Joan Jiyoung Hwang

Assistant Professor

Writing and Rhetoric, Translingualism, Multimodality, Writing Across the Curriculum

Joan Jiyoung Hwang is an Assistant Professor in the Composition Program. Her research interests center around translingual writing, transmodality, multimodal writing transfer, responding to students' writing, and writers' identity in globalized writing classrooms. Through her research and teaching, Joan pursues advocating for her students to find their voices and agency through writing and to continue to explore their relationship with writing in and beyond college.

She is also a Composition-WAC faculty fellow during AY 24-26 in Mason's Writing Across the Curriculum. In this position, she collaborates with the WAC director in various areas to promote the culture of writing at Mason Campus, including, but not limited to, a longitudinal institutional assessment of the writing-intensive courses (WI) at Mason, writing curriculum development, and WI faculty workshop and support program.

Selected Publications

Hwang, Joan J. “Recycling as Chore or Collective Action?: A Transnational Rhetorical Approach to Coordinated Responsibility Across the Pacific”, Words into Action: Rhetorics to Build a Sustainable Future. Edited by Chris Bazerman, Montserrat Castello, Chris Thaiss, and Diana Waigandt. (Chapter under review)

Hwang, Joan J. with Tom Polk. “Exploring the possibilities for deep change through a whole systems sensemaking methodology for Sustainable Writing Program,” IWAC 2025 Conference Proceedings and Edited Collection. In Caleb Gonzales, Annie Halseth, and Ann Amicucci (Eds.) (Chapter under review)

Hwang, Joan J. “Adaptive transfer through multimodal genre translation."Multimodal Transfer Pedagogy. In Ryan Shepherd, Lilian Mina, Matthew Davis, and Kara Poe Alexander (eds.) Utah State University. (In press)

Expanded Publication List

Hwang, Joan J. “Reflective responding to low-stakes reflective writing: A dialogic site of teacher-student interaction." (Chapter accepted). Responding to Writing: A Practical Sourcebook for Instructors. In Dana Ferris, Grant Eckstein, Betsy Gilliland (eds.). University of Michigan Press.(In press)

Hwang, Joan J. "Linking Language Noticing and Audience Awareness: Leveraging Discursive Agency of Linguistically Diverse Students." Critical, Engaged Writing Program Administration for Social Justice. In Lilian Mina and Dominic DelliCarpini (eds.) (forthcoming 2026)

Hwang, Joan J. “Race at Your Own Pace.” In Jenna Morton-Aiken and Jackie Hoermann-Elliott (Eds.), Parenting While Phding: Surviving and Improving the Working Conditions of Graduate Student Parents (pp. 310-318). Rutgers University Press. New Brunswick, NJ.

Tom Polk, Joan Hwang, and Gina Polychronopoulos. “Emerging Dialogues in Assessment: Helping Students Find Value in Their Writing Assignments.” Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education, September 2024. www.aalhe.org/emerging-dialogues---helping-students-find-value-in-their-writing-assignment

Hwang, Joan J. and Polk, Tom. “Meaningful Writing: What Mason’s Students Say About It and How Faculty Can Design for It.” https://wac.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/23-Designing-meaningful-writing-projects.pdf, August 2023.

Courses Taught

ENGH121/122: Enhanced English Composition for Multilingual Writers

ENGH100: English composition for multilingual students

ENGH302: Advanced composition

Education

PhD, Writing and Rhetoric, George Mason University

Recent Presentations

Joan J. Hwang. “Recycling the Story: Teaching Sustainability Through Transnational Digital Rhetorics” Computers and Writing. Writing the Anthropocene: Digital Rhetorics and Sustainable Change, Charlotte, NC. June 2026.

Joan J. Hwang. “Counterstories of Vulnerability and Resilience: Narrative Inquiry into Translingual Writing Instructors in U.S. Higher Education.” Research Network Forum & Qualitative Research Network, Conference on College Composition & Communication, Cleveland, OH. March 2026.

Joan J. Hwang and Tom Polk. “Sensemaking Approach to Sustainability and Changes: A Story of Revival and Resilience in A Long-standing WAC Program.” Conference on College Composition & Communication, Cleveland, OH. March 2026.

“Exploring the Possibilities for Deep Change through a Whole-Systems Sensemaking Methodology,” Joan J. Hwang with Tom Polk. International Writing Across the Curriculum, Fort Collins, CO. July 2025.

“Cutting-edge Practices for Crafting Clear, Meaningful, and Supportive Responses to Student Writing.” Panel presentation with Grant Eckstein, Dana Ferris, Chris Anson, Joan Hwang, Tamara Mae Roose, & Ju-A Hwang, and Madeline Crozier. Conference on College Composition & Communication, Baltimore, MD. April 2025.

"Empowering (Instructors) Writing Across the Curriculum to Promote Deep Change" by Seth Hudson, Tom Polk, Leslie La Croix, and Joan J. Hwang. Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy, Blacksburg, VA. Feb 2025.

“Designing for Digital: A Heuristic Approach to Promoting Interactive Digital Writing” by Ether Namubiru, Joan J. Hwang, Tim Lilley, and Tom Polk. Innovations in Teaching and Learning. Fairfax, VA. Oct 2023

Hwang Joan J. "Public-facing Genres of Multimodality and Promotion of Inclusion in Linguistically Super-diverse Writing Classrooms." Council of Writing Program Administrators. Reno, Nevada. July 2023.

Hwang, Joan J. "McCarthy's A Stranger in Strange Lands: Graduate Student Writers in Discourse Community During the Pandemic Era." University of California Writing Program Conference: Creating Space. Berkeley, California, 2021.

Hwang, Joan J. "Opportunity Space for Writing as a Critical Constituent of the Social Practice of Discourse Communities." Mason Graduate and Professional Student Association Conference. Fairfax, Virginia, 2021

“Engaging Students and Giving Feedback as a GTA." With Tom Polk, Joan Hwang, Lourdes Fernandez, and Emily Staudt. Innovations in Teaching and Learning: Teaching Towards the Future. Fairfax, Virginia, 2020.