معرفی
Tamara Issak serves as Associate Professor of First-Year Writing in the Department of Core Studies with a joint appointment in the Department of English at St. John's University's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She directs the Writing Across Communities initiative since 2022, bridging academic scholarship with civic engagement through writing pedagogy and community partnerships.
Her academic credentials include:
- Ph.D. in Composition and Cultural Rhetoric from Syracuse University
- M.A. in English Literature from Rutgers University-Newark
- B.A. in English and Secondary Education (K-12) with Humanities Honors Track from William Paterson University
Dr. Issak's research interrogates Islamophobic rhetoric, Muslim women's rhetorical practices, and community engagement through transnational feminist frameworks. Her work critically examines how national trauma narratives shape Arab and Muslim identities in U.S. memorial landscapes, particularly analyzing 9/11-related sites and discourses. She investigates rhetoric's role in social justice movements and institutional accountability.
Her publications reveal consistent engagement with post-9/11 America, Islamic rhetorical traditions, and academic labor politics. Key themes include the weaponization of rhetoric against Muslim communities, transnational solidarity movements, and writing pedagogy as social action. Her scholarship appears in venues like Constellations, Present Tense, and critical edited collections on democracy and rhetoric.
Major recognitions include:
- St. John's University Faculty Excellence in Student Engagement Award
- American Association of University Women Fellowship
- Fulbright Fellowship to Syria
Her grant-supported work includes the Fulbright Fellowship for research in Syria and AAUW funding for gender-focused scholarship. As Director of Writing Across Communities, she develops curricular initiatives connecting classroom writing to community action, emphasizing student engagement with local organizations and social justice issues.
Dr. Issak co-produces the podcast This Rhetorical Life and previously hosted Tahrir: Voices of the Arab and Muslim Community on WBAI 99.5 FM. She leads collaborative projects like the Global Online Writing Exchanges initiative, connecting New York City and Amman students through digital writing partnerships.
