Tanya Cochran

English Program Director, Writing Program Administrator, Director of The Studio for Writing and Speaking

English Program
DB 408F

Dr. Tanya R. Cochran joined the faculty at Union College in July 2005 and finished her doctoral studies in Rhetoric and Composition at Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA, in December 2009. Before that, she received a Master of Arts degree in Rhetoric and Composition from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Southern College, now Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, TN.

Dr. Cochran teaches a range of courses in both the English and Communication programs, from general education writing (ENGL 110 and 212), speaking (COMM 105), and introduction to mass communication (COMM 125) courses to upper-division offerings such as COMM 333, Rhetoric and COMM 465, Interpersonal Communication. She also serves as Writing Program Administrator, directs Union's Studio for Writing and Speaking, and organizes the Union College Board of Trustees Writing Awards.

Her doctoral coursework focused on composition studies, the history of rhetoric, writing centers, and the intersection of faith and learning. Her dissertation _Toward a Rhetoric of Scholar-Fandom_ allowed her to return to her first loves (rhetoric, audience, and media studies) by exploring the scholar-fan community interested in the works of auteur Joss Whedon. Ongoing research and publication topics include fan activism, media paratexts, and narratology.