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Tamara Black

Associate Professor (Teaching) of Writing
Tamara Black
Email tamarabl@usc.edu

Biography

Dr. Tamara Luqué Black joined the Writing Program in 2014, bringing with her more than a decade of teaching experience. After earning a PhD in Sociology from UCLA in 2008, she balanced her energies across teaching and consulting. In her private consulting practice, she advised undergraduates, graduate students, and non-profit organizations on the design and implementation of qualitative research and writing projects within the social sciences and humanities. From 2011 until 2014, she served as a lecturer and faculty coordinator for an interdisciplinary course within UCLA’s Freshman Cluster program.

Now a proud Trojan, Dr. Black enjoys teaching a variety of lower- and upper-division courses in rhetoric and composition at USC, including Contemporary Economics, Identity & Diversity, Technology & Social Change, Advanced Writing for Economics, Advanced Writing for the Arts & Humanities, and Advanced Writing for the Social Sciences. In 2018, Dr. Black created and piloted a new course: Advanced Writing for Economics, which has been offered continuously since it debuted.

Like her teaching, Dr. Black’s service contributions emphasize student support and pedagogy through activities such as coaching Fulbright Grant and Marshall Scholarship applicants through the statement drafting process and organizing professional workshops on topics including Peer Response and Student Mental Health. She is proud to serve as a Faculty Advisor for both the Shaukat Initiative and the Transfer Student Assembly as well as a consultant at the Writing Center.

Education

  • Ph.D. UCLA, 2008
  • M.A. UCLA, 2003
  • B.A. University of Maryland, 1999

  • Summary Statement of Research Interests

    Dr. Black’s research focuses on pedagogical innovation in college composition classrooms particularly in the areas of assessment, grading contracts, humane composition pedagogy, rhetorical empathy, and peer response. In her work on HUMANE COMPOSITION PEDAGOGY, Dr. Black is collaborating with Amber Foster (USC Writing Program) to draft a book manuscript that develops a pedagogical framework for writing instruction. We build on secondary education research on humane education to contend that college writing instruction should be rooted in the tenets of empathy, well-being, and belonging. We argue that HCP encourages students to take more initiative in unlocking their own intrinsic motivation; it also finds common ground with university administrations desiring to meet student demand for compassionate, human-centered approaches to education. In her work on GRADING CONTRACTS, Dr. Black is collaborating with Rory Lukins, Leah Pate, and Michelle Rosado (USC Writing Program) to draft a book manuscript that presents the results of our large-scale, longitudinal study of Grading Contracts. Since 2019, the USC Writing Program has been piloting Grading Contracts in lower-division and upper-division classes. With survey data from over 1,600 students and surveys and interviews with 50 faculty, this pilot has generated the largest dataset on the contract system in composition courses. Initial findings indicate a strong student preference for non-graded, learning-oriented writing. Students consistently rate this process as fairer than traditionally-weighted grading, emotionally healthier, and more conducive to learning. Faculty also typically prefer the contract, as it reduces emotional labor.

  • Conference Presentations

    • Enthusiastic Ambivalence: Aligning Departmental Practices, Pedagogical Goals & Student Needs , Council of Writing Program Administrators ConferenceTalk/Oral Presentation, Council of Writing Program Administrators, Reno, NV, 07/2023
    • Compassion versus Rigor: A False Choice , Future of Writing SymposiumTalk/Oral Presentation, USC Writing Program & USC Annenberg School of Comm, Los Angeles, CA, Spring 2023
    • Got Stressed Students? Maybe it’s Time to Raise your Standards of Engagement. , Conference on College Composition & CommunicationTalk/Oral Presentation, National Council of Teachers of English, Chicago, IL, Spring 2023
    • Can Grading Contracts Mitigate Students’ Anxiety? Evidence from a Large-Scale Pilot Study , Pacific Ancient & Modern Language AssociationTalk/Oral Presentation, Los Angeles, CA, Fall 2022
    • Linguistic Justice & Grade-Related Anxiety: Students’ Perceptions of Grading Contracts , International Teaching & Learning CooperativeTalk/Oral Presentation, ITLC Lilly Conferences, San Diego, CA, Spring 2022
    • Nurturing Rhetorical Empathy during the Research Process , Conference on College Composition & CommunicationTalk/Oral Presentation, National Council of Teachers of English, Online, Spring 2022
    • Sustainable Empathy: Preserving Ourselves as We Care for Our Students , Conference on College Composition & CommunicationTalk/Oral Presentation, National Council of Teachers of English, Online, Spring 2021
    • Agency in Structure: A Card Game for Rough Drafts , Conference on College Composition & CommunicationTalk/Oral Presentation, National Council of Teachers of English, Online, Spring 2020
    • Author-Centered Reflective Reading: A Rogerian Approach to Peer Response , Conference on College Composition & CommunicationTalk/Oral Presentation, National Council of Teachers of English, Pittsburgh, PA, Spring 2019

