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Kristi Girdharry

  • Associate Teaching Professor
  • Director of the Writing Center
Academic Division: Arts & Humanities
781-239-4485
Kristi Girdharry is the Director of the Writing Center and an Associate Teaching Professor in the Arts and Humanities division where she teaches courses on writing, tutoring, and social media. Previously, she was an Assistant Professor of English at Johnson & Wales University where she also taught courses on communication skills and advanced research methods. She holds a PhD in English with a focus in Rhetoric and Composition from Northeastern University. Much of her scholarly and pedagogical interests come from work with community sites and partners. Stemming from her role in the creation of an oral history project and digital archive built to capture the ephemera following the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, her dissertation—“Composing Digital Community Spaces: Design and Literacy Practices in/of the Archive”—offered a case study of a crowdsourced archive meant to simultaneously memorialize and historicize the events. She has published and given talks on aspects of this work ranging from understanding who participates in these types of story-sharing spaces to examining the linguistic practices of such story sharers, which show interesting markers of race, class, and inclusion/exclusion. In addition to also working on scholarship related to teaching and tutoring, she is a co-editor for the Best of the Journals in Rhetoric and Composition Series, which offers a current snapshot of the exigent themes, trends, and ideas within Writing Studies and also contextualizes each piece with activities and discussion questions to help aid in professional development conversations for instructors who may not have the means or time to attend the conferences and keep up with all recent scholarship. Most recently, she has been focusing on the role of artificial intelligence in the writing classroom.

Academic Degrees

  • Ph D, Northeastern University
  • MA, University of Massachusetts Boston
  • BA, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Academic Interest / Expertise

Writing Centers; Rhetoric and Composition; Pedagogy; Artificial Intelligence

Awards & Honors

  • 2024 — Babson College Faculty Service Award, Dean of Faculty
  • 2022 — Dean’s Teaching Award for Excellence in Teaching - Undergraduate , Dean of the College

Courses

  • Degree Courses 2025

    • WRT 2000 RESEARCH WRITING
    • WRT 4601 WRITING WITH ROBOTS
    • WRT 4602 PRACTICUM IN PEER CONSULTING AND WRITING

  • Degree Courses 2024

    • WRT 1001 WRITING ACROSS CONTEXTS
    • WRT 4602 PRACTICUM IN PEER CONSULTING AND WRITING
    • MDS 4625 THE RHETORIC OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Publications

Journal Articles

  • McElroy, S.J., Girdharry, K. (2024). Ethics and AI Assemblages: A Heuristic Analysis of Undergraduate Business Student Perspectives . Business and Professional Communication Quarterly. Vol: 87, Issue: 2. Sage. link
  • Girdharry, K., Khachatryan, D. (2024). Meaningful Writing in the Age of Generative Artificial Intelligence. Double Helix: A Journal of Critical Thinking and Writing. Vol: 11. link
  • Smith, K.G., Girdharry, K., Gallagher, C.W. (2021). Writing Transfer, Integration, and the Need for the Long View. College Composition and Communication. Vol: 73, Issue: 1.
  • Girdharry, K. (2021). Organizational Sponsorship: An Ethical Framework for Community Oral History Projects. The Oral History Review. Vol: 48, Issue: 2, Page: 246-257. link
  • Girdharry, K. (2021). Gentle Excavations: Mindfully Shifting to an Explicitly Antiracist Writing Center. The Peer Review. Vol: 5, Issue: 1. link
  • Girdharry, K. (2020). #BostonStrong/BostonStrong?: A Personal Essay on Digital Community Engagement. Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric. Vol: 19, Issue: 2, Page: 195-207. link
  • Girdharry, K. (2019). Disrupting Social-Educational Spaces: Reflections on a Community-Based Learning Project. IMPACT: The Journal of the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning. link
  • Girdharry, K. (2019). Crowdsourcing History: Challenges and Opportunities of the Historial Archive. The Journal of Interactive Technology & Pedagogy. Issue: 14. link
  • Girdharry, K. (2019). "Enough to Write the Papers": Reading and Reflection in the Writing Tutorial. WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship. Vol: 43, Issue: 5-6. link

