Name: Aja Y. Martinez Email: amartine@binghamton.edu Web Address: http://www.binghamton.edu/english/faculty/martinez-a.html Year Graduated from the RCTE program: 2012 Recent publications Martinez, Aja Y. A Plea for Critical Race Theory Counterstory: Dialogues Concerning Alejandra s Fit in the Academy. Composition Studies. 42.2 (2014) Accepted for publication. 30pp. Martinez, Aja Y. Critical Race Theory Counterstory as Allegory: A Rhetorical Trope to Raise Awareness About Arizona s Ban on Ethnic Studies. Across the Disciplines. Fall (2013). 26pp. Innovative work Binghamton Enrichment Summer Bridge: Writing Program Administrator In this position, I serve as Writing Administrator for Writing 101, the Binghamton University Writing Initiative and Educational Opportunity Program s summer bridge program first-year writing course. This position has required that I develop curriculum and that I hire and train teaching staff for this newly credit-bearing course. My curriculum is designed to offer students the opportunity to become acquainted with genres of college-level writing, and to fine-tune skills such as critical thinking, engagement with the text, rhetorical analysis, citation and documentation, and writing as a process. Recent courses taught The Stories We Tell: Rhetorics of Race, Citizenship, and Nation: This course explores the racialized rhetorics of citizenship and nation-building. As a class we survey the rhetorical patterns used to characterize and discuss the immigrant from early waves of immigration in the US, to contemporary times. Particular attention is geared toward Arizona as a case study for both issues of immigration and nation-building, with a focus on rhetorics involved in legislation, language policy, education, and media coverage. Rhetorical Theory: Contemporary Rhetorics of Race and Racism: This course reviews the development of Critical Race Theory (CRT) from its origins in the field of law and through its foundations in civil rights scholarship and feminist thought. As a class we explore CRT's contemporary applications for analyzing colorblind racist rhetorics and practices in the academy, the field of rhetoric and composition, and its application toward identity, national politics, and institutional policy. Rhetorical Foundations: This course explores the nature and function of rhetoric, its theoretical bases, and its historical development from classical times into the 21st century. Key themes of women s rhetorics, African American rhetorics, Indigenous rhetorics and Latin@/Mestiz@ rhetorics are the focus of our course units. A central concern of the course explores the concept of truth as it relates to social constructs of race, class, gender, sexuality, and access to civic participation in a democratic society.
Institutional, professional, or community organization: Administrative / Elected positions Writing Administrator, Binghamton Enrichment Program Faculty Curricular Advisor, Binghamton Career Development Internship Program Faculty Advisor, Binghamton McNair Program Faculty Senator, Binghamton Faculty Senate Media Committee, Binghamton English Department Social Media Chair, NCTE/CCCC Latin@ Caucus Grants / Awards Binghamton University Semester in London On-Site Faculty Director, 2014-2015 Binghamton University Black Student Union Black History Month Kick-Off Celebration Keynote Speaker, 2014 University of Kentucky Smitherman/Villanueva Writing Collective, 2013-Present. Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship, Honorable Mention, 2011. Conferences / Professional meetings Conference on College Composition and Communication; Rhetoric Society of America; Feminisms and Rhetorics
Photos