College of Arts and Sciences

Faculty & Staff Profiles

Devon Fitzgerald grew up along the Gulf Coast of Alabama and received her undergraduate and Master's degrees from The University of South Alabama. She received her Ph.D. in Rhetoric & Composition with a focus on New Media Studies and Professional Writing in 2008 from Illinois State University. At Winthrop, she teaches courses in composition, rhetorical theory, professional writing, and digital rhetorics where she encourages students to think about their own reading and writing practices and the influence of technology on the circulation of texts. Her research focuses on the intersectins of identity, textuality, and online communities, examining spaces and practices of digital activism, the circulation of texts, and the shifting expectations of digital and textual genres.

 

Recent scholarship includes a book chapter on the legacy of mentoring in writing center directorship published in the edited collection, Mentorship/Methodology published by Utah State University Press. Her co-authored work with Charles Woods, “The Feminist Research Methodologies of Podcasts in Rhetoric and Composition,” was published in the Cluster Conversation feature of Peitho in Spring 2023. Previous scholarship, co-authored with Amber Buck, published in a special issue of Computers and Composition Online calls for a more nuanced understanding of ethics when researching digital media spaces like X (Twitter) and blogs. Her sabbatical project centered on intellectual property and DIY maker communities. As part of this research, Dr. Fitzgerald compiled case studies that will form the foundation of an interdisciplinary course on IP and creativity she hopes to offer Winthrop students in the next few semesters.

Her current project is a return to research on identity, taste, and niche social media.