Amy Devitt
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  • CV and Resume
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Articles and Essays
    • Talks, Seminars, Workshops
    • Occasional Pieces
  • Genre-Colored Glasses

About Me

Contact me
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PicturePhoto of Amy Devitt credit Ann Dean
I'm a writer, teacher, speaker, and scholar who makes research and theory accessible to non-specialist readers and writers. My favorite topics are

  •  rhetorical genres--the common kinds of writing we do and how they limit and enable what we write (and teach)
  • language--how the words we use reflect and shape how we see our worlds
  • English grammar and the conventions and social significance of language standards--like "correct grammar" and "proper English." 


If you're interested in these topics, or you aspire to be a genre-lover or language nerd like me, check out my blog Genre-Colored Glasses.

My four books include a co-authored, genre-based textbook for first-year college students in composition classes, a historical study of the standard language used by Scottish writers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries,  a theoretical scholarly investigation into writing genres, and a co-edited collection of landmark articles on rhetorical genres. I've also published many articles and essays. My most commonly cited and reprinted scholarly articles are "Generalizing about Genre: Some New Conceptions of an Old Concept" and “Intertextuality in Tax Accounting:  Generic, Referential, and Functional.”  You can find more about my books and a list of my articles and essays under Publications above. 

Consulting and Speaking

As a consultant, presenter, and workshop and seminar leader, I work with teachers, scientists, lawyers, and other professionals on using their genres (kinds of writing) more effectively.  I have worked most often with legal writing, writing in the sciences, and college-level writing across all disciplines. I have even researched and written about the writing done by tax accountants. 

For companies and firms, I commonly conduct seminars and workshops on writing in their professions or on the conventions of standard English. For more personalized consulting, I also investigate the genres or types of writing done in that corporation, office, or profession; examine samples of writing produced by the people I'm working with; and advise on improving those genres or conduct seminars and workshops for those writers.  I also conduct seminars and workshops for teachers--both writing teachers and teachers across schools, colleges, or universities--on choosing and using genres in their classrooms more effectively. 

Background


I have a Ph.D. in English Language and Literature from the University of Michigan, and I'm a retired Professor of English and Chancellors Club Teaching Professor at the University of Kansas, where I taught courses in writing, rhetoric, teaching writing, and English language studies. My teaching earned a Kemper Teaching Fellowship, Chancellors Club Teaching Professorship, and other teaching and mentoring awards. 

I was born and raised in Fort Collins, Colorado, when it was still a small town, and spent most weekends and vacations in the mountains. I live now in Lawrence, Kansas. Like this website, I am a work in progress.

Contact Me

Feel free to contact me at ajdevitt{at}gmail[dot]com
ajdevitt@gmail.com

Address:
Department of English
1445 Jayhawk Boulevard, Room 3001
University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas 66045
USA

Phone:
(785) 864-2567

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Copyright Amy Devitt © 2018
  • Home
  • About
  • CV and Resume
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Articles and Essays
    • Talks, Seminars, Workshops
    • Occasional Pieces
  • Genre-Colored Glasses