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ENGL_lunsEducation

  • Ph.D.The Florida State University , 1976
  • M.A. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , 1971
  • B.A. The University of North Carolina at Charlotte , 1970

Areas of Interest

  • Linguistics: Discourse, Cognition and Metaphor, Narrative Theory, Pragmatics
  • Rhetoric and Composition: Response to Writing; Theories of Argumentation
  • The Longwood Guide to Writing, 4 th edition. Forthcoming, 2008.
  • Several articles in progress on narrative theory, ESL instruction in pragmatics, connections between the teaching of writing in high schools and college, and the teaching of argumentation

Selected Publications and Presentations
Books

The Longwood Guide to Writing, 4th Edition.  New York, New York:  Pearson/Longman, 2008. (With Charles, W. Bridges)

Twelve Readers Reading: Responding to College Student Writing.  Creskill, NJ: Hampton Press, 1995.      (With Richard E. Straub)

Noam Chomsky. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1994. (With Michael C. Haley)

Research in Composition and Rhetoric: A Bibliographic Sourcebook.  Westport, CT: Greenwood Press,    1984. (Edited with Michael G. Moran)

Writing: Discovering Form and Meaning. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co., 1984. (With Charles    W. Bridges)

Linguistic Perspectives on Literature. Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1980. (Edited with Marvin K. L. Ching and Michael C. Haley)

Essays in Collections

M.B. McLagan, Boyd Davis, and Ronald F. Lunsford. “Fixed expressions, extenders and  metonymy in the speech of people with Alzheimer’s Disease.” Phraseology: an Interdisciplinary Perspective.              Eds. Granger, S.and F. Meunier. Amsterdam & NY: John Benjamins, 2007. 1-22.

“Twelve Readers Reading: A Survey of  Contemporary Teachers’ Commenting Strategies.” Key Works    On Teacher Response: An Anthology. Ed. Richard Straub.Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, Boynton/Cook, 2006. 159-189. (With Richard Straub)

“From Attitude to Aptitude: Assuming the Stance of a College Writer.”  Eds. Patrick Sullivan and Howard               Tinberg. What is “College-Level” Writing? Urbana, Ill: NCTE, 2006. 158-177.

Recent Conference Presentations

“Words and Reality: Does Saying it Make it So?” Humor Night at Conference on College Composition and Communication, New Orleans, March, 2008.

“Exploring the Chasm Between Words and Meaning:  The Acquisition of Pragmatic Competence BySecond Language Writers.” Conference on College Composition and Communication. New Orleans, March, 2008. With: Pilar Blitvich, Boyd Davis, and Nancy Pfingstag)

“Rhetorical Lessons from the Presidential Debates of 2008.” Writing Matters: An Exploration of the Diverse Nature of the Composition Classroom. Baton Rouge, April, 2008.

“Sex, Lies, and Political Videotapes: The Role of Brief Videos in the 2008 Presidential Race.” The Thomas R. Watson Conference: The New Work of Compositing. Louisville, 2008.

“The Acquisition of Pragmatic Competence By Second Language Learners: An Ongoing Study.” The Carolina TESOL Fall Conference. Charleston, December, 2008. (With: Pilar Blitvich, Boyd Davis, and Nancy Pfingstag)

“Sound Bytes and Other Annoyances We Have Known, An Introduction to Humor Night.” Conference   on College Composition and Communication. New York, 2007.

“Metonymy in Alzheimer’s Speech: When the Whole is More than the Sum of its Parts.”  The Many Faces of Phraseology: An Interdisciplinary Conference. Louvain la-Neuve, Belgium, Oct. 13-15, 2005. (With Boyd Davis, UNC Charlotte and Margaret Maclagan, University of Canterbury, New Zealand).

Courses Taught

Undergraduate:

  • English Fundamentals
  • Approaches to Literature
  • Composition I
  • Composition II
  • Advanced Composition
  • Grammar and Vocabulary
  • Survey of English Literature
  • Survey of American Literature
  • Literature and Culture
  • The Structure of Modern English
  • Composition for Teachers
  • Business Writing, Introduction to Language
  • History of the English Language
  • Public Speaking

Graduate:

  • Introduction to Language
  • Topics in Composition and Rhetoric, “Rhetorical Invention”
  • Topics in Composition and Rhetoric, “The Role of Metaphor in Rhetorical Theories”
  • Seminar in Composition and Rhetoric, “Responding to Student Texts”
  • Topics in Linguistics, “Metaphor”
  • Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric

Community Involvement

Member, Planning Committee for the Charlotte Teachers Institute; Consultant, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools