Rate My Professor Justin Lerberg

Justin Lerberg serves as the Director of First-Year Writing in the Department of English at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he holds faculty status. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy in English from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2013. His dissertation, "Embodied Climate Change: Materiality, Language, Mediation, And The Legitimation Of The Unintelligible," was advised by Stacy Alaimo and is housed in the university's English Dissertations collection under the disciplines of Arts and Humanities and English Language and Literature. The dissertation examines the intersections of language, technology, and the human and nonhuman worlds through the example of climate change. Lerberg posits that human technology, specifically language and digital media, have codified the human and nonhuman worlds into a “mixed-reality” of virtual, actual, and potential lived experiences. These technologies have de-materialized local human embodiment and re-materialized it in the global sphere of a technological/natural-reality. This re-materialization shapes how humans locate themselves within the world and approach and understand phenomena like climate change.

In his administrative role, Lerberg directs the First-Year Writing program, which develops strong critical reading skills through a process-based writing model. Students are expected to spend approximately 3 hours per week outside of class on reading and 3-6 hours on writing. The program’s courses emphasize rhetorical reading and writing, analysis of scholarly texts, writing tailored to specific audiences, and synthesis of ideas in college-level essays. Core objectives include critical thinking, communication, teamwork, and personal responsibility. Learning outcomes cover rhetorical knowledge, critical reading, thinking, and writing; composing processes; and knowledge of conventions. The sequence consists of ENGL 1301: Rhetoric and Composition I, satisfying the core curriculum communication requirement with focus on rhetorical analysis and synthesis, and ENGL 1302: Rhetoric and Composition II, stressing advanced academic argument, research, and ethical or social issues. Lerberg also instructs these first-year composition courses and serves as the contact for Graduate Teaching Assistantships in the Department of English’s MA and PhD programs. His office is in 203E Carlisle Hall.