Michelle LaFrance

Michelle LaFrance is an Associate Professor in the English Department at George Mason University, specializing in Writing and Rhetoric. Her research focuses on feminist methodologies, institutional ethnography, community writing, and writing program administration. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Washington (2009) and has published extensively on topics like academic labor, e-portfolios, and writing center pedagogy. Her recent work examines discourses of volunteerism and belonging in urban communities. Dr. LaFrance teaches courses on critical pedagogy, feminist research, and public writing.

Her major awards include the 2021 College Composition and Communication Research Impact Award for her book Institutional Ethnography: A Theory of Practice for Writing Studies Researchers, which also received an Honorable Mention from the International Writing Across the Curriculum Association. She has supervised numerous graduate students in areas such as queer worldmaking, linguistic justice, and composition pedagogy.

• Education: Ph.D., University of Washington, 2009
• Key Affiliations: Director of Graduate Studies, Writing Program Administrator

LaFrance's research emphasizes materialist frameworks and participatory methods. She explores the intersections of writing studies with issues of labor, space, and community engagement. Recent projects include analyzing writing instructors' negotiations of language standards and reimagining equity practices in two-year colleges.