Meet your instructors

Faculty

Writing & Rhetoric (W&R) courses are taught by accomplished faculty members and instructors, including award-winning literary fiction and non-fiction writers, journalists, editors, poets, grammarians, research scholars, and educators. All use an interactive, small-group approach, fostering an inclusive and enriched learning environment for students.

Andrea Williams

Andrea Williams

Director, Associate Professor, Teaching Stream

I am the director of the Writing & Rhetoric Program; an associate professor, teaching stream; and the director of the Arts & Science Program, WIT (Writing-Integrated Teaching). Writing has been a lifelong passion (I have a bookcase of journals going back to my childhood), and my PhD was in rhetoric and composition. For me, writing is a way to engage with myself and with the world: I use writing to think through ideas and process feelings, and when called upon, to share these in written form with other people.

2023-2024 Courses
INI196H1: Environmental Writing
WRR103H1: Introduction to Academic EssayWriting

WRR308H1: Selected Topics in Writing and Rhetoric: Writing about Plants and the Environment

My teaching and research
I enjoy helping students successfully transition to university writing, in part because my own first-year essay writing experience at U of T was bumpy.

I was awarded the Arts & Science Outstanding Teaching Award in 2020. My teaching includes a lot of short, reflective writing, guided peer feedback, and close reading. I try to challenge my students to go beyond formulas, and let their purpose, audience, occasion, and context guide their writing.

Helping students recognize the power in writing, and finding their own way to write effectively, which includes persevering through difficulty, is deeply gratifying.

My research focuses on how students learn to write in different disciplines, and on how teaching assistants and faculty can become better teachers of writing. I am also interested in the role of language in social and political change (environmental and activist rhetorics), as I am an unapologetic idealist.

My favourite writing
I enjoy reading the long essays in The New Yorker, as well as the pithy pieces in The Economist, and anything about trees and plants. I find writing opinion pieces and book reviews, as well as articles about teaching, challenging and satisfying.

Learn more about me

Contact
Andrea Williams
Director, Associate Professor, Teaching Stream
al.williams@utoronto.ca

Dan Adleman

Daniel Adleman

Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream

I have been an assistant professor in the Writing & Rhetoric Program since 2017. Before that I worked primarily at Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver while finishing my PhD in English language and literature at UBC. A lot of my work is situated at the intersection of rhetoric, media studies, and social change.

I’ve also worked as a freelance journalist and writing centre instructor. At the end of the day, I would characterize myself as a lifelong student. I continue to sit in on classes across the humanities and social sciences, and I bring a lot of that interdisciplinary enthusiasm to my classes.

2023-2024 Courses:
WRR103H1: Introduction to Academic Essay Writing
WRR201H1: Theories of Rhetoric: A Brief History of Persuasion
WRR303H1: Digital Rhetoric
WRR308H1: Selected Topics in Writing and Rhetoric: Rhetoric of Health and Medicine

My teaching and research
As a core faculty member in the Writing & Rhetoric Program, I teach a wide array of courses on rhetorical theories and practices.

Most of my research focuses on ways that rhetorical theory can inform media studies, literary studies, and philosophy. I’ve written a variety of academic journal articles, book chapters, and art criticism essays that explore rhetorical questions around politics, aesthetics, conspiracy theories, and television genres. I recently co-authored a book about rhetoric and psychology for Routledge.

My favourite writing
Of the novels I’ve read over the last couple of years, my favourites are Lauren Oyler’s Fake Accounts and Richard Powers’ Bewilderment. Each in its own way takes the reader on a gripping, psychologically-nuanced journey through a contemporary world replete with social entanglements, persuasive lures, and profound ethical consequences.

Learn more about me

Contact
Daniel Adleman
Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream
daniel.adleman@utoronto.ca

Kelli Deeth

Kelli Deeth

Sessional Instructor

I teach WRR311: Seminar in Creative Writing-Fiction. As an instructor, I guide students toward becoming writers of multidimensional fiction. I work with students to help them view their fictional characters, worlds, images, and plots from all possible angles, so that the fiction they write is powerful and memorable. Another goal is to guide students toward becoming empathetic, thoughtful, and constructive editors.

My published books include The Girl Without Anyone (HarperCollins), which was chosen as one of The Globe and Mail’s Best Books of 2001 and The Other Side of Youth (Arsenal), which was nominated for a 2013 relit award. I also publish stories and essays in journals such as Joyland, The Humber Literary Review, and The Literary Review of Canada. I am currently completing a novel and third collection of stories.

