Baylor’s English Department, Honors Program and University Scholars Program Will Welcome Scholar for Lecture on Intersection of Rhetoric and Religion

Follow us on Twitter: @BaylorUMedia

Media contact: Terry Goodrich, (254) 710-3321

WACO, Texas (Nov. 4, 2015) – Baylor University’s department of English, the Honors Program and the University Scholars Program will welcome Jeffrey Ringer, Ph.D., for a lecture on the intersection of rhetoric and religion at 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, in Memorial Drawing Room.

Ringer is an assistant professor of English at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. His lecture, “The Religious Creativity of Evangelical Student Writers: Fostering Civil Discourse Across Difference,” will be based on his upcoming book, “Vernacular Christian Rhetoric and Civil Discourse: The Religious Creativity of Evangelical Student Writers.”

“His book explores how students who feel strongly about their faith can express that in the academic papers they write,” said Jennifer Good, Ph.D., director of the University Scholars Program and associate professor of German in the College of Arts & Sciences. “He will discuss how to navigate strong feelings of faith in an academically sophisticated manner.”

Ringer’s research and publications explore what happens when American evangelical Christian students integrate faith into their academic writing and ways of thinking about the nature of belief in composition studies. He has examined the religious rhetoric of President Barack Obama and begun to consider the complexities of faith-based human rights rhetoric in our age of globalization.

“Many of our students plan to do significant writing in their lives,” Good said. “They often struggle with expressing themselves without being overly emotional. We thought Dr. Ringer could give some guidance and discuss how to include faith without jeopardizing an argument or alienating someone who doesn’t share that faith.”

Ringer received his B.A. at Lee University, his M.A. at the University of Vermont and his Ph.D. at the University of New Hampshire.

This lecture is free and open to the public.

Memorial Drawing Room is located inside Memorial Residence Hall at 1425 S. Seventh St.

For more information, contact the University Scholars Program at 254-710-3744.

by Ashton Brown, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 16,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Baylor sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and is a founding member of the Big 12 Conference.