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Dena Arendall

Contact Information

Email: de.arendall
Postdoctoral Associate

Education

  • Ph.D., Applied Linguistics, University of Memphis, 2023
  • M.S. in Education, University of Wisconsin-Stout, 2013
  • B.L.S., English and Korean Language Studies, 2006

Courses Taught

  • ENC 2305: Analytical Writing and Thinking: Is AI Our Friend?
  • ENC 3459: Writing in Medical Sciences

Pedagogical Interests

Digital Composition, Multimodal Texts, Collaborative Learning, Student-Centered Dynamic Learning

Research Interests

Multimedium-based Multimodal Language, Digital Communication, and their impact on Gender, Identity, and Community Building,  Gamification and Digital Composition in Education

Personal Interests

When not immersed in the classroom or the world of online gaming/live streaming research, I’m likely found with a cat in my lap and a rescue mission on my mind. I’m passionate about giving our animal friends a second chance at life. Guided by the principle of Tikkun Olam, I strive to make the world a better place—one rescue at a time.

Best Writing Advice

“Don’t just find your own voice—unleash it. Write like your words have claws, like they’ll leap off the page and land in someone’s lap. Embrace the oddities and the quirks, the bits of you that make your writing unmistakably yours. Even the most serious of topics can benefit from a dash of wild creativity!”

Publications

  • Arendall, Dena. “Moving forward with purpose: Writing in the shadow of suicide.” Our Body of Work: Embodied Administration and Teaching, edited by Melissa Nicolas and Anna Sicari, Utah State UP, 2022, pp. 169-183.
  • Graham, S.L. & Arendall, D.E. (2023). "Emojis, Emotes, Stickers & GIFs: A Comparison of Graphicon Categories." Language@Internet, [Accepted for Publication, Expected 2024].
  • Graham, S.L. & Arendall, D.E. Technical Comparison of Graphicon Types [in progress, to be submitted to the Journal of Computer Mediated Communication (June 2024)]