Sophomore Alan McKenzie ’22 Accepted to Naylor Workshop in Undergraduate Writing Studies

Alan McKenzie '22

“My research inquiry analyzes the ways in which [Hip-Hop] has become an effective tool for educating and connecting with students of color,” McKenzie explains. “With Hip-Hop pedagogy being used more prominently in various fields of academia, my research seeks to uncover how the implementation of Hip-Hop has forced educators and academic institutions to reevaluate not only the methods in which they teach the next generation of students, but also the traditional curriculum they’ve adhered to for so long.”  

Dr. Epelbaum oversaw McKenzie’s research project, ‘School House Rap,’ during her Spring 2019 Writing 102 course. “Alan’s project deeply engages with sources and expertly places research in conversation with his own voice, ultimately demonstrating the complex critical thought indicative of advanced and compelling scholarship,” she shares proudly.

Read an excerpt from McKenzie’s project here.

In September, McKenzie will travel to York College in southeast Pennsylvania for the three-day conference. Independent workshops will provide him and fellow participants with opportunities to develop research studies, as well as receive feedback and recommendations from writing researchers and students.

About the Naylor Workshop

Hosted annually by York College of Pennsylvania and made possible through The Naylor Endowment in Writing Studies, this conference provides participants one-on-one sessions with writing researchers in the fields of composition, rhetoric, or writing center studies to discuss research goals and methodologies. They will also participate in workshops to assess the quality of research, design a research question, and learn and practice qualitative and quantitative research methods. 

Best of luck, Alan!

Published: June 17, 2019