2023-2024 Courses

WRR311Y1Y Seminar in Creative Writing

My teaching and research

As a teacher, I choose readings that, no matter the genre, explore what it means to be human and also demonstrate excellence in craft.

As a writer, I have a particular interest in how individuals exist within imperfect families and relationships. My fiction examines the complexities of marriage, yearning, friendship, and the uncertainties of adulthood. I’m interested in disconnections, missed connections, desire and loss.

My favourite writing

I especially love reading fiction that is striking in its originality and sincerity and that explores the pressure, pain, comedy, and longing that make up the universal human experience.

Learn more about me

 

English

Sharon English

Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream

I’m an assistant professor in the teaching stream, and past director of the Writing & Rhetoric program, Innis One, and the Innis College Writing Centre. WRR311: Seminar in Creative Writing – Fiction reflects my passion for fiction writing and the short story form. I love working with students over two semesters, watching the class become a community and creative hub.

As instructor, I nurture and model the rich, informative, dynamic, and supportive relationships between creators that are so essential to any sustained artistic practice.

My published books include the short story collections Uncomfortably Numb and Zero Gravity a Globe and Mail Best 100 title of 2007, and long-listed for the Giller Prize —  and my first novel, Night in the World, which was published May 2022. I’ve also published essays and stories in numerous journals, including Best Canadian Stories, Canadian Notes & Queries and Dark Mountain in Britain.

Past courses
INI102H1: Telling the Stories of the City: Writing Creative Non-Fiction
WRR311Y1: Seminar in Creative Writing
WRR308H1: Writing from Territory: Creative Writing in Fiction and Non-Fiction

My teaching and research
My teaching focus is on creative writing in its different forms. In addition to WRR311, I developed and taught Telling the Stories of the City – Introduction to Creative Nonfiction for the Innis One Program. 

Writers shape our culture. My work emerges from a deep connection to the natural world and the crises of these times. In a culture beset by ecological and social upheaval, writers, especially young writers, have never been more needed.

Writing that engages the moral imagination; writing that bears witness to suffering and celebrates beauty; writing that emerges from deep scrutiny to speak difficult and necessary truths; writing that comes from walking outside and is written by hands that have touched and held soil; writing that discovers new stories to live by and reimagines old ones — this is the writing that can nourish us in these times.

I’ll be offering a new course involving land-based creative writing in Spring 2023.

My favourite writing
I tend to read nonfiction and fiction at the same time. The nonfiction that’s left the deepest impact on me recently is Derrick Jensen’s Bright Green Lies and the late Steven Heighton’s memoir about volunteering in a refugee camp, Reaching Mithymna. For fiction, I’m really enjoying the bold, creative approach of David Hubert’s stories, Chemical Valley.

Contact
Sharon English
Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream
sharon.english@utoronto.ca

Viktoria Jocanovic-Krstic

Viktoria Jovanovic-Krstic

Sessional Instructor

I have been an instructor in the Writing & Rhetoric Program since 2006. I have an undergraduate degree in English and corporate communication and graduate degrees in linguistics and stylistics, which means that I am an avid wordsmith with a particular passion for language in use. I am also one of those people who reads multiple newspapers and who follows up on claims because I am interested in understanding the “full picture.”

In my free time, I binge-watch TV shows, am a fan of popular culture, love movies, and appreciate fine wine. When I finally grow up, I’ll probably be sitting at a café somewhere along the Champs-Élysées, nursing a café au lait and people watching.

You will find me to be personable, knowledgeable, and approachable; I have an interest in many topics and I am always keen to learn more. Most importantly, I value learning, so I am thrilled to learn with you.

2023-2024 Courses
WRR104H1: Writing Reports
WRR300H1: Strategic Writing in Business and the Professions: Theory and Practice
WRR302H1: Writing in Business and the Professions for Rotman Commerce Students

My teaching and research
As a faculty member in the W&R Program, I teach a wide variety of courses, from our introductory course (WRR104H1) to a business communication course (WRR300H1), which is open to any student at U of T who is interested in developing their communication skills.

My research interests are varied, including the discourse of war, functional grammar, business communication, corporate communication, and academic writing, including essay and report writing.

As a functional grammarian, I am particularly interested in how people use all aspects of language to express attitude and engagement.

My favourite writing
I am an avid reader and a closet novelist. While I have no true preference regarding genre, I do appreciate a well-developed story, some humour to make me laugh, and smartly constructed sentences. If I could describe my perfect day, it would include a contemporary novel, a scenic beach-front view, and an ice-cold drink.

