Teaching

Courses Taught

Undergraduate

ENGL 1120 – English Composition II (Spring 2019; Spring 2018; Fall 2016) “Primary Research in Communities” (taught in EASL/Engaged Active Student Learning classroom; primary methods for community research projects focusing on Auburn University & Auburn, Alabama area)

ENGL 1127 – Honors Writing Seminar II (Fall 2018 in EASL; Fall 2015; Fall 2014) “Primary Research & Writing” (development & execution of semester-long, community-based research project using primary methods)

ENGL 2010 – Introduction to Professional Writing (Spring 2017) “Writing for (a) Living, Writing for (a) Life” (rhetorical concepts & techniques, business communication genres, editing skills, & effective document design)

ENGL 3110 – Survey of Linguistics (Fall 2019) “The Study of Language” (recent scholarship on language issues in the US; survey of linguistic subfields, language structure, & history)

ENGL 4000 – Advanced Composition (Spring 2020; Fall 2015) “Writing Well & Eating Well” (study sentence-level style; compose creative nonfiction genres: personal essay, lyric essay, & literary journalism; focus on food writing)

ENGL 4010 – Topics in Writing (Summer 2016) “Text Appeal” (grammar as style; effective sentences, emulation of syntax, & diagramming of found & original sentences)

ENGL 4040 – Public Writing (Fall 2019; Spring 2019; Spring 2017; Spring 2016) “Engaging Publics” (theories of public spheres & public discourse; ethnographic study, needs assessment, & multimodal design in collaboration with university-sponsored programs & community organizations)

ENGL 4180 – Rhetorical Theory & Practice (Spring 2018) “Rhetorics of Incarce(race)tion” (rhetorical theory applied to primary & secondary arguments about race & class in mass incarceration, focusing on Alabama)

ENGL 4180 ­ Rhetorical Theory & Practice (Spring 2015)“Southern Stories”(survey of rhetorical theorists and working-class studies; analysis of oral histories and social documentaries of sharecroppers during 1930s, focusing on Alabama)

ENGL 4967/4997 – Honors Special Problems & Honors Thesis (Fall 2015 & Spring 2016) Independent Directed Reading toward completion of Honors Thesis for Carson Williford. Creative nonfiction study culminated in 100-page thesis: “War Damn Iron Bowl.”

Graduate

ENGL 7040 – Composition Issues & Approaches (Fall 2016) “Developments in Writing Studies” (exploration of history, theory, & pedagogy of writing studies, with focus on trends, concepts, & issues defining the field)

ENGL 7040 – Composition Issues & Approaches (Spring 2016) “Literacies in Writing Studies” (focus on literacy as overarching concept in composition theory & current disciplinary issues)

ENGL 7300 – Rhetoric: Theory & Practice (Fall 2018) “Incarceration Nation: Rhetorics of Imprisonment” (application of rhetorical theory to primary sources & scholarly arguments centered on prison-industrial complex)

ENGL 7300 – Rhetoric: Theory & Practice (Spring 2015) “Working-Class Rhetoric: Voices from the South” (advanced critical theory applied to primary historical accounts of Alabama farmers; primary research with focus on archival methods)

Courses Developed

ENGL 3020 – Writing in Law & Justice

(Approved by AU Curriculum Committee 7 March 2019; to be offered Spring 2020)

This upper-level course is designed not only for English majors, but also students studying Pre-Law, Political Science, History, Communications, and other fields. ENGL 3020 introduces students to writing situations they will encounter in legal professions. The course provides a theoretical foundation of legal discourse from key rhetoricians. These readings lay the groundwork for analysis of model legal texts such as Congressional bills/laws, Supreme Court decisions, briefs, contracts, and case statements of fact. After analyzing professional documents, students will compose several common genres including letters, memoranda, statements of fact, contracts, and/or briefs. Students will develop knowledge & skills in the form and content of writing performed in the executive, legislative, & judicial branches of government.

