My other area of research focus is transnational writing programs, meaning university writing programs that operate within and across national and linguistic boundaries, such as those at an international branch campus or at a university with linguistically diverse international students.
Writing Across the Curriculum and Writing in the Disciplines
I created a WAC/WID program at TAMUQ, and I thoroughly enjoyed designing a program to meet the needs of a diverse student and faculty population. One of my forthcoming book chapters describes how I used interviews with alumni to develop program outcomes that met the needs of the US institution and the needs of the transnational workplace that graduated entered. Another forthcoming book chapter describes how I developed a Writing-Enriched Curriculum model with the Petroleum Engineering department, as well as new understanding about the role of agency and authority in WEC programs.
Publications
Hodges, A. and Kent, B. (2017). Hybrid writing positions within WAC/WID initiatives: Connecting faculty writing expectations and MENA cultures. In L. Arnold, A. Nebel, and L. Ronesi (Eds.), Emerging Writing Research from the Middle East-North Africa Region. International Exchanges on the Study of Writing Series, WAC Clearinghouse and Parlor Press. 201-215.
Writing-intensive courses for engineers at Texas A&M University at Qatar provide a unique view into the efficacy of writing-in-the-disciplines (WID) policies and practices in the Middle East. In this chapter, I collaborated with a professional writing consultant to analyze qualitative data from faculty interviews to examine their perceptions surrounding the teaching and learning of writing as an engineer in the Arabian Gulf region.
Hodges, A. and Seawright, L., eds. (2016). Learning Across Borders: Perspectives on International and Transnational Higher Education. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Universities everywhere are witnessing growing numbers of students in cross-border, international, and transnational spaces. This trend has resulted in many educators revising their curricula, pedagogical approaches, and assumptions about what it means to provide a university education in the 21st century. This edited collection contributes to a growing body of research in international and transnational education by looking back and looking forward at globalisation’s impact on higher education.
Writing Centers
After working as a writing center tutor in the US, Singapore, and Qatar, I knew that I wanted to help grow the field’s body of knowledge on multilingual writers and the fantastic work going on in non-American universities. I recently won an International Writing Centers Association research grant on establishing a bilingual research database on writing centers in the MENA region. I invited six collaborators from Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar to work on the grant with me, and we are almost finished with designing a census for tutors and writing center directors in the MENA region.
Publications
Hodges, A., Ronesi, L., and Zenger, A. (2019). Learning from/in Middle East and North Africa Writing Centers: Negotiating Access and Diversity. The Writing Center Journal, 37(2). 43-62.
This article was a very collaborative process, as it stemmed from the virtual keynote given by me and my two co-authors at the 2018 International Writing Centers Association conference. In our write-up of the keynote address, we examined the issues that arise from taking the American concept of university writing centers and locating them in the Middle East region, specifically our institutions in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, and Qatar.
Amy Hodges 