Professor of English · NC State University
KIRSTI K.
COLE
Bridging Institutional Literacy, Feminist Pedagogy, and AI Ethics in Writing and Speaking
Co-Director, Campus Writing and Speaking Program
Professor, Department of English
North Carolina State University · Raleigh, NC
Rhetoric & Composition Feminist Pedagogy AI Ethics WAC / WID Institutional Change Multimodal Composition
Dr. Kirsti K. Cole
20+
Years in the field
7
Books & collections
30+
Students mentored
01
About

Professor of English, editor, and writing program leader committed to transforming how we teach, research, and value communication in higher education.

With over 20 years of experience in rhetoric and composition, feminist theory, and program administration, my work bridges theory and practice across institutional, disciplinary, and technological boundaries.

I serve as Professor of English and Co-Director of the Campus Writing and Speaking Program (CWSP) at North Carolina State University, where I collaborate with faculty across disciplines to develop writing-enriched curricula, facilitate communication-enriched pedagogies, and co-lead campus-wide initiatives on ethical and inclusive writing and speaking instruction. I specialize in faculty development emphasizing WAC, WID, and institutional literacy.

My scholarship spans institutional ethnography, the ethics of AI integration in writing, and alternative rhetorics of motherhood through a feminist lens. I am one of the co-authors of the AWAC Statement on Artificial Intelligence Writing Tools (2025) and an invited member of the AI and Research Working Group at the Modern Language Association (2025–).

Whether in the classroom, through research, or in institutional leadership, my work centers on creating sustainable, collaborative, and inclusive futures for writing and communication.

Students are not just learners, but co-creators of knowledge.
02
Research

Composing Change: Institutional Ethnography, Feminist Inquiry, and Digital Futures

Area 01
Program Administration & Institutional Ethnography
Research in WAC/WID/WEC focuses on how institutions define, support, and assess writing across disciplines. I use institutional ethnography and rhetorical analysis to trace the often-invisible labor behind curriculum design, policy decisions, and faculty development.
Recent Work
  • Invited Keynote, Write@UGA Conference, February 2026
  • "The Labor of Strategic Translation," CCC forthcoming 2026
  • AWAC 2024 Exemplary Enduring WAC Program Award
Area 02
Feminist Rhetorics & Alternative Motherhood
My feminist rhetorical scholarship investigates how motherhood — particularly non-normative and stepmother identities — is represented in political discourse, media, and cultural narratives, and how feminist theory can inform institutional practice and leadership.
Recent Work
  • "Discursive Archetypes: Kamala Harris and Repositioning Stepmotherhood," Peitho forthcoming
  • Refiguring Motherhood Beyond Biology (Routledge, 2023)
  • Invited roundtable, IAMAS 2024, Boston University
Area 03
AI and Digital Writing Pedagogies
This line of research interrogates the impact of generative AI on writing processes, authorship, assessment, and faculty labor. I examine how large language models shape rhetorical decision-making and propose ethical frameworks for integration into pedagogy.
Recent Work
  • Co-author, AWAC Statement on AI Writing Tools in WAC Settings (2025)
  • Guest Editor with Chris Anson, JOWR 17.3 (2026)
  • MLA AI and Research Working Group (2025–)
Area 04
Multimodal Composition and Equity
My research in multimodal composition explores how students compose across genres, platforms, and modalities, collaborating across disciplines to design inclusive pedagogies that recognize linguistic diversity, digital access, and student positionality.
Recent Work
  • Reimagining Graduate Education in Writing Studies (Routledge, 2026)
  • "Reflective Multimodal Feedback Practices," TextGenEd (2025)
  • Professionalizing Multimodal Composition, USUP (2023)
Books & Edited Collections
Selected Articles & Chapters
03
Teaching

Pedagogy Grounded in Practice, Equity, and Rhetorical Agility

Students are not just learners, but co-creators of knowledge.

I teach with the conviction that writing is never neutral — it shapes who we are, how we are perceived, and how we navigate the world. Across undergraduate and graduate levels, I design courses that foreground rhetorical awareness, student agency, and the social dimensions of writing.

My teaching is grounded in feminist, inclusive, and antiracist pedagogies that equip students to engage critically and creatively with their academic, civic, and professional communities. I integrate multimodal composition, digital tools, and AI literacy into my curriculum, emphasizing ethical use and critical reflection.

I also invest deeply in mentoring graduate instructors and future faculty, modeling collaborative curriculum design and sustained pedagogical inquiry.

Read full teaching philosophy →

ENG 511
Theory and Research in Composition
Foundational approaches to composition theory, pedagogical methods, and programmatic implications.
ENG 583
Multimodal Composition in Practice
Integrates multimodal theory, critical design, inclusive assessment, and ethical GenAI integration.
CRDM 704
Pedagogy & Communication Technologies
Pedagogical theory, digital literacies, and critical approaches to GenAI and multimodal design.
Seminar
Rhetoric & Composition Theory
Key debates and methodologies preparing students to teach, design, and assess writing.
Topics
Gender and Public Discourse
How gender and power circulate through media, institutions, and everyday rhetorics.
Topics
Feminist Rhetorics & Digital Media
Analyzing and producing feminist discourse online, with attention to embodiment and activism.
20+
Years teaching rhetoric, composition, and feminist theory at graduate and undergraduate levels
30+
MA and PhD students mentored in composition, rhetoric, and digital writing
2
University-wide WAC programs directed, including the AWAC 2024 Award-winning CWSP at NC State
WEC
Writing-enriched curriculum initiatives co-led across NC State, embedding outcomes into disciplines
04
Consulting

I partner with faculty, departments, writing programs, and institutional leaders to co-develop responsive, research-driven communication strategies that foster equity, effectiveness, and sustainability. Through hands-on workshops, institutional partnerships, and project-based consulting, I help individuals and organizations design initiatives that are rhetorically sound, evidence-based, and truly transformative.

WAC / WEC Curriculum Design
Facilitating department- and program-level curriculum integration using inclusive, discipline-specific approaches to writing and speaking.
Ethical GenAI & AI Literacy
Guiding ethical, equitable, and accessible approaches to generative AI in classrooms, writing centers, and institutional policy.
Faculty Development
Designing workshops, retreats, and asynchronous modules that support sustained, reflective communication instruction.
Institutional Research & Visual Storytelling
Translating data into narrative through institutional ethnography and visual reporting for program review, grants, and redesign.
Feminist Leadership & Governance
Supporting leadership grounded in feminist ethics, transparency, and shared responsibility, tailored to departments and administrators.
Partnership
Real Shared Governance
With Dr. Holly Hassel

Faculty-driven consulting for institutional change. We help departments and academic leaders implement effective shared governance structures that reflect the realities of faculty labor, institutional policy, and disciplinary expertise.

  • Shared governance audits and redesign
  • Chair and committee training sessions
  • Faculty mentoring programs for emerging leaders
  • Strategic visioning retreats for departments or cross-campus units
Partnership
Rhetorica Editing
With Dr. Kristin Bivens

Ethical editing for medical, technical, and scientific communication. Our editorial approach combines rhetorical precision with linguistic clarity, ensuring research communicates across scholarly, clinical, and public spheres.

  • Manuscript review and revision for publication
  • Translational editing for interdisciplinary and public audiences
  • Grant proposal editing and feedback
  • Ethics and style review for health communication texts
05
Contact
Let's work together.