Education
PhD, English (Rhetoric and Composition), Saint Louis University (SLU)
MA, English, University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL)
BA, English and Education, Minor in French, Lindenwood University
About
Dr. Lauren Terbrock-Elmestad is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the UMSL English Department, specializing in writing and rhetoric courses. She frequently teaches Junior Level Writing, Technical Writing, and Writing in the Sciences. Her research and teaching interests span technology and multimodal writing, writing in medicine and healthcare, Medical Humanities, and posthumanist rhetorics.
Her dissertation, Non-Representational Rhetorics and the In-Formation of Medical Practices, reconsiders long-standing dichotomies in rhetoric and medicine. The dissertation argues that posthumanist theories make way for rethinking how two seemingly opposites, such as rhetoric and medicine, are entangled and inform one another in complex ways. To carry out this argument, the project simultaneously traces the histories of rhetoric and medicine to collapse presumed binaries and establish both fields as non-representational. Specifically, the project traces the rhetorical concepts of techne, copia, and agency through medical situations such as pre-medical training, pain assessment and management, disability advocacy, and prenatal care. The project then urges writers, rhetoricians, and medical providers to pay closer attention to non-representational effects in their practices to enact change for more equitable healthcare.
In addition to teaching in the English Department, Lauren serves the Writing Program (WP) as the Assistant Writing Program Administrator. She works directly with Dr. Lauren Obermark to cultivate a culture of writing across UMSL. They are often referred to as The Laurens™, and they can be found around campus hosting events, writing groups, and workshops for students and faculty. Specifically, Lauren Terbrock-Elmestad focuses on advanced level writing courses (3000-level and above) and university-wide outreach.
Frequently Taught Courses
ENGL3100, Junior Level Writing
ENGL 3130, Technical Writing
ENGL 3160, Writing in the Sciences
Commonly Discussed Readings in Lauren’s Courses
“Love Your Monsters: Why We Must Care for Our Technologies as We Do Our Children,” Bruno Latour
“Nature’s Queer Performativity,” Karen Barad
The Animal Who Writes, Marilyn Cooper
“Writing is a Technology that Restructures Thought,” Walter Ong
“Writing and Rhetoric and/as Posthuman Practice,” Casey Boyle
