Chalet Seidel
Associate Professor, English, Assistant Coordinator, Writing Center and Writing Across the Curriculum

Biography

Chalet Seidel teaches a variety of introductory and upper-division courses on writing and writers. Her writing courses take a  rhetorical approach, paying particular attention to the writer's conception of and connection with audiences. In all of her classes, Chalet encourages her students to become more careful, critical readers and more confident writers. Outside the classroom, she serves on both campus-wide and departmental committees that promote writing across campus. Chalet has presented and published work on rhetorical theories of genre and on the professional development of Nineteenth-Century American journalists. Before entering academia, Chalet worked in publishing, including at a psychiatric journal and at a community-based arts nonprofit.

Education

  • B.A., Professional Writing and Editing, Youngstown State University

  • M.A., English, Youngstown State University

  • Ph.D, Writing History and Theory, Case Western Reserve University

Courses Taught

  • 0103 - Speech

  • 0276 - Writing About the Arts

  • 0292 - ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ and Technical Writing

  • 0302 - Writing Matters: History, Theory, Technology, and Action

  • 0303 - Persuasive Communication

  • 0329 - Career Preparation for Writers

  • 0331 - Special Topics in Professional Writing

  • 0337 - Visual Rhetoric for Publishing Professionals

Areas of Research

My current research is on the experience of neurodivergent students in the writing classroom.

Professional Service

  • Westfield State University Writing Liaison and Academic Policies Committees
  • Chair, Westfield State University English Department Writing Committee
  • Westfield State University English Department Composition Committee
  • Associate Editor, The Historical Journal of Massachusetts
  • Professional Memberships: Conference on College Composition and Communication, Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication, and Society for Technical Communication