Lad Tobin
english department
Associate Professor of English
B.A., Earlham College
M.A. University of Chicago
Ph.D., University of New Hampshire
Stokes Hall S415
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
Phone: 617-552-3721
Fax: 617-552-4220
Email: tobinla@bc.edu
Academic Profile
Specializes in composition theory and creative nonfiction. Interests include history and theory of essay; ways of reading and responding to student writing; and memoir and autobiography.
List of Publications
Single-Authored Books
- Reading Student Writing: Confessions, Meditations, and Rants, Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Boynton/Cook, 2004.
- Writing Relationships: What Really Happens in the Composition Classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Boynton/Cook, 1993.
Co-Edited Book
- Taking Stock: Reassessing the Writing Process Movement in the 90s. Co-edited with Thomas Newkirk. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Boynton/Cook, 1994.
Journal Articles and Book Chapters
- “Process Pedagogy,” A Guide to Composition Pedagogies. Eds. Gary Tate, Amy Rupiper, and Kurt Schick. New York: Oxford UP, 2001: 1-18.
- "The Case for Double-Voiced Discourse," The Elements of Alternate Style: Essays on Writing and Revision. Ed. Wendy Bishop. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Boynton/Cook, 1997: 44-53.
- "Car Wrecks, Baseball Caps, and Man-to-Man Defense: The Personal Narratives of Adolescent Males." College English 58 (1996): 22-39.
- "Teaching Against the Teaching Against Pedagogy: Reading Our Classrooms, Writing Our Selves." Reader: Essays in Reader-Oriented Theory, Criticism, and Pedagogy 33-34 (1996): 68-84.
- "How the Writing Process Movement Was Born and Other Conversion Narratives," Taking Stock: Reassessing the Writing Process Movement in the 90s. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Boynton/Cook, 1994.
- "Reading Students, Reading Ourselves: Towards Redefining the Teacher’s Role in the Writing Class." College English 53 (1991): 333-348.
- "In a Radically Different Voice: Gender and Language in the Trials of Anne Hutchinson," Early American Literature 25 (1990): 253-270.
- "Writing Between the Lines." Vital Signs 2: Learning and Using Language Collaboratively. Ed. James Collins. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Boynton/Cook, 1990.
- "Bridging Gaps: Analyzing Student Metaphors for Composing.” College Composition and Communication 40 (1989): 444-58.
- "Productive Tension in the Writing Conference: Studying Our Students and Ourselves," To Compose: Teaching Writing in High School and College, 2nd ed. Ed. Thomas Newkirk, Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Books, 1989.
Creative Nonfiction
- “Sneaking Into the Movies,” Revelations, Eds. Charles Schuster and Sondra Perl. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Boynton/Cook, forthcoming, 2009.
- "Sorting Things Out,” Slow Trains Literary Journal, Volume VI, Issue 1, Summer 2006.
- "You Virtually Can’t Get There From Here," The Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction, Vol. 4, No. 2, 2002, pp. 14-25.
- "You Are Invited.. To Leave," The Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction, Vol. 1, No. 2, 1999: 44-51.
- "Reading and Writing About Death, Disease, and Dysfunction, or How I Spend My Summer Vacations." Narration and Knowledge" Tales of the Teaching Life. Ed. Joseph F. Trimmer. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Boynton/Cook, 1997, 71-83.
Short Essays and Comments
- “Why Murray Matters,” Writing On the Edge, Spring 2009.
- “Donald Murray: An Appreciation,” College Composition and Communication 58 (2007): 546-549.
- “10 Tips For Writing a Successful College Admissions Essay,” Teen Ink, September 2006.