Curriculum Projects

Online Curriculum

Subject Matter Expert,Developmental English Project, 2014 (open access online stretch curriculum)

Client: NROC Project/Monterey Institute for Technology & Education

Textbooks & Ancillary Materials

Author, Instructor’s Manual for Building Bridges through Writing, 2014 (WAC/WID textbook)

Client: Fountainhead Press, Southlake, TX

GSU Guide to First-Year Writing (Custom Student Handbook)

Author,“Writing about Visual Images” Chapter, 5^th Edition, Fountainhead, 2016.

Author,“Writing about Visual Images” Chapter, 4^th Edition, Fountainhead, 2015.

Author,“Writing about Visual Images” Chapter, 3^rd Edition, Fountainhead, 2014.

Co-Author (with Angela Hall-Godsey), “Analysis to Argument” Chapter, 2^nd Edition, Fountainhead, 2013.

Senior Editor, 1^st Edition, 2012 (also authored chapters on analysis & the writing process)

Client: Georgia State University, Lower Division Studies

Author, “Pullen Library Guide,” Writing Analytically: GSU Custom Edition, Cengage Learning, 2012.

Client: Georgia State University, Lower Division Studies

Editor, Student Essays for Harbrace Guide to Writing: GSU Custom Edition, Cengage Learning, 2012.

Client: Georgia State University, Lower Division Studies

Author, “Teaching Manual” & “Student Guide” for The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore, First-Year Book Program, 2012.

Client: Georgia State University, Office of Undergraduate Studies

Faculty Development

Conference Presentations

Eidson, Diana & Greg Schmidt. “Up the Down Staircase: First-Year Students Discover the Archives.” Panel. Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy. Savannah, Georgia. (September 2018)

“Teaching Primary Research in Honors Writing Seminar II.”Conversations in Celebration of Teaching, AU Office of the Provost. Auburn, Alabama. (January 2016)

Bartlett, Lesley, Hilary Wyss, Diana Eidson, & James Truman. “Using E-Portfolios to Support Student Writers.” Student Success in Writing Conference. Savannah, Georgia. (April 2015)

Hall-Godsey, Angela & Diana Eidson. “Creating a Custom Handbook for Your Writing Program.” Student Success in Writing Conference. Savannah, Georgia. (February 2013)

Eidson, Diana. “Going Public: Getting Students beyond Alphabetic Texts & into the Public Sphere.” Federation Rhetoric Symposium. Commerce, Texas. (March 2011)

Eidson, Diana. “Revising the Freshman Composition Course Using Cultural Studies Criticism & Non-Canonical Literature.” Mardi Gras Conference. Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (February 2010)

Eidson, Diana. “Teaching Popular Culture in the Composition Classroom” & “Everything You Wanted to Know about the First Year.” Graduate Teaching Assistant Conference. Georgia State University. Atlanta, Georgia. (August 2009)

Guest Lectures

“Depicting the US South during the Great Depression: Examining the Genre of the Social Documentary.” Three-Week Undergraduate Lecture Series. Department of English, University of Toulon. Toulon, France (March–April 2016)

“Local & International Struggles for Sustainable Food Systems.” Professor J. Richard Willis’s Honors Sustainability I class. Auburn University. Auburn, Alabama. (February 2016)

“Navigating the Academic Job Market.” Preparing Future Faculty Program, Auburn University Biggio Center for Teaching & Learning, Auburn University. Auburn, Alabama. (February 2016)

“La Vía Campesina International Peasant’s Movement & Sustainable Food Systems.” Professor Kelly Alley’s Honors Sustainability I class. Auburn University. Auburn, Alabama. (October 2015)

“Critical Pedagogy in the First-Year Writing Classroom.” Graduate Teaching Assistant Mentoring Session, Georgia State University. Atlanta, Georgia. (September 2013)

“The GSU First-Year Guide to Writing: Creating & Using the Custom Handbook in University Writing Programs.” Professor Lynée Gaillet’s Composition Pedagogy class. Georgia State University. Atlanta, Georgia. (June 2013)

“Performing Archival Research.” Professor Lynée Gaillet’s Archival Research class. Georgia State University. Atlanta, Georgia. (March 2013)

“‘With a union card in one hand & a ballot in the other’”: Literacy & Liberation in the Work of Stetson Kennedy.” Professor Jared White’s English Composition II classes. Georgia State University. Atlanta, Georgia. (March 2013)