NAU alumna to speak at 2019 PEAKS Conference

March 4, 2019

What does “truth” mean? Northern Arizona University’s Graduate English Organization welcomes keynote speaker NAU alumna Christine Tardy to address the theme of this year’s annual PEAKS Interdisciplinary Conference from 4:30 to 6 p.m. March 9, in the Liberal Arts building, room 120.

From academic hoaxes, fabricated news stories and fictional memoirs, Tardy will explore the idea of genre and its involvement in purposeful deceit and how combatting “truthiness” is a challenge society needs to take on. Examples from popular news and academia will provide context in examining how “alternative” versions of truth both rely and exploit genre.

She will also lead a discussion geared toward educators in literacy and critical thinking, providing ways to address this challenge in today’s classroom.

Tardy, an associate professor at University of Arizona, teaches a multitude of courses in the undergraduate English, MA-TESL and SLAT Ph.D. programs. Her research explores issues of genre theory and pedagogy, second language writing, academic writing and the policies and politics of English. Appearing in several edited collections and journals, Tardy’s recent work includes “Beyond Convention: Genre Innovation in Academic Writing” and “Ethnographic Perspectives on Academic Writing.”