Gitte Frandsen // English // Marquette University

Teaching Assistant Professor

English

I have been a Teaching Assistant Professor at Marquette University since 2023 and a
college professor since 2007, teaching courses in sociolinguistics, rhetoric, first-year
composition for domestic and international students, grammar, professional writing, and
literature. A core belief of mine is that all students bring into the classroom their own
valuable knowledge, languages, and ways of understanding the world which are shaped by
their lived experience and membership in various communities. My goal is to validate the
practices students bring and help them build on their existing resources in a trusting and
caring classroom environment. I also aim to help students grow as critical readers and
creators of information by understanding how the contexts and language of information are
entangled in cultural, sociopolitical, and material realities.

My research focuses on how individuals communicate as they navigate different contexts
of their lives. I am especially interested in the practices of transnational, multilingual
individuals, and I study how they draw from their linguistic, cultural, and literacy resources
to complete tasks, build community, and achieve their personal, professional, and
academic goals. A current research project focuses on children and youth who translate
and broker meaning for their family and other community members. My goal is to
understand and map the unique language and literacy skills they develop while translating
and to identify ways that K-16 teachers can honor and integrate these resources in the classroom.

Education

BA and MA – English, TESOL, and Comparative Religion, University of Copenhagen

PhD – English, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Courses Taught

Foundations in Rhetoric

Sociolinguistics

Honors First-Year Seminar

Writing for Workplaces

Core Honors Methods of Inquiry

Research Interests

Composition theory and pedagogy

Literacy studies

Linguistic justice

Cultural rhetorics

“Trans”-theories (translation, -lingual, -cultural, -rhetorical, -national)

Publications

Frandsen, Gitte. “Transnational Literacies as a Resource in the Writing Classroom”.
College English, forthcoming.

Frandsen, Gitte. “Transnational Students’ Dynamic Meaning-Making Practices as
Assets in U.S. Writing Classrooms”. Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, vol. 7,
Parlor Press and WAC Clearinghouse, forthcoming 2025.

Frandsen, Gitte, Danielle Koepke, and Maria Novotny: “Perspectives on Graduate
Education in Rhetoric and Composition”. Radical Transparency, edited by Justin
Cook and Skye Robertson). University Press of Colorado, Forthcoming.

Koepke, Danielle and Gitte Frandsen: “A Feminist Lens of Care for GTA Parents:
Creating Toolkits for Collective Survival". PHDing while Parenting, edited by Jenna
Morton-Aiken and Jackie Hoermann-Elliott. Rutgers University Press. July, 2025.

Frandsen, Gitte, Chloe Smith, Madison Williams, and Rachel-Bloom-Pojar. “The
Myth of the Traditional Graduate Student – A Case Study of Enculturation and
Resistance”. College Composition and Communication. Volume 75, Issue 4, 2024.

Fishman, Jenn et al. “Capacitating Community: The Writing Innovation Symposium.”
Community Literacy Journal, vol. 17, no. 2, 2023, pp. 49-67.

Novotny, Maria, Claire Edwards, Gitte Frandsen, Danielle Koepke, Joni Marcum,
Chloe Smith, and Madison William. “Constellating Community Engagement in a
Cultural Rhetorics Seminar”. Composition Studies, v49 n1 p103-118, 2021.

Additional Information

Office Hours

Fall 2025

Tuesday 8:30AM-9:30AM

Wednesday 10:00AM-12:00PM