Contact
Viktoria Jovanovic-Krstic
Sessional Instructor
viktoria.jovanovic.krstic@utoronto.ca

Simon Lewson

Simon Lewsen

Sessional Instructor

I am a magazine writer and a course instructor at Innis College. I write about art, music, architecture, politics, travel, tech, science, and mental health — and sometimes I write about myself. (Yes, despite what you might have heard, it is still possible to make a living as a writer.) 

My home is The Walrus magazine, but I have also contributed to The Globe and Mail, The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, and MIT Technology Review. I like to spend time alone with my thoughts and also with interesting people, asking them questions about their lives and worldviews.

Past courses
INI102H1: Telling the Stories of the City: Writing Creative Non-Fiction
INI106H1: Writing Literary Journalism: Telling the Stories of the City
WRR312H1: Writing Literary Journalism

My teaching and research
At Innis College, I teach courses on creative non-fiction. My classes are lively, and discussion based. Think of them as weekly book clubs, except all the participants are smart undergraduate students, and there’s no wine.

My favourite writing
My favourite non-fiction genre is the “profile” — a mini-biography of an interesting person or thinker. I have written profiles of the filmmaker Xavier Dolan, the pop star Cœur de pirate, the architect Moshe Safdie, the para-athlete Brian McKeever, the neuroscientist Sean Hill, the experimental chemist Alan Aspuru-Guzik, and Canada’s deputy prime minister, Chrystia Freeland.

Contact
Simon Lewsen
Sessional Instructor
simon.lewsen@utoronto.ca

Cynthia Messenger

Cynthia Messenger

Associate Professor, Teaching Stream

I am an associate professor in the teaching stream and director of the Innis Writing Centre. I have been teaching various modes of writing at U of T for many years. I also have experience as a writing consultant in the professional workplace, including Ontario’s Office of the Lieutenant Governor. I received the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal for my work in that office. I spearheaded the Writing and Rhetoric Program in 2003, and was director until 2016.

I have developed courses on a range of subjects for the W&R program, including Rhetorical Analysis, Writing for the Professional Workplace, Essay Writing, Word and Image, and Visual Rhetoric.

2023-2024 Courses
WRR103H1: Introduction to Academic Essay Writing
WRR203H1: Advanced Academic Writing

JWE206H1:  Writing English Essays
WRR308H1: Selected Topics in Writing and Rhetoric: Visual Rhetoric

My teaching and research
In my courses, the readings and my lectures reflect my interest in fine art, the decorative arts, rhetoric, style, and belles lettres. Most of my courses feature at least one research-based assignment. The suggested reading and scholarly sources I provide are meant to encourage students to explore more deeply the wide-ranging fields of writing and rhetoric, including visual rhetoric.

I enjoy teaching courses such as WRR305: Word and Image, because students never fail to amaze me with their excellent analyses of poems about paintings (ekphrasis); wall text in museums; or satiric text on ceramic objects, to name only some of the topics students have chosen.

My current research focuses on the intersection between word and image, and on the visual rhetoric of the display of porcelain in paintings of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

My favourite writing
Among my favourite scholarly articles is a series of three by Deborah L. Silverman: “Art Nouveau: Art of Darkness: African Lineages of Belgian Modernism, Parts I, II, and III,” published in 2012 in West 86th: A Journal of Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture, published by University of Chicago Press.

Favourite books include Jean-Etienne Liotard: 1702-1789 by Christopher Baker; Writing for Art: the Aesthetics of Ekphrasis by Stephen Cheeke; Georgian London by John Summerson, and Caspar David Friedrich: Nature and the Self, by Nina Amstutz.

Learn more about me

Contact
Cynthia Messenger
Associate Professor, Teaching Stream
cynthia.messenger@utoronto.ca

Roz Spafford

Roz Spafford

Sessional Instructor

In addition to teaching creative writing for the Writing & Rhetoric Program, I teach creative writing in the summer session at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where I taught for many years. I also instruct in the Health Sciences and New College Writing Centres — so I am tuned in to the wide variety of papers students need to write for other courses, and I understand how to respond to student writing on its own terms.

2023-2024 Courses
WRR211H1: Introduction to Creative Writing (2023 Summer)

My teaching and research
WRR211: Introduction to Creative Writing is my favourite course of the many I have taught (journalism, academic writing, fiction, poetry, literary journalism), because students who have only written in their journals suddenly find themselves writing fully realized pieces. Also, students who think they can only write in one genre leap into new forms – and it is exhilarating to see their work grow and transform so quickly.

