Jeannine Johnson
Senior Lecturer in the Writing Program
I am director of the Writing Program and a senior lecturer in writing.
I teach first-year writing courses, including Wellesley and the World and What's in a Name? Investigating What We Call People, Places, and Things. I also team-teach, with Jocelyne Dolce, an advanced writing seminar for seniors in the McNair Scholars Program. From 2016-2018, I team-taught Live and Learn: Understanding Mind-Body Connections with Connie Bauman, and the experience of that class informed a paper on integrating wellness practices into the college classroom.
One of my goals in teaching is to help students to see writing, research, and scholarly argument not as ends in themselves but as an important way for us to engage with others. I aim to cultivate a supportive, inclusive classroom in which students develop their voice and feel confident that they have the tools to use it effectively. I design my courses so that students can make active connections between the lessons of the classrom and the world beyond it.
I've explored how poets perceive the possibilities and the limitations of other types of boundary-crossings in my book, Why Write Poetry? Modern Poets Defending Their Art (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2007). In it, I examine the ways in which poets perceive the role of poetry in the broader culture, looking at how they defend its value within their poems and simultaneously question whether this defense is resonating outside them. I continue to be interested in the expression and uses of poetry in today's society.
I'm also interested in developing tools and practices to help students write with clarity, purpose, and an alertness to their audience, and to help educational institutions effectively support and promote their students' writing. In recent years, I have travelled to Japan and China to teach writing and to advise on best practices for educating and supporting college writers. In the U.S., I have led writing workshops for high school students, undergraduates, and graduate students, as well as for college faculty in the humanities and in the sciences.
I came to Wellesley in 2007. Before that, I taught in the Writing Program at Harvard, and in the English Department at Wake Forest University.
Beyond campus, I enjoy food, sports, and travel, the latter especially when it involves activities related to food or sports.
Education
- B.A., Haverford College
- Ph.D., Yale University
Currently teaching
Advanced Writing Seminar
WRIT325H
This course supports senior McNair Program Scholars as they prepare to apply to graduate schools and post-baccalaureate programs. Students will become more confident, effective writers as they produce drafts of personal statements, fellowship applications, and other scholarly materials. Students in this course will engage in professional development activities, practice communicating their scientific knowledge and research results to different audiences, and gain the benefits of being part of a community of scholars. Open only to seniors participating in the McNair Scholars Program.
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Wellesley and the World
WRIT122
Wellesley's mission is to educate those "who will make a difference in the world." In this course, we will study some of Wellesley's change-makers and learn about the College's role in shaping American higher education, promoting student wellness, advancing gender equality, influencing global politics, and improving public health. We will also examine the world that is Wellesley, with special emphasis on its historic buildings and unique landscape. Students will gain a deep understanding of Wellesley's story and their place in it, and they will practice making a difference in the world through their own writing.