Kimberly Moekle
Senior Lecturer of Writing and Environmental Rhetoric Loyola Marymount University
Biography
She completed her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine, where she held various teaching and administrative positions and served as an Assistant Course Director for Undergraduate Writing.
Dr. Moekle’s current writing and research interests include issues at the intersection of environmental rhetoric and environmental ethics, with a particular focus on sustainable energy. She is also interested in eco-humanities pedagogy and the rhetoric of environmental politics in America. She has published in edited volumes and peer-reviewed journals on the critical role of rhetoric in environmental controversies, as well as on the concept of writing studies as an ideal disciplinary arena for engaging undergraduates in conversations about sustainability.
In addition to teaching at LMU, Dr. Moekle has also served as a Communications Consultant for a non-profit organization that created the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary (MAPS) Treaty, which protects the Arctic Ocean north of the Arctic Circle from all exploitation in perpetuity. The treaty has been translated into the six official languages of the United Nations and is currently accruing the signatures necessary to be realized.
Education
University of California, Irvine
Ph.D.
Comparative Literature
2000
University of California, Irvine
M.A.
English Literature
1993
UCLA
B.A.
English Literature
1989
Areas of Expertise
Industry Expertise
Affiliations
- Association of Writers and Writing Programs
- Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment
- Climate Reality Leadership Corps
- College Composition and Communication
- Common Ground Research Networks -- Scholars
- Global Society of Online Literacy Educators
- International Environmental Communication Association
- Modern Language Association
- National Council of Teachers of English
- Rhetoric Society of America
Links
Languages
- French
- Italian
- German
- Latin
Sample Talks
"A Planet on Edge: The Rhetoric of Sustainable Energy"
Conference on College Composition and Communication; March 2008 (panel member)
“If These Walls Could Talk: The Rhetoric of Places and Spaces”
Conference on College Composition and Communication; March 2009 (panel member)
“The Vision or the View: Cape Wind and the Rhetoric of Sustainable Energy"
Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment; June 5, 2009 (panel member)
“Recycling Ecocomposition: The Rhetoric of Sustainable Energy and the Ecology of Writing.”
Conference on College Composition and Communication; March 2010 (panel member)
"Up in the Air: Cape Wind and the Rhetoric of Sustainable Energy"
Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment; June 24, 2011 (panel member)
Courses
Rhetorical Arts 1000: The Rhetoric of Environmental Change
Specialized iteration of the standard REHT 1000 curriculum that enables students to engage in articulate expression, critical thinking, and moral reflection about environmental dilemmas that relate to sustainability and environmental justice. Analyzing the discourse of supporters and opponents of various environmental controversies exposes students to how diverse publics perceive environmental issues and policies. This analysis also demonstrates how rhetoric frames social realities. Encouraging students to explore environmental disputes through a rhetorical lens helps them examine how competing expressions shape our thoughts and actions. The course also gives them tools to discern the political, social, and moral agendas of those involved while simultaneously strengthening the effectiveness of their own rhetorical choices.
Rhetorical Arts 1000: Speaking and Writing for Social Justice
First-year course fostering articulate expression, critical thinking, and moral reflection, enabling students to engage in written and oral public debate with persuasive force and stylistic excellence. This course emphasizes rhetorical concepts such as invention, arrangement, claims with supporting evidence, exigency, and audience.
Articles
“Alice in a Warmer Wonderland: Climate Rhetoric in the Ecocomp Classroom”
Teaching Composition in the Age of Catastrophic Climate ChangeKimberly Moekle
2024-11-20
What does it mean to teach college writing in the face of climate catastrophe? This piece briefly reviews the history of ecocomposition and reframes it in light of the apocalyptic turn in climate discourse over the last quarter century, as well as the role that ecocomposition theory can play in framing these discussions. The chapter also considers the environmental narrative from the viewpoint of climate justice and reframes pedagogies of place in light of the climate catastrophe. Finally, it suggests a starting point for sobering classroom discussions and for considering what ecocomposition means in this unsettling age.
