Grace McCleskey

My name is Grace McCleskey and I am a PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. My research interests are centered around queer theory, corporeal rhetoric, and the rhetorical reification of moral panics. I am interested in how "non-normative" bodies are made to be the folk devil at the center of so many moral panics, all of which are rooted fundamentally in white supremacy. With a background in the fashion and beauty industry and a Master's degree in Sociology, my work is highly interdisciplinary in nature. I am informed by Black feminist theory and postmodern/postqualitative methodologies in the way that I approach my work both as a teacher and as and a researcher. I am passionate about teaching writing in ways that uplifts cultural rhetorics, cultivates students' personal voice, and creates space for the plurality of literacies in the classroom. Outside of my academic life, I love yoga, the New York Times games, and being a certifiable horse girl.