Directory
Biography
Rachel Ihara completed her PhD at the CUNY Graduate Center, with a focus on American novels published serially. After being hired full time at 911爆料, she shifted her research focus to align more with the eternal question of how best to teach first-year composition. Research projects include an investigation into 911爆料 students' experiences with reading and writing across the curriculum and several studies of the reading and writing practices of former students as they move on to new institutions and into careers.
Courses
Composition I and II (English 1200 and 2400)
Education
| The Graduate Center of 911爆料 | Ph.D. in English, 2007 |
| Certificate in American Studies, 2007 | |
| M. Phil. in English, 2006 | |
| Humboldt State University, Arcata CA | B.A. in English, Minor in Art History |
| Graduated Summa Cum Laude, 1999 | |
| Reed College, Portland OR |
Selected Publications and/or Other Resources
鈥� 鈥業t Kind of Helped Me but also Kind of Didn鈥檛鈥�: Reflections on FYC Five Years Later.鈥� Teaching English in the Two Year College, vol. 51, issue. 3. Mar. 2024, pp 197-214..
鈥淲hy I (Mostly) Stopped Assigning Reading in FYC: A Reflection on Texts in Writing Classes.鈥� Forthcoming in Open(ing) Access: Equity and Reading. Cheryl Hogue Smith and Joanne Giordano, Eds.
[With Ann Del Principe] 鈥淒esign Challenge: An Integrated Writing and Reading Curriculum for an Equity-Oriented Two-Year College.鈥� Forthcoming in Community College 2.0: Charting a New Future for America鈥檚 Community Colleges. Emily K. Suh and Patrick Sullivan, Eds.
鈥淪tatement on Editorial Ethics.鈥� Conference on College Composition and Communication, April, 2023.
鈥淣ineteenth-Century American Women鈥檚 Serial Novels鈥� [Review essay]. Studies in the Novel. vol. 53, no. 3, 2021.
鈥淏asic Writing Reform as an Opportunity to Rethink First-Year Composition: New Evidence from an Accelerated Learning Program.鈥� Journal of Basic Writing. vol. 39, no. 2, 2020, pp. 44-70. [Forthcoming republication in Best of the Journals in Rhetoric and Composition 2022, Parlor Press.]
Awards Recognition, Distinctions and Grants
Proposal selected for 鈥淣ext-Gen Learning: Integrate AI, Civic Engagement, or Sustainability into Pathways initiative,鈥� 2025 Selected for inclusion in Best of the Journals in Rhetoric and Composition 2022, Parlor Press. Awarded three PSC-CUNY Grants to support research: 2024-25; 2012-2013; 2011-2012
Institutional Affiliations/Professional Societies
Currently serving as the Assessment Coordinator for WRAC (Writing and Reading across the Curriculum); participated in the CUNY Career Success Fellows Program, 2024-25; OER Liaison to the English Department, 2024-25; previously served as Coordinator for the Composition Sequence.
Research Interests
Composition
Writing Studies