    Other Presentations

    • Fostering Empathy in the Writing Classroom while Avoiding Compassion Fatigue, Invited Workshop for the Teaching with Technology Committee, Los Angeles, CA, 2022-2023
    • Advanced Writing for Economics, The Writing Program, 2018 –

  • Committees

    • Member, Writing Center Committee, 2019 –
    • Member, Upper Division Curriculum Committee, The Writing Program, 08/2018 –
    • Member, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Caucus, Dornsife Faculty Council, 2018 –
    • Member, Professional Workshops Committee, The Writing Program, 08/2017 –
    • Chair, Upper Division Curriculum Committee, USC Writing Program, 2022-2023
    • Co-Chair, Upper Division Curriculum Committee, USC Writing Program, 08/2020 – 06/2022
    • Member, Merit Review Committee, 2019-2020
    • Member, Merit Review Committee, The Writing Program, 2017-2018
    • Member, 501 Orientation Team for incoming Faculty & Assistant Lecturers, The Writing Program, 2017-2018
    • Member, Hiring Committee, The Writing Program, 2017-2018
    • Co-Chair, Faculty Development Committee, The Writing Program, 2016-2017
    • Member, Program Outreach Committee, The Writing Program, 2015-2016
    • Member, Faculty Development Committee, The Writing Program, 2015-2016

    Other Service to the University

    • Advisory Board Member, Transfer Student Assembly, student organization, 08/2021 –
    • Faculty Advisor to Marshall Scholarship candidates, Academic Honors & Fellowships (AHF), Office of the Provost, 06/2021 –
    • Faculty Advisor, Shaukat Initiative, student organization, 08/2018 –
    • Member, Campus Evaluation Committee for Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Applicants, Academic Honors & Fellowships (AHF), Office of the Provost, 08/2016 –
    • Faculty Advisor to Fulbright Grant applicants, Academic Honors & Fellowships (AHF), Office of the Provost, 06/2016 –
    • Presenter & Workshop Facilitator, Fulbright Fellowship Workshop Series, Academic Honors & Fellowships (AHF), Office of the Provost , 01/2016 –
    • Co-creator & facilitator of a Transfer Student Resource Webinar Series for the Transfer Student Community., 2020-2021
    • Faculty Advisor, Alternative Spring Break to Orcas Island, WA., 2019-2020
    • Co-host & Presenter, “Effective Peer Review: Strategies and Technologies”, Technology and Professional Workshops Committees, 02/2018
    • Co-host, “Mental Health Roundtable” event on behalf of the Faculty Development Committee. , 02/2017
    • Presenter, “Writing your Personal Statement for Graduate School,” Research and Fellowships Week, Academic Honors and Fellowships (AHF), Office of the Provost, 11/2016
    • Speaker, Parents’ Weekend Open House on “Applying for International Fellowships and Scholarships: Strategies for Student Success,” USC Writing Center, 10/2016
    • Workshop Facilitator, An invited Scholarship Workshop Series for high-achieving students drafting personal narratives and statements of purpose for graduate school applications and applying for prestigious scholarships including Rhodes, Marshall, Fulbright, Truman. Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, Spring 2016

  • Other Service to the Profession

    • Reader, Advanced Placement English Language and Composition Exam, The College Board, 06/2018 –
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