Crystal Broch Colombini
Associate Professor; Director of the Writing Program; Co-director, Public & Professional Writing Minor
(On Leave Fall 2024)
BA, University of Oregon; MA, University of Nevada Reno; PhD, University of Nevada Reno
Research and Teaching Interests:
Undergraduate: First-year composition; advanced composition; professional, technical, and public writing; community-engaged writing
Graduate: Composition pedagogy, rhetorical theory, writing in scholarly genres, professional and technical writing pedagogy
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Crystal Colombini’s research examines connections between theories of rhetoric and writing and ideas about the economy. Her projects explore how various rhetorical traditions, events, and situations—from public debates about markets, to political deliberation over policies, to the resistant acts of social movements—intersect with the pressures of neoliberal capitalism to push wealth upward, alienate individuals from social collectives, and maintain intersectional inequalities. Her monograph Constructing the Market, which explores the public rhetoric of American homeownership, is in process with Penn State University Press. Her articles have appeared in a range of journals including College English, Rhetoric Society Quarterly, Advances in the History of Rhetoric, and Technical Communication Quarterly.