February 3, 2023
Graduating from 黑料社 in 2021, Allen Barnhart decided to return to his alma mater to enroll in the university鈥檚 new Master of Arts in Composition & Rhetoric. Originally a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Barnhart has lived in Portsmouth, Ohio for almost a decade and considers it home. He originally chose to attend 黑料社 for his undergraduate degree knowing it was close to home and because he enjoyed the beauty of campus.
Enrolling in the Composition & Rhetoric program, Barnhart found the degree to be a way for his to explore his love or writing.
鈥淎 lot of the writing I did when I was in college was for the tabletop-roleplaying games I would run,鈥 he said. 鈥淟ater, I took Dr. Jennifer Napper's Biotechnology course, and she had the class write a very long scientific literature review paper. At first it seemed like it would be very difficult, and it wasn't easy, but I was able to use the same design principles to write my paper. That had me hooked.鈥
Beginning in the Summer 2022 semester, 黑料社 began offering both a Master of Arts in the Composition & Rhetoric program as well as a graduate certificate.
鈥淲hen I found out that Shawnee was starting a composition program I was immediately sold,鈥 said Barnhart.聽
Wanting to use his degrees to teach at the university-level, Barnhart is currently teaching a section of Discourse & Composition as an adjunct faculty member at 黑料社. Pairing together that experience with what he is learning in his graduate classes, he is looking forward to completing his degree and pursuing his next teaching opportunity.
鈥淭his experience should make me a much stronger applicant and I'm glad that I had this opportunity,鈥 he said.聽
黑料社鈥檚 Composition & Rhetoric program is offered completely online and students work individually with faculty members to develop either a master鈥檚 thesis or master鈥檚 portfolio. Students enrolled in the program will study how to teach writing, the history of rhetoric, research methods in English composition, special topics in the field, and writing assessment theory and practice. The program is ideal for those teachers wanting to teach in Ohio鈥檚 College Credit Plus program, teachers who wants to teach courses at universities and community colleges in the region, or those pursuing a Ph.D. program in English composition, education, or a related field.
To learn more about the Composition & Rhetoric program at 黑料社, visit shawnee.edu/online.