Valerie Kinloch, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Contact Info:

• E-mail: kinloch.2@osu.edu
• Office: 217 Arps Hall
• Phone: (614) 292-7435
• Fax: (614) 292-7695

Mailing Address:

• 1945 N. High Street
• Columbus, OH 43210-1177

Education

• Ph.D., Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan
• M.A., Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan
• B.A., Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina

Research Biography

Dr. Valerie Kinloch is an Assistant Professor in Adolescent Literacy and English Education in the College of Education at The Ohio State University. She earned her B.A. in Honors English at Johnson C. Smith University, her M.A. in English and African American Literature at Wayne State University, and her Ph.D. in English/Composition and Rhetoric at Wayne State University. Prior to joining the faculty in the College of Education at OSU, Valerie was on faculty at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City. She worked with students and teachers at local urban high schools in New York, and was a visiting senior English instructor at a high school in Harlem. She also worked as a Writing Resident in an urban middle school through the Writers-In-The-Schools program in Houston, Texas.

Her research interests include the social and literary lives, literacy learning, and collaborative engagements of urban youth and adults in and out-of-school spaces. She is the author of several journal articles, including "Revisiting the Promise of Students' Right to Their Own Language: Pedagogical Strategies" (2005, in College Composition and Communication Journal) and "'The white-ificaton of the hood': Power, politics, and youth performing narratives of community" (2007, in Language Arts Journal). Her co-authored book, Still Seeking an Attitude: Critical Reflections on the Work of June Jordan, was released in 2004. Her most recent book, June Jordan: Her Life and Letters, was published in 2006. Valerie was awarded a Spencer Foundation Small Research Grant as well as a Grant-in-Aid from the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) to support her work on the writing, literacy, and activist practices of African American and Latino high school and first generation college students in Harlem. In particular, this work examines how community gentrification and a politics of place can heavily impact the lives, literacy practices, and survival strategies of urban youth of color.

Activities and Honors

• Appointed Trustee, The Research Foundation, National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE, Nov 2007-)
• Program Planning Coordinator, The Research Strand of NCTE (2007)
• Member, Standing Committee on Research, NCTE (2006-2009)
• Research Mentor, "Cultivating New Voices" grant program, NCTE (2006-2008)
• Editorial/Advisory Board Member, Language Arts, (2006-2008)
• Editorial/Advisory Board Member, English Education, (2005-2007)
• Advisor, Annenberg/NY Public TV, "Teaching Multicultural Literature at the Middle School" (2004-2006) http://www.learner.org/channel/workshops/tml/workshop6/commentary2.html and http://www.learner.org/channel/workshops/tml/workshop1/commentary2.html
• Member, Commission on Language, NCTE (2002-2006)

External Funding

• The Spencer Foundation, Research Grant. "Youth Literacies, Spatial Narratives." (2006-2007).
• National Council of Teachers of English, Grant-In-Aid. "The Impact of Place-Based Narratives on the Writing Practices of Urban Youth," (2005-2007).
• National Council of Teachers of English, Cultivating New Voices Among Scholars of Color" grant. "Writing in the Community" (2000-2002).

Selected Publications

• Kinloch, V. (in press, December 2007). Youth representations of community, art, and struggle in Harlem, New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education Journal.
• Kinloch, V. (forthcoming, 2007). Investigating literacy as social practice: A response to Kelly Wissman," In M. Hill & L. Vasudevan (Eds.), Media, Learning, and Sites of Possibility. New York: Peter Lang
• Kinloch, V. (2007). "'The white-ification of the hood:' Power, politics, and youth performing narratives of community," Language Arts Journal 85.1: 61-68.
• Kinloch, V. (2006). June Jordan: Her life and letters, Women of Color Biography Series. Praeger Press/Greenwood Publishing.
• Kinloch, V. and Grebowiz, M. (Eds). (2005). Still seeking an attitude: Critical reflections on the work of June Jordan. Maryland: Lexington Books.
• Kinloch, V. (2005). Revisiting the promise of Students' Right to Their Own Language: Pedagogical strategies. College Composition and Communication 57.1: 83-113.
• Kinloch, V. (2005). Poetry, literacy, and creativity: Fostering effective learning strategies in an urban classroom. English Education 37.2: 96-114.

Courses Taught

• T&L 913: Research and Theory in Written Composition
• T&L 873: Popular Culture and the Teaching of English
• T&L 971: The English Curriculum: Literature