Oakes Faculty Fellows
The Oakes College faculty represents a wealth of expertise from the natural sciences to the humanities, and we are proud to have some of the top scholars in the world among our faculty. Our students major in nearly every discipline at UCSC—from economics and computer science, to theater arts and Latin American and Latino studies—and they are well supported by the depth and breadth of the Oakes College faculty and the extensive knowledge of our advising team.
TBA is Oakes's faculty chair!
The Chair of the Faculty is an Academic Senate member, other than the Provost, who is elected by the college Faculty to serve a two year term, and will serve as a member of the Executive Committee.
- Pronouns she/her
- Title
- Continuing Lecturer, Oakes College & Writing Program
- Division Humanities Division
- Department
- Oakes College
- Writing Program
- Affiliations Oakes College
- Phone 831-459-1829
- Website
- Office Location
- Oakes College Academic Building, Oakes #313
- Office Hours Please email for current office hours and appointments. Thank you!
- Mail Stop EPC/Community Studies
- Mailing Address
- Oakes College Academic Building 313
- Santa Cruz CA 95064
- Faculty Areas of Expertise Writing, Poetry, Literature, Personal and Social Identities, Diversity, Digital Humanities, Social Justice
- Courses Oakes College Core Course, Writing 1: Come Closer to Feminism, Writing 2: Youth Identity in a Networked Culture, Oakes College Mentoring, Diverse Voices in Contemporary American Women's Poetry
Summary of Expertise
At Oakes College, Lindsay teaches the Oakes Core Course, the Oakes Mentoring Workshop, and an Oakes poetry course. For the Writing Program, Lindsay has been teaching a Writing 2 course since 2009 that investigates the ways that young people’s relationships with themselves and others have been affected by their digital connectivity. She also teaches a Writing 1 course, “Come Closer to Feminism.”
Research Interests
· Digital Identity Production in Youth
· Establishing Ethos in Writing
· Writing of Witness
· African-American Literature and Literary Theory
· Writing as Social Activism
· Writing as Identity Development
· Poetry Analysis and Interpretation
· Development of Critical Consciousness
Biography, Education and Training
Lindsay Knisely has taught writing and social justice at the University of California, Santa Cruz since 2004. She is a two-time winner of the UC Santa Cruz Excellence in Teaching Award. Lindsay is a Continuing Lecturer at Oakes College and in the Writing Program, where she focuses on supporting the academic success of first-generation students.
• B.A. in Creative Writing, Minor in Psychology, Oberlin College, May 1999. Concentrations: African-American Literature and Literary Theory, Contemporary American Women Poets, Translating Poetry. Advisers: Calvin Hernton and Martha Collins
• M.F.A. in Poetry, University of Oregon Creative Writing Program, June 2001.
Concentrations: Ethos and the Construction of the Poetic Speaker, Contemporary American Poetry and Poetics, Cultural Theory
Honors, Awards and Grants
Selected Publications
• “Teaching Patriarchy Post-‘Barbie,’” Ms. Magazine. In this essay, I describe how I have created a way for students to learn about feminism even if they initially describe themselves as anti-feminist. My class helps students harness the power of the feminist lens to discover how the patriarchy is operating as a defining force in their lives.
• "Moving from Zero Draft to Essay Writing: A Scaffolded Response Exercise," Journal of Response to Writing. This article describes an exercise designed to demystify the writing process and provide students with helpful guidelines for moving from concept to explication through the process of developing their zero draft into a completed essay.
• “Using Reflection and Metacognition to Develop Your Half Essay," Writing Spaces. This assignment is a selection from the Writing Spaces Assignment and Activity Archive, an open access companion resource to the Writing Spaces open textbook series.
Selected Presentations
Presentation: "Using self-efficacy strategies to promote student success and build community," UCSC First Generation Initiative Speaker Series. Recorded April 1, 2021.
This workshop, designed for instructors of discussion-based, distance learning courses, explores student self-efficacy and in-class exercises that teachers can integrate into their remote courses to build self-efficacy. During the workshop, I share teaching materials that I have used successfully to build community and promote student self-efficacy in remote learning environments.
Distance learners struggle with motivation, time management, and engagement, all of which can be improved by implementing activities that promote self-efficacy. Self-efficacy strategies work to create inclusive spaces by providing opportunities for engagement and connection, which research tells us are critically important for students to succeed as distance learners.
Selected Performances
In this Faculty Spotlight interview created by the UCSC Committee on Teaching, Lindsay Knisely’s former students asked her about her teaching philosophy and the various programs she has created, including the Oakes College Mentoring Program, the Oakes Core Awards, and the Oakes Academic Success class. “The Faculty Spotlight is a way to feature outstanding educators at UCSC who have received the Excellence in Teaching Award. Each interview gives an insight into the experiences, successes, and innovations of different faculty members to showcase what’s happening around campus.” –UCSC Committee on Teaching
Teaching Interests
· Feminism
· Student Success
· Race and Social Justice
· Composition
· Poetry Writing and Analysis
· Writing as Identity Production
