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Dr. Gitte Frandsen

Dr. Gitte FrandsenMarquette University

Marquette Hall, 243

MilwaukeeWI53201United States of America(414) 288-0688gitte.frandsen@marquette.edu

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
Ways of Knowing
Core Honors Methods of Inquiry

Research Interests

· Composition theory and pedagogy
· Literacy studies
· Language and social justice
· Cultural rhetorics
· “Trans”-theories (translation, -lingual, -cultural, -rhetorical, -national).

Publications

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, March 2027.
Frandsen, Gitte. “Towards a Transnational Orientation in Writing Program Administration”. WPA Journal. Under review.
Frandsen, Gitte. “Transnational Literacies as a Resource in the Writing Classroom”. College English. Volume 88, Issue 4, 2026.
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, August 2026.
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 Williams. “Constellating Community Engagement in a Cultural Rhetorics Seminar”. Composition Studies, v49 n1 p103-118, 2021.