Dr. Julie Bates teaches professional writing and editing, rhetoric, and composition coursework in the English department. She has a PhD in Rhetoric, Composition, and Technical Communication from Illinois State University, an M.A. in Liberal & Integrative Studies (with emphases in environmental studies and journalism) from the University of Illinois-Springfield, and a B.A. in Magazine Journalism and English Writing from Drake University.
Dr. Bates is the director of the School of Writing, Languages & Cultures at Millikin, the faculty advisor for BURST magazine, the Book Review Editor for Rhetoric Review, and the Contributing Editor for Decatur magazine. In addition, Dr. Bates is a professional writer, editor, copy editor, and proofreader with nearly 20 years of professional experience.
Dr. Bates's research interests include activist, environmental, feminist, digital, visual, material, and disability rhetorics; technical and professional communication; cultural historical activity theory and genre studies; multimodal composition; and publishing and editing. She teaches class including: Freelance Writing, Professional Editing, Environmental Writing, Web Publishing, Beyond the Page, Applying Writing Theory, Writing in the Disciplines, and a variety of publishing roundtables.
Dr. Bates is the co-editor of Grassroots Activisms: Public Rhetorics in Localized Contexts, published by Ohio State University Press (2024). Her dissertation, Toward an Interventionary Rhetoric for Technical Communication Studies (2017) was the winner of the 2019 CCCC Outstanding Dissertation Award in Technical Communication
Recent Publications:
- Bates, Julie Collins. “Local Expertise, Global Effects: Amplifying Activist Arguments for Climate Change Action.” Enculturation, 32, November 2020.
- Bates, Julie Collins. "Activist Archival Research, Environmental Intervention, and the Flint Water Crisis." Reflections, 19(2), Fall/Winter 2019-2020.
- Bates, Julie C., Francis Macarthy, and Sarah Warren-Riley. "Emphasizing Embodiment, Intersectionality, and Access: Social Justice Through Technofeminism Past, Present, and Future." Computers & Composition Online, March 2019.
Recent Presentations:
- 19th International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry. “Going Gradeless: Expanding Gradeless Classrooms Across Disciplinary Contexts” with Kaitlin Glause. Panel presentation. Champaign, IL. 20 May 2023.
- Conference on College Composition & Communication. “Doing Hope in Eco-Composition: Inscribing Local Resilience, One Student at a Time.” Proposal accepted. Chicago, IL. February 2023. Unable to attend.
- Computers & Writing Conference. “All About Activism: Activist Pedagogical and Methodological Practices in the Writing Classroom.” Panel presentation. East Carolina University. May 2022.
- Conference on College Composition & Communication. “Studying, Teaching, and Enacting Grassroots Activisms: A Roundtable Discussion.” Discussion leader. Online. April 2022.
- Conference on Community Writing. “Archiving as Activism: Collecting Narratives of Border Wall Resistance in the Rio Grande Valley” with Sarah Warren-Riley. Panel presentation. Online. 21 October 2021.
- Conference on College Composition & Communication. “Reimagining Community Engagement: Shifting the Ways We Engage in Challenging Times” with Sarah Warren-Riley. Engaged Learning Experience workshop delivered. Online. April 2021.