Adelay Witherite

Adelay Witherite is a Lecturer in the English Department Writing Program at the University of Michigan. She holds a PhD in Joint Program in English and Education (2024) from the University of Michigan, an MA in TESOL (2014) from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and a BA in English with a Philosophy minor (2008) from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on the intersections of language, rhetoric, and social justice, particularly how emotions mediate communication in educational settings and how pedagogical practices can foster critical inquiry into divisive social issues. She has taught writing courses for ten semesters at U-M, including first-year writing, academic argumentation, and professional writing.

• Education:
• PhD in English and Education (2024), University of Michigan
• MA in TESOL (2014), Indiana University of Pennsylvania
• BA in English (2008), Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Adelay’s work addresses the transformative potential of language in addressing societal conflicts, inspired by questions like: Can teaching English reduce violence? She explores how educators can navigate ideological differences in classrooms and how emotions influence communication. Her dissertation examines first-year students’ discussions of social, political, and ideological differences, analyzing how their beliefs evolve through discourse. She is a member of the Heterodox Academy and former steering committee member of the Rackham Graduate School’s LangRhet workshop. Her scholarly writing appears in Tutoring Second Language Writers (2016).

She received the 2022 David and Linda Moscow Prize for Excellence in Teaching Writing and is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-200). Her broader interests include making academic discourse accessible to the public and understanding how rhetoric can mitigate cultural divisions in the U.S.