Rachel Kaminski Sanders

United States
research interests: historical research, the dissertation, the syllabus, articulation, Cultural Studies, fashion, New literacies, arts-based research, writing, dress, critical consumerism, intersectionality
en

In 2006, I graduated from Florida State University with a bachelor's degree in Apparel Design and Technology, and began my professional career in NYC’s fashion industry - first in the fashion department of InStyle Magazine, then in the communications department with Bottega Veneta (an international luxury goods and high fashion brand) where I coordinated with leading media outlets and traveled to Milan for fashion week. After three years, I wanted to have a more positive impact on society and it was then, I decided to pursue a career in teaching: In 2012, I received a Master of Arts in Teaching both English and Social Studies for grades 5th-9th; In 2018, I received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in language and literacy education from The University of Georgia. I have an established research agenda focused on new literacies and specifically on the production (writing) rather than consumption (reading) of information, with a specific focus on enhancing writing instruction in higher education. 

research

research expositions

  • [text]uring: writing through fashion for a new literacies dissertation (2023) author(s): Rachel Kaminski Sanders published in: Journal for Artistic Research
    The term 'literacy' encompasses reading and writing practices, each with distinct meanings and histories. Scholars define individuals as 'literate' or 'illiterate' based on these practices, a point not to be taken lightly. New literacies studies have expanded literacy from print to encompass all forms of meaning-making, leading to an expansion of associated terminology. In American higher education, despite the expanded meanings of terms like 'writing' and 'text,' the term 'research' remains dominated by written language, even within dedicated disciplines (Coiro et al. 2008; New London Group 1996; Wilber 2008). Through a cultural studies perspective, I traced the historical evolution of American literacy to the present day. The study revealed darker consequences of literacy's past, providing insights for scholars to understand silenced voices and advocate for their inclusion in the future. Given the ever-expanding practices of literacy, the need for increased attention to writing instruction, and the problematic otherness of arts-based disciplines such as fashion, my goal is to broaden the range of accepted scholarly compositions in higher education. I believe this pursuit is key to the advancement of academic research publications. To address this paradox, I actively embraced new literacy practices by creating a dissertation supported by Barone & Eisner’s (2012) concept of arts based research. Drawing on my experiences in the industry, I sought to challenge views of fashion as frivolous by writing my dissertation in the language of dress, offering a new perspective on the interwovenness of literacy and fashion. My dissertation argues that fashion is a form of writing by exploring nonverbal communication in scholarly work. This move reconciled the perceived frivolity with the substantive nature of fashion and ignited my commitment to the acceptance of research in diverse language forms.
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