Book Chapters

  • Girdharry, K. (in press). AI Will Make Writing Centers Obsolete: Bad Ideas about AI & Writing.
  • Girdharry, K. (in press). From Margin to Mainstream: Writing Center Voices in AI Strategy: Writing Centers and AI: Generating Early Conversations.
  • Girdharry, K., Wynstra, B. (2024). Embodying Rhetoric: Quick Scripts and 'Acts' of Persuasion: TextGenEd: Continuing Experiments. The WAC Clearninghouse.
  • Girdharry, K. (in press). Online Community Building via “Speed Dating”: Professors at Play ONLINE PlayBook. Carnegie Mellon's ETC Press.
  • Girdharry, K. (2020). Practically Online: Redesigning Student-Led Presentations for Online Environments: Textshop Experiments: Pedagogy Pop Up. Vol: 7, Issue: 5. link
  • Girdharry, K., Simpson, A. (2019). Introduction to the 2019 Best of the Journals in Rhetoric and Composition Series : Best of the Journals in Rhetoric and Composition Series . Parlor Press. link
  • Girdharry, K., Benda, J., Gallagher, C.W., Lerner, N., Noonan, M. (2018). Confronting "Superdiversity" in U.S. Writing Programs: The Internationalization of U.S. Writing Programs. Utah State University Press.

Other

  • Kerrigan, M.B., Christ, K. (in press). Beyond the Bathroom Door: Advocacy & Resistance to a Corporate DEI Initiative: Business and Professional Communication Case Study. Open-Education Resource (OER).

Articles - Circular or newsletter (e.g., Babson Insight)

  • Noyes, E., Girdharry, K. (2024). Why Faculty Should Lead the AI Revolution: AACSB: Insights for Everyone. link

