Academic Work
I am a first year PhD student studying Rhetoric and Composition at the University of Maryland, College Park. I have a variety of interests relating to rhetoric, writing, and teaching, which I primarily explore through the lens of social change and justice.
Currently, I am working on three projects for my seminars. One looks at accommodation statements through the framework of accommodations policy in the United States and disability studies. In it, I argue that the accommodation statement provide an often missed opportunity for writing instructors to communicate their vision of an inclusive learning environment and prompt students to think deeply about disability, the body, and normativity.
I am also writing a paper on how marginalized communities use hashtags on Twitter. I initially began thinking about hashtags as I watched Solidarity is for White Women explode on Twitter. #Solidarity was a hashtag developed by Mikki Kendall and became a space for women of color to talk about the ways mainstream feminism continues to exclude them. In my paper, I propose that marginalized communities utilize hashtags on Twitter as rhetorical tools that respond to situations, prompt listening, and create spaces for people to talk about justice, power, and identity
Lastly, I am writing about the zine Femme Sharks Commmunique #1. I am particularly interested in how the writers Zuleikha Mahmood and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarashina rhetorically enact radical self-love. Radical self-love, I argue, is an act of defiance for queer women of color who have been instructed to hate themselves through hate crimes, sexual and domestic violence, and exclusion. I look at how their self-love is conveyed through their writing and how it is used to construct a new community.
Outside of the Academy
When I’m not wearing my PhD student hat, I love dogs, the San Francisco Giants, vegetarian lasagna, and sour fruity candy. I spent every summer during my teen years and early twenties at Camp Okizu, a camp for families with childhood cancer; although I now live across the country, Okizu is still near and dear to my heart. I love to tell people about Camp Okizu and about their SIBS program, which have shaped me into the person I am today.
Also, I watch far too much television. VEEP, Parks and Recreation, Scandal, New Girl, and Mad Men are current favorites.
A Word on Accessibility
I am working hard within the limitations of WordPress to make this website accessible. Please let me know if there are any elements of the website you cannot access. For more information about the principles of accessible web design, check out the Web Accessibility Initiative.
The picture on the top of this page is of me wearing a Maryland University T-Shirt at Badlands National Park. Badlands features valleys and canyons of sedimentary rocks with dramatic layers of white, grey, and light pink.
Ruth Osorio 