Justine Wells

Justine Wells is a Professor in the Department of English at New Mexico State University since 2015. She holds a PhD in Composition & Rhetoric (2015) from the University of South Carolina, with MA degrees in Philosophy (2004) and Psychology (2003) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a BA in Philosophy (2001) from the College of Charleston.

• PhD in Composition & Rhetoric, 2015, University of South Carolina
• MA in Philosophy, 2004, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• MS in Psychology, 2003, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• BA in Philosophy, 2001, College of Charleston

Her research critically examines intersections of race, ecology, and sensory rhetorics through frameworks like Black feminisms and new materialism. Key projects include analyzing W.E.B. Du Bois’ rhetorical legacy, environmental communication’s colonial entanglements, and taste practices as political acts. She also explores monumentality, decolonial memory, and technical communication ethics.

Recent publications span ecological approaches to rhetoric, material rhetorics, and sensory politics. Her work has been recognized with the 2018 Tarla Rai Peterson Outstanding Book Award from the National Communication Association’s Environmental Communication Division.

• 2018 Tarla Rai Peterson Outstanding Book Award, National Communication Association, Environmental Communication Division

Dr. Wells coordinates NMSU’s Internship Program in Technical and Professional Communication, drawing from her prior career in media production (American Library Association, Laserwords Publishing) to inform her anti-racist technical communication pedagogy. She teaches graduate courses in Rhetoric and Cultural Studies, History of Rhetoric, and Professional Communication, alongside undergraduate courses in Technical Writing and Internship Programs.