MAUREEN A MATHISON portrait
  • Chair Department of Writing and Rhetoric Studies
  • Associate Professor, Writing and Rhetoric Studies
801-581-7090

Research Statement

My work addresses issues concerning academic discourse and the various ways it is situated in society and higher education. I am primarily interested in how knowledge is constructed and disseminated among scientists, as well as how it is used as a means of professionalization for students across various disciplines. 

Research Keywords

  • Disciplinary Writing; Rhetoric; Science and Technology Studies

Presentations

  • Framing Technical Editing as a Social Justice Opportunity Through Human-Centered Projects. International-Writing-Across-the-Curriculum Conference (IWAC), Fort Collins, CO. June. (with Stephanie Weidauer, student and co-author). CANCELED DUE TO COVID. Conference Paper, Refereed, Other, 06/07/2020.
  • Human-Centered Projects in the Undergraduate Curriculum: Editing for Social Justice. Association for Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW). Milwaukee, WI. March. (with Stephanie Weidauer, student and co-author). CANCELED DUE TO COVID. Conference Paper, Refereed, Other, 03/20/2020.
  • Learning Microbiology and Its Literacy Practices. Writing Across Borders Conference, Xi’an China. March (with Nina Feng, co-author). CANCELED DUE TO COVID.. Conference Paper, Refereed, Other, 02/15/2020.
  • Disciplinary Ontologies and the Situating of Writing as a Boundary Object. Paper presented at the European Association for the Teaching of Academic Writing. Gothenburg, Sweden. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 07/04/2019.
  • What Matters in Science Literacy: How Listening to Students Instructs Us about Alternatives for Teaching about Controversial Issues. Paper presented at the Western States Rhetoric and Literacy Conference, Las Cruces, NM, November. (with Ali DeGrauw, former UROP student and co-author). Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 11/02/2018.
  • Visual Rhetoric and the Inscription of Meaning in Science. Paper presented at the Rhetoric Society of America Conference, Minneapolis, MN, May. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 05/02/2018.
  • Science, a Self-Governing Sphere. Paper presented at the Rhetoric Society of America Conference, Minneapolis, MN, May. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 05/01/2018.
  • Tracking Student Responses to Controversial Issues in Science. Paper presented at the Conference on College Composition and Communication, Portland, OR, . Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 03/17/2017.
  • Audience Reception in a Scientific Controversy. Paper presented at the Conference on College Composition and Communication, Tampa, FL, . Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 03/19/2015.
  • Controversial Texts about Controversial Issues: Arguing for and in the Name of Science. The International Society for the Study of Argumentation Conference, Amsterdam. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 07/04/2014.
  • The Undoing of the Scientist Rhetorician: Environment over Development. Conference on College Composition and Communication, Indianapolis, IN, March. Conference Paper, Refereed, Accepted, 09/15/2013.
  • When the Voice Speaking Isn’t Your Own: A Rhetorical Analysis of Appropriating Findings. Paper presented at the Conference on College Composition and Communication, Las Vegas, NV, March. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 03/11/2013.
  • Prior to Enactment of University Rule 6-310 (IDTP). Modern Language Association, Seattle, WA. Refereed. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 01/07/2012.
  • Is There a Place for 'Place' in Business Students' Perspectives? Western States Rhetoric and Literacy Conference, Tempe, AZ, Oct. 2011. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 10/23/2011.
  • When the Visual Constitutes the Argument: The Case of Science/Technology. International Writing Research Across Borders Conference, Washington DC. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 02/20/2011.

Grants, Contracts & Research Gifts

  • Creating a Multimodal Resource for Advanced Academic Writing. PI: Maureen Mathison. Co-PI(s): Tom Huckin; Jay Jordan; Natalie Stillman-Webb. Interdisciplinary REsearch Grant, 12/11/2009 - 06/01/2011. Total project budget to date: $6,000.00

Research/Scholarship Projects

  • The undoing of persuasion in science. PI: Maureen A. Mathison. 05/01/2015 - present.

Research Equipment and Testing Expertise

  • Qualitative and quantitative methods. Contact: Maureen Mathison , 801-581-7090 , 3700 LNCO.

Publications

  • Maureen A. Mathison (2020). Scientific Letters and Commentary in their Historical and Social Context. (pp. 21). Routledge. Accepted, 09/09/2020.
  • Mathison, M. A., Stillman-Webb, N. & Bell, S. (2014) Framing sustainability: Business students writing about the environment. Journal of Business and Technical Communication. Published, 01/01/2014.