Undergraduate research is a central feature of our program. Members of the rhetoric faculty are committed to making Sewanee a nationally recognized liberal arts college for undergraduate research in rhetoric. They regularly publish in the area of undergraduate research in rhetoric, direct papers to conference presentation, shepherd student work through the publication process, and collaborate with undergraduate student researchers in archival, text-based recovery and digital projects. At Sewanee, our students have:
- Researched public controversies and delivered original, award-winning speeches in Sewanee’s university-wide annual Festival of Speaking & Listening.
- Presented original scholarship at the Theodore Clevenger Undergraduate Honors Conference, one of the oldest and most prestigious undergraduate research forums in the field of rhetoric.
- Won regional awards for scholarship such as the Franklin Shirley Award and been named “Clevenger Scholars,” among the top 10% of student researchers.
- Published original scholarship in undergraduate journals such as Young Scholars in Writing.
- Collaborated with rhetoric faculty and visiting scholars on grant-funded projects in speaking and listening, including “Go Tell It On the Mountain: A Project for Research, Student Internships, and Campus Programming” supported by the McCrickard College Faculty Development Fund.
