Research Agenda
“A story matrix connects all of us.
There are rules, processes, and circles of responsibility in this world. And the story begins exactly where it is supposed to begin. We cannot skip any part.” -Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave: A Memoir
As a cultural rhetorics-engaged scholar, my work investigates the constellative knowledge production and rhetorical practices of meaning-making within cultural communities. This orientation to rhetoric positions me to engage in research and scholarly production through embodied, relational, and material ways of knowing.
As a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, my research is motivated by the efforts of Indigenous communities toward decolonization, survivance, continuance, and knowledge revitalization. From this position, I draw from cross-disciplinary Indigenous theories and methodologies in order to approach my research in a tribally responsible and accountable way that aligns with the ethics and values of Indigenous peoples.
Situated at the intersections of rhetoric and composition, Indigenous studies, food studies, and environmental humanities, I am primarily interested in how Indigenous communities make meaning through the relationships with land and through the everyday, embodied practices of material production—such as foodways--that stem from these relationships.
Through these projects described below and the future work that I envision, I am ultimately interested in using Indigenous ways of knowing as rhetorical, decolonizing strategies for disrupting Western structures that uphold systemic violence. My main research questions are:
There are rules, processes, and circles of responsibility in this world. And the story begins exactly where it is supposed to begin. We cannot skip any part.” -Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave: A Memoir
As a cultural rhetorics-engaged scholar, my work investigates the constellative knowledge production and rhetorical practices of meaning-making within cultural communities. This orientation to rhetoric positions me to engage in research and scholarly production through embodied, relational, and material ways of knowing.
As a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, my research is motivated by the efforts of Indigenous communities toward decolonization, survivance, continuance, and knowledge revitalization. From this position, I draw from cross-disciplinary Indigenous theories and methodologies in order to approach my research in a tribally responsible and accountable way that aligns with the ethics and values of Indigenous peoples.
Situated at the intersections of rhetoric and composition, Indigenous studies, food studies, and environmental humanities, I am primarily interested in how Indigenous communities make meaning through the relationships with land and through the everyday, embodied practices of material production—such as foodways--that stem from these relationships.
Through these projects described below and the future work that I envision, I am ultimately interested in using Indigenous ways of knowing as rhetorical, decolonizing strategies for disrupting Western structures that uphold systemic violence. My main research questions are:
- How can rhetorics of sovereignty teach us to delink from dominant Western discourses of power?
- How are the connections between people and land rhetorical, storied relationships? What can we learn from the intersections of culture and environment?
- What can the land and our relationships with the land teach us about writing?
