Faculty Profile
Werner Stavenhagen
Instructor
Writing Program
243 Marshall Hall
Education
- Ph.D. Composition and Cultural Rhetoric, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 2016 [this academic field explores theories of writing and communication strategies]
- MA English- La Sierra University, Riverside, CA 1997
- BA Theology-Pacific Union College, Angwin, CA 1990
Bio
Kurt has taught classes in professional communication, literature, and writing for more than twenty years. His teaching and scholarship are grounded in a core commitment to kind exchange and open inquiry.
He studies and writes about how taking time to slow down and reflect is key to both our well-being and the health of the planet. He probes how thinking of our relationship with nature as "kinship" helps us listen better and how reflection primes learning ("Contemplation as Kairotic Composure," 2019). His presentations at national and regional conferences focus on the transformative power of nature-based meditation, mapping stakeholders (cf. Powell and Hidalgo, 2018, 2019), and the use of AI in the classroom ("Kicking It Back With Chat GPT," 2023).
His book The Chase (2022) reimagines the ancient love poem The Song of Songs using modern metaphors and vivid imagery. It shows that love isn’t about choosing between the sacred and the human—it’s an invitation to delight in the earth’s
In his personal life, Kurt facilitates group meditations, concocts fantastic tea blends, and takes every opportunity to hike the great outdoors.
Courses
Environmental Writing (EWP 190), Research Writing and Humanities (EWP 290), and Writing for Science and Environmental Professionals (EWP 407).
Research Interests
- Intersections between the practices of gratitude, meditation, and health.
- Environmental Rhetoric
- Composition and Rhetoric
- Nature Writing
- Professional Writing
- The use of AI for brainstorming and drafting documents
Presentations and Publications
Publications
The Chase. Bowker, 2022.
“Relational Literacy.” Published in a special section of the Journal of the Assembly on Expanded Perspectives on Learning entitled, “Encountering the Natural World: Environmental Education in the Arts and Humanities.” July 2019.
“Contemplation as Kairotic Composure.” Published in a special issue of the journal Across the Disciplines entitled, “Contemplative Writing Across the Disciplines.” March 2019.
“Whose Honey, Whose Hive: Rhetorical Agency in Colony Collapse Disorder.” The presentation was selected for publication from the 5th Iowa State University Summer Symposium on Science Communication, June 2016; in Jean Goodwin (Ed.), Confronting the Challenges of Public Participation: Issues in Environmental, Planning and Health Decision-Making (pp. 227-233). Charleston, SC: CreateSpace.
Review of Home Ground: Language for An American Landscape (Eds. Barry Lopez and Debra Gwartney) in Community Literacy Journal, Fall, 2009.
Presentations
“Embodying Permission: Using Lifewriting to Co-create Spaces That Reinvent the Required College Research-Writing Class.” AEPL Annual Writing Conference (June 2024).
“Kicking It Back with ChatGPT: Coaching Shared Screen AI Literacies through Inquiry-Driven Classroom Exercises.” SUNY Council on Writing Annual Conference (October 2023).
“Transforming/Teaching: A Roundtable on Inner Work and Its Effect on Our Writing Classrooms.” Eastern Association of Pennsylvania State Universities Annual Conference. October 2022.
“Zoom Pedagogy Tips.” SUNY-ESF’s Hardy L. Shirley Faculty Mentoring Colloquium. January 2021.
“Relational Literacy: Toward Revisioning Ecocomposition as a Co-creative, Co-performative Space.” 2019 Conference on College Composition and Communication, Pittsburg, PA
“Plant Something: Performance-Rhetoric, Community Writing, and Food Activism.” All-day pre-conference workshop associated with the 2019 Conference on College Composition and Communication, Pittsburg, PA
“Contemplative Exercises to Promote Kinship with the Earth and Each Other: an Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Relational Literacy.” 2018 Assembly of Expanded Perspectives on Learning Conference, Estes Park, CO
“Toward Relational Literacy: Using Kinship Theory to Integrate the Voices of Nonhumans in Education.” 2018 Rhetorical Society of America Conference, Minneapolis, MN
“The Language, Literacy, and Labor of Food Justice: Bees and Beekeepers.” 2018 Conference on College Composition and Communication, St Louis, MO
“Cultivating New Lines of Inquiry: Rural Research and Advocacy.” 2017 Conference on College Composition and Communication, Portland, OR
“Coaching the Publication of an Undergraduate Online Magazine.” 2017 Conference on College Composition and Communication, Portland, OR
“Whose Honey, Whose Hive: Rhetorical Agency in Colony Collapse Disorder.” 2016 Iowa State University Summer Symposium on Science Communication, Ames, IA
“A Tale of Two Countries: France and the U.S. Stakeholder Agency in Colony Collapse Disorder.” 2015 Environmental Studies Presentation Series, SUNY-ESF, Syracuse, NY
“Mindfulness Classroom Exercises: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Prescription.” 2015 Faculty Brownbag Discussions, Syracuse University Humanities Center, Syracuse, NY