Charlotte Brammer , Assistant Professor and Director, Writing Across the Curriculum

Charlotte BrammerPh.D., English/Applied Linguistics, University of Alabama, 2002
M.A., English/Rhetoric and Composition, University of Alabama Birmingham, 1996
B.A., Political Science, Hollins College, 1983

My husband, Clayton, and I have two teenagers, Andrew and Sarah, and a rotating menagerie of pets (two kittens, two old cats, one Chihuahua-mix, and whatever stray/ rescue animal Sarah brings home). When my yard isn't overrun with animals, I enjoy spending time in my flower beds (sometimes even working there).

I like to study how we use language as writers and as speakers to communicate with others. I am interested particularly in understanding how oral speech (dialect) influences writing: Do Southerners write differently than non-Southerners write? I am also keenly interested in how we use language to communicate with those we know as well as with those we don't know. Norms of language use vary across cultures; understanding how they differ and why they differ can help us negotiate intercultural exchanges.

I also enjoy literacy studies, especially how we learn to write for the university and how we learn to write for different disciplines within the university.

I teach at Samford because I thoroughly enjoy working with Samford students, especially students in Communication Studies and in the Writing Minor. Helping students improve their writing skills, discover the joys of writing, and (hopefully) find publication venues is very rewarding. I'm fortunate to work with all of our majors in creating electronic portfolios. During this process, I get know these students individually so that their dreams become my dreams for them.

Dr. Brammer's Honors/Awards/Professional Activities