Melissa Bender

Melissa Bender is a Continuing Lecturer at the University of California, Davis, specializing in writing pedagogy and rhetoric. She teaches courses in disciplinary writing for health professions, science, history, fine arts, technical writing, business writing, travel writing, and visual rhetoric. Her research focuses on rhetorical approaches to disciplinary composition, source work, health/medicine rhetoric, public history, and U.S. memoir studies.

• Ph.D., English, University of California, Davis (2009)
• M.F.A., Creative Writing, University of Pittsburgh (1994)
• B.A., English, University of Pittsburgh (1990)

Her research explores intersections between cultural narratives and societal structures, analyzing how memoirs reflect neoliberal values and how public history interpretations shape collective memory. She has led international study abroad programs in Europe and Australia and U.S. programs in Washington D.C. and New York. Her publications include award-winning guides for writing pedagogy and critical studies of contemporary U.S. memoir.

• Recipient of Non-Senate Faculty Professional Development Awards (2016, 2018)

Advising focuses on graduate writing instruction and undergraduate research projects. No grants explicitly mentioned in provided text. Active in curriculum development for multidisciplinary writing programs.