Presentations

  • Truth, Lies, and Algorithms: Pedagogical Strategies for Media Literacy Girdharry, K. Rourke, K. European Conference on Social Media, Porto, Portugal (2025)
  • The Babson Tea Party: Auditing AI’s Influence on Writing Programs Girdharry, K. AI & Writing Symposium, Babson Park, MA (2024)
  • Trek Through LinkedIn with AI: A Guide to Networking Success Girdharry, K. CWEL LinkedIn Level Up Workshop, Babson Park, MA (2024)
  • AI's Impact on the Foundations of Higher Education: What Differentiates Babson in this Moment Girdharry, K. C. Dean Metropoulos Institute for Technology and Entrepreneurship Dedication, Babson Park, MA (2024)
  • Thinking Across Borders: A Longitudinal Study of Writing Transfer Girdharry, K. McElroy, S. Writing Education Across Borders, Salt Lake City. UT (2024)
  • Curiosity Killed the Chat: An AI Workshop for Beginners Girdharry, K. The Boston Rhetoric and Writing Network (BRAWN) Summer Institute , University of Massachusetts Boston (2024)
  • Writing Freely against Scarce Time: A Creative Nonfiction Writing Workshop Girdharry, K. Conference on College Communication and Composition, Spokane, WA (2024)
  • Writing and Assessments with AI Girdharry, K. Learn & Inspire, Babson College (2024)
  • Grammar Errors that Grind our Gears: Evaluating Context in Business Communication Getchell, K. Christ, K. Lentz, P. Association of Business Communication Conference, Denver, CO (2023)
  • Re-Establishing Norms for Writing in the AI Era Girdharry, K. McElroy, S. CELT Lunch & Learn, Babson College (2023)
  • Sip 'N Speak with the Liberal Arts Christ, K. Rourke, K. Back to Babson 2023, Babson College (2023)
  • The Joy of Teaching Writing: Playful Pedagogy in the Composition Classroom Girdharry, K. The Boston Rhetoric and Writing Network (BRAWN) Summer Institute , Harvard University (2023)
  • Beta Gamma Sigma Keynote Address Girdharry, K. Beta Gamma Sigma, Babson College (2023)
  • Equitable Hiring: Reflective Practices for Inclusivity Girdharry, K. Conference on College Communication and Composition, Chicago, IL (2023)
  • Examining the Teaching-for-Transfer Model with Student Writers Girdharry, K. McElroy, S. Babson Research Day 2023, Babson College (2023)
  • Allyship in the Workplace Kerrigan, M. Girdharry, K. Taste Of Babson, Babson College (2022)
  • Writing for Wikipedia Girdharry, K. Learn & Inspire, Babson College (2022)
  • What Changes in Student Writing? Girdharry, K. Gallagher, C. Smith, K. Donahue, T. Gere, A. Silver, N. Conference on College Composition and Communication, virtual (2021)
  • Let’s Go Remote!: Community-Engaged Learning in the Age of Covid-19 Girdharry, K. Finn, S. Avery-Miller, E. BRAWN Community Engagement Workshop, online (2020)
  • Narratives of Risk and/in Community Writing Girdharry, K. Conference on Community Writing , Philadelphia, PA (2019)
  • The show must go on, even if you just got the script: supporting first-generation students through writing and community engagement Girdharry, K. Conference on College Composition and Communication, Pittsburgh, PA (2019)
  • Archives on the Move: (Re)Circulating Identity, Language, and Precarious History Girdharry, K. The Twelfth Biennial Thomas R. Watson Conference on Rhetoric and Composition , Louisville, KY (2018)
  • Service-Learning and Community Partnerships in Writing Courses Girdharry, K. Boston Rhetoric and Writing Network - Summer Institute , Boston, MA (2018)
  • Digital Archives and Community Literacy Practices Girdharry, K. Dr. Charles N. Lesh's "Writing (Studies) in Public" course, virtual (2018)
  • Storytelling, Archives, and Resilience: 5 Years After the Boston Marathon Bombings Girdharry, K. Northeastern Digital Scholarship Group Series, Boston, MA (2018)
  • Let’s Talk About Sex(ual Abuse and Violence): Student Agency and Experience in Community Projects Girdharry, K. Conference on College Composition and Communication, Kansas City, MO (2018)
  • Tutor Reflection and Approaches in Multilingual Cross-Cultural Writing Center Sessions Girdharry, K. Conference on College Composition and Communication, Portland, OR (2017)
  • Building Meaningful Connections in Online Learning Spaces Girdharry, K. Biennial Conference on Critical Thinking and Writing, Hamden, CT (2016)
  • Methodological Orientations to the "Decolonized" Archive Girdharry, K. Conference on College Composition and Communication, Houston, TX (2016)
  • We Don’t Do That Here: Repositioning Grammar as Rhetorical Choice Girdharry, K. Northeast Writing Center Association (NEWCA), Keene, NH (2016)
  • "We are ALL Boston Strong!": Public Writing in Digital Community Spaces Girdharry, K. Modern Language Association, Austin, TX (2016)
  • "You want me to write what? Where?!": Spatial Theory and Place-Based Pedagogy Girdharry, K. Boston Rhetoric and Writing Network - Summer Institute , Boston, MA (2015)
  • Engaging Digital Community Spaces in the Composition Classroom Girdharry, K. Conference on College Composition and Communication, Tampa, FL (2015)
  • Community Engagement in First-Year Writing Girdharry, K. Engaging Practices Conference, Boston, MA (2014)
  • Using Quantitative and Qualitative Methods to Investigate Multilingual Writers’ Experiences Girdharry, K. Conference on College Composition and Communication, Indianapolis, IN (2014)
  • Around DH in 80 Days: Doing Digital Humanities from the Ground Up Girdharry, K. Modern Language Association, Chicago, IL (2014)
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Professional Services

  • Reviewer, Journal Article Proceedings of the Modern Language Association (PMLA) (2024 - Present)
  • Board Member Composition Studies (2023 - Present)
  • Board Member Association for Writing Across the Curriculum (2023 - Present)
  • Editor, Book The Best of the Journals in Rhetoric and Composition Series (2018 - Present)

Certificates

  • St. Cloud State University (2019)

Professional Memberships

  • Association for Writing Across the Curriculum (2019 - Present)
  • Northeast Writing Center Association (2019 - Present)
  • Boston Rhetoric and Writing Network (2014 - Present)
  • International Writing Center Association (2019 - 2023)