I write fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction. My current research focuses on my memoir about growing up downwind from the Nevada Test Site, a large nuclear testing site in the Southwestern US. It is about land, losing land, family, the economics and environmental issues of ranching, the history of Indigenous and Spanish-speaking people of the area — and about radiation.

My favourite writing
I like to read a wide range of work by diverse authors, especially short stories, poems that are both lyrical and located in the ordinary world, high fantasy, post-apocalyptic speculative fiction, literary journalism that is historically grounded — and student writing.

Learn more about me
rozspafford.org 

Contact
Roz Spafford
Sessional Instructor
roz.spafford@utoronto.ca

Vikki Visvis

Vikki Visvis

Sessional Instructor

I am a lecturer at the University of Toronto, where I have taught courses, since 2004, in the Department of English and, since 2009, in the Writing & Rhetoric Program. Additionally, I work as a writing instructor at the Innis College and University College Writing Centres. I enjoy teaching and learning about academic writing, which is a focus of both WRR103H1 and WRR203H1. 

2023-2024 Courses
WRR103H1: Introduction to Academic Essay Writing
ENG354Y1: Canadian Poetry
ENG357H1: New Writing in Canada
ENG481H1: Advanced Studies Seminar: Acoustic Geographies in Canadian Literature

My teaching and research

I received a PhD in English language and literature from the University of Toronto in 2004, and my dissertation offers a rhetorical analysis of traumatic testimony, namely as “talking cure,” in Canadian fiction. This research asks the same question posed by courses I teach about rhetoric, such as WRR203H1: how can we use language to communicate a specific message for a specific audience, particularly when confronted with the limitations inherent in linguistic and narrative communication?

My current research develops these interests by examining literary representations of acoustic discourses — that is, sets of assumptions about sound in distinct historical moments, sociocultural contexts, and geographical regions. This inquiry allows me both to investigate acoustic rhetoric in Canadian literature and to hone my composition skills. By engaging in ongoing scholarship, I am reminded of the rigours and rewards of academic writing, an experience I can then share with students taking WRR103H1.

I was delighted to receive ASSU’s Ranjini (Rini) Ghosh Excellence in Teaching Award in 2012/2013 and the Margaret Proctor Award in Writing Instruction in 2022 for the valuable opportunity of engaging in collaborative learning with students

My favourite writing
While I relish reading contemporary Canadian fiction and poetry, I really do enjoy writing academic essays. Generating a rush of ideas through close reading or research and crafting them into a disciplined structure are what I find most rewarding about the scholarly writing process. This writing practice has enabled me to publish peer-reviewed academic essays about Canadian and American fiction by Frances Itani, Elizabeth Hay, David Bergen, Dionne Brand, Joseph Boyden, Michael Ondaatje, Kerri Sakamoto, Eden Robinson, and Toni Morrison.

Contact
Vikki Visvis
Sessional Instructor
vvisvis@chass.utoronto.ca

Rebecca Vogen

Rebecca Vogan

Sessional Instructor

I am an instructor in the Writing & Rhetoric Program, a writing instructor at the Innis College and University College Writing Centres, an instructor in the Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) publishing program, and a freelance editor. When I moved to Toronto to work in publishing, after my undergrad at Western, I discovered a world of people passionate about writing. Immediately, I felt at home.

After my first publishing job, I completed a master’s (Queen’s University), worked for the provincial government, and then launched a freelance career. When a colleague asked me to teach an editing course at George Brown College, I jumped at the chance. I’ve now taught editing for over 20 years, always with pleasure.

2023-2024 Courses
WRR310H1: Copy Editing and Stylistic Editing
WRR316H1: Developmental and Substantive Editing

My teaching and research
I see editing as both an art and a craft, an intricate behind-the-scenes process that honours writers, serves readers, and enhances texts. When we understand this hidden process, we read every published piece differently — attuned to its complex backstory. In my courses, I hope to inspire you with this story and my enthusiasm. I also hope to teach you skills and strategies that you can use in university and beyond.

My favourite writing
For pleasure and escape, I read literary fiction. For fun and knowledge, I read (and collect) books on writing, revising, and editing.

Contact
Rebecca Vogan
Sessional Instructor
rebecca.vogan@utoronto.ca

Have questions about W&R?

Need more info? Want to discuss if a minor in the Writing & Rhetoric Program is right for you? Looking for help choosing courses? Jannie Chien, Innis College academic program coordinator, can help!

programs.innis@utoronto.ca
416-946-7107