken Word Coalition Steering Committee
- Educational advisor, Wordplay, Baton Rouge, LA
- Associate Editor, International Journal of Learning v. 12
- Manuscript reviewer, English Education
- Invited classroom speaker: Introduction to Folklore, LSU, Fall 2006; Introduction to Poetry, LSU, March
2005; English 554 (Multiculturalism & Democracy), UIC, November 2003; English 531 (Seminar in
Literacy), Elmhurst College, Elmhurst, IL, July 2003
Member of :
- Women's and Gender Studies Program, LSU
- National Council of Teachers of English
- International Reading Association
Selected Professional Activities
2008.
- Panelist, Louisiana Division of the Humanities Literature Fellowship Application Panel
- Co-creator and co-facilitator, Lyrics Anonymous writing workshop. Belfair “Free Dreams” Teen Center, Baton Rouge, LA.
- Coach, East Baton Rouge Laboratory Academy poetry slam team.
- Zachary High School Career Day invited speaker.
- WordPlay program evaluation for 2007-2008 school year.
2007.
- Co-facilitator, GEAR UP teachers' writing workshops.
- Chaperone, Baton Rouge Youth Slam Team, Brave New Voices National Youth Slam, San Jose, CA.
- Participant, Spoken Word and Hip-Hop Teacher and Community Leader Training Institute, University of Wisconsin – Madison.
- Creator and instructor, Hip-hop History course for ArchiTEXTS summer institute for teenagers, Baton
Rouge, LA.
- Youth Talk dialogue facilitator, Public Allies Youth Summit, Baton Rouge, LA.
- Judge, To Kill A Mockingbird poetry contest, Baton Rouge Public Library, Baton Rouge, LA.
- Volunteer, All City Teen Poetry Slam Festival, Baton Rouge, LA.
- “I Can” poetry presentation, Trinity Episcopal School (Ms. Musgrove's second grade class), Baton Rouge, LA.
2006.
- Creator and instructor, Hip-hop History course for ArchiTexts summer institute for teenagers, Baton
Rouge, LA.
- Participant, National Youth Spoken Word Coalition Summit. Chicago, IL.
- Chaperone, Baton Rouge Youth Slam Team, Brave New Voices National Youth Slam, New York, NY.
- Co-designer and co-facilitator (with Elizabeth Willis) of summer literacy institute, Glen Oaks Middle School. Baton Rouge, LA.
2005.
- Attendee, National Writing Project New Directors' Retreat, Tahoe City, CA.
- Invited participant, Conference on English Education Leadership and Policy Summit, Atlanta, GA.
- Designer & Co-presenter, East Baton Rouge Parish Schools PASS Principals' Writing Institute, St.
Francisville, LA.
K-12 Experience
Curriculum Coach Fall 2007 - present
Institute for Student Achievement/East Baton Rouge Laboratory Academy Baton Rouge, LA
Scholar Spring 2007 – Fall 2007
Prime Time Family Reading Program Garyville, LA; Baton Rouge, LA
Consultant 2005-2006
National Urban Alliance for Effective Education Newark, NJ/Hamden, CT
English Instructor, Early Outreach Program October 2003-June 2004
Center for Urban Educational Research and Development, UIC Chicago, IL
In-class Consultant/Curriculum Developer January 2002-April 2003
American Educational Services, Inc. Chicago, IL
Visiting Writer May 2003, May 2002
Marwen Foundation for the Arts Chicago, IL
English Teacher Summer 2000
Upward Bound, Northeastern Illinois University Chicago, IL
High School English Teacher/ 1998-2000
Coordinator, Youth Skills Extra Program Chicago, IL
Latino Youth Alternative High School
High School English Teacher 1994-1996
Cochabamba Cooperative School Cochabamba, Bolivia
Fourth Grade Teacher 1993-1994
Cochabamba Cooperative School Cochabamba, Bolivia