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Biography

Ashlyn C. Walden (née Williams) is a Senior Lecturer at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a PhD Candidate in Rhetorics, Communication, and Information Design at Clemson University. In the classroom, she teaches a variety of hybrid and online courses focused on empirical research methods, information literacy, and digital design. Outside of her teaching, she actively mentors faculty in digital design and disability advocacy. Her research interests—including digital composition, accessibility, critical pedagogy, and disability rhetorics—are united by a core commitment to the reciprocal relationship between academic theory and the practical realities of engaging in public life. In addition to her co-authored book, ACCESS: Accessible Course Construction for Every Student’s Success (Routledge, 2025), her research and film work have been featured in a variety of publications, such as Emerging Technologies in Virtual Learning Environments (2019), Journal for Multimodal Rhetorics (2022; 2023), Computers & Composition (2022), and Computers & Writing Conference Proceedings (2023).

Research Interests

  • Critical Pedagogy
  • Composition Theory
  • Contemporary Rhetorical Theory & New Media
  • Accessibility, Universal Design, & User-Centered Design
  • Disability Rhetorics
  • Digital Design
  • Writing to Learn

Publications

Co-Authored

  • Mahaffey, C., & Walden, A. (2025). ACCESS: Accessible course construction for every student’s success. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003485476
  • Walden, A., & Rand, M. (2023). A series of design(ed) tensions: Reclaiming space for faculty agency in curriculum development. In C. D. M. Andrews, C. Chen, & L. Wilkes (Eds.), Computers and Writing Conference Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.37514/pcw-b.2023.1862.2.07
  • Mahaffey, C., & Walden, A. (2019). #teachingbydesign: Complicating accessibility in the tech-mediated classroom. In K. Becnel (Ed.), Emerging technologies in virtual learning environments (pp. 38–66). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-7987-8

Sole Author

  • Walden, A. (2023). Play—Not necessity is the mother of invention: A reflection on accessibility research. In R. Stringfield & A. Hatcher (Eds.), Futures & fantasies [Special Issue]. Journal of Multimodal Rhetorics, 7(2). https://journalofmultimodalrhetorics.com/7-2-walden
  • Walden, A. (2022). Necessity is the mother of invention: Accessibility pre, inter, & post pandemic. In E. A. Monske, L. Cadle, & C. S. Harris (Eds.), Blurred boundaries: Post-pandemic perspectives of digital writing pedagogies [Special Issue]. Computers & Composition, 66. Elsevier Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compcom.2022.102740
  • Walden, A. (2022). “Be flexible.” In V. Manivannan & R. Osorio (Eds.), Carework & writing during COVID [Special Issue]. Journal of Multimodal Rhetorics, 6(2) https://journalofmultimodalrhetorics.com/6-2-walden
  • Walden, A. (2016). iPhone, iMac, iQuit: Computers are for work, smartphones are for play. In J. Cook & A. Walden (Eds.), RE: Composing: A writing studies journal (pp. 138–147). Fountainhead Press.
  • Williams, A. (2008). Literature in today’s classroom. North Carolina English Teacher, 64(2), 25–32.

Selected Presentations

  • Forthcoming. “Navigating Conversation Across Difference.” Invited Plenary Speaker, Annual Meeting in the Middle Conference for the Carolinas Writing Program Administrators. Location TBD: February 2026.
  • “Access N Action: Rethinking Accessibility in Course Design.” Conference Presenter, Quality Matters Summit. Durham, NC: September 2025.
  • “Access In Action or Access (In)action: Collective Access Approaches to Course Modality in Higher Education.” Conference Presenter, Computers & Writing. Athens, GA: May 2025.
  • “In Search of Interstitiality: Finding Peace in Dissonance.” Conference Presenter and Session Chair, Conference on College Composition and Communication, Baltimore, MD: April 2025.
  • “ACCESS in Action: Accessible and Inclusive Design Strategies.” Workshop Leader, Conference on College Composition and Communication, Baltimore, MD: April 2025.
  • “The Space Between: Balancing Accessibility and Labor.” Conference Presenter and Session Chair, Conference on College Composition and Communication, Spokane, WA: April 2024.
  • “Community-Centered Approaches to Accessible Pedagogy: Teachers and Learners Come Together to Design an Inclusive Classroom.” Workshop Leader, Conference on College Composition and Communication, Chicago, IL: February 2023.
  • “A Series of Design(ed) Tensions: Reclaiming Space for Faculty Agency in Curriculum Development.” Conference Presenter, Computers & Writing. Greenville, NC: May 2022.
  • “Ecological Disturbance & Recovery: Re-Imagining Accessibility in Tech-Mediated Classrooms.” Conference Presenter, Digital Humanities Institute of North Carolina. Charlotte, NC: April 2022.
  • “One Step Forward and Two Steps Back: Accessibility and Conflicting Implications of Remote Learning Triage During COVID-19.” Conference Presenter, Conference on College Composition & Communication. Chicago, IL: March 2022.
  • “If Necessity is the Mother of Invention, Then Pandemic Teaching is That Relative Everyone Keeps Hoping Won’t Come to the Family Reunion: Re-Imagining Accessibility Post-Pandemic.” Conference Presenter, Carolinas Writing Program Administrators’ Meeting in the Middle. Charlotte, NC: March 2022.
  • “Take That to the Bank: The Checks and Balances of Participatory Course Design.” Conference Presenter, Global Society for Online Literacy Educators. Norfolk, VA: January 2022.
  • “Pedagogy Take the Wheel: It Ain’t About the Tools.” Conference Presenter and Session Chair, Global Society for Online Literacy Educators. Norfolk, VA: 2021.

Teaching Experience

Courses Taught

  • WRDS 1103 Writing and Inquiry in Academic Contexts I and II
  • WRDS 1104 Writing and Inquiry with Studio (blended course)
  • WRDS 2101 Advanced Writing, Research & Critical Analysis
  • WRDS 3214 Information Literacy and Digital Composing
  • WRDS 4225 Writing Research Methods
  • WRDS 4402 Research, Theory, and Practice of Tutoring Writing

Courses Designed

  • WRDS 4400 Senior Internship Practicum
  • WRDS 4900 Senior Research Capstone
  • WRDS 4011 Topics in Writing Technologies on Collective Access