Qwo-Li Driskill: Dragonfly Rising

I received my PhD in Rhetoric & Writing (Cultural Rhetorics Concentration) at Michigan State University. I am currently an assistant professor in the Department of English at Texas A&M University, where I teach both graduate and undergraduate courses in rhetoric & writing. My research focuses on Queer and Two-Spirit Indigenous politics and identities, particularly Cherokee Queer/Two-Spirit people and memories. My research areas include Cherokee performance rhetorics, Native Two-Spirit/Queer Studies, critical ethnic studies, historiography, oral history performance, Native language restoration, healing historical trauma, radical pedagogies, and Red-Black Studies.

Click here for more information on my current research, On the Wings of Wadaduga: Cherokee Two-Spirit Lives.

Click here to download a pdf.

Cover of Queer Indigenous Studies

I am the co-editor of two collections published by the University of Arizona Press: Queer Indigenous Studies: Critical Interventions is Theory, Politics, and Literature (co-edited with Chris Finley, Brian Joseph Gilley, and Scott Lauria Morgensen) and Sovereign Erotics: A Collection of Two-Spirit Literature (co-edited with Daniel Heath Justice, Deborah Miranda, and Lisa Tatonetti). Both collections are included in the series First Peoples: New Directions in Indigenous Studies.

Call Me Brother: Two-Spiritedness, the Erotic, and Mixedblood Identity as Sites of Sovereignty and Resistance in Gregory Scofield's Poetry (pdf). Speak to Me Words: Essays on Contemporary American Indian Poetry. Eds. Janice Gould and Dean Rader. Tucson: University of Arizona, 2003. 223-234.

Creating New Ceremonies with Remembered Ones: A Commentary on Louis Esme Cruz's "Puo’winue’l Prayers"(pdf). Sexuality, Nationality, Indigeneity. Eds. Daniel Heath Justice, Mark Rifkin, and Bethany Schneider. GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies. 16.1–2 (2010): 69-92. 244-245.

Dancing Back Strong Our Nations: Performance as Continuance in Maurice Kenny's Poetry (pdf). Maurice Kenny: Celebrations of a Mohawk Writer. Ed. Penelope Myrtle Kelsey. Albany: SUNY Press, 2011. 25-36.

Doubleweaving Two-Spirit Critiques: Building Alliances between Native and Queer Studies (pdf). Sexuality, Nationality, Indigeneity. Eds. Daniel Heath Justice, Mark Rifkin, and Bethany Schneider. GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies. 16.1–2 (2010): 69-92.

Ha'nts: The Booger Dance Rhetorics of Lynn Riggs' The Cherokee Night (pdf). American Indian Performing Arts: Critical Directions. Eds. Hanay Geiogamah and Jaye Darby. Los Angeles: UCLA American Indian Studies Center, 2009. 179-196.

Mothertongue: Incorporating Theatre of the Oppressed into Language Restoration Movements (pdf). Nurturing Native Languages. Eds. Jon Reyhner, Octaviana V. Trujillo, Roberto Luis Carrasco, and Louise Lockard. Flagstaff: Northern Arizona University, 2003. 155-163.

A Net-working Community: WIDE and the Rhetoric and Writing Graduate Program at Michigan State University (link). Co-Authored with Angela Haas, Bill Hart-Davidson, and Douglas Eyman. Currents in Electronic Literacy. Spring, 2007.

Stolen from Our Bodies: First Nations Two-Spirits/Queers and the Journey to a Sovereign Erotic (pdf). Studies in American Indian Literatures. 16.2. (2004): 50-64.

Theatre as Suture: Grassroots Performance, Decolonization and Healing (pdf). Aboriginal Oral Traditions: Theory, Practice, Ethics. Eds. Renate Eigenbrod and Renée Hulan. Halifax: Fernwood Publishing, 2008. 155-168.

Graduate Courses

History & Theory of Rhetoric Since 1800 (ENGL/COMM 655). Texas A&M University: Spring 2011.

Contextualizing itself within histories of rhetoric since 1800, this course will focuses on contemporary areas of inquiry within rhetoric and composition: cultural rhetorics, digital rhetorics, visual rhetorics, writing studies, literacy, and technical communication. This class is designed to immerse graduate students into the discourse of the discipline and asks them to critically engage with methodologies and theories in rhet/comp by bringing rhetorical theory into rhetorical practice through writing and classroom participation. Students are expected to learn the following: major theoretical concerns of rhet/comp; how to bring various theories in rhet/comp into critical conversations; how to situate their scholarship and methodologies within/with the field; field-specific discourse used in rhet/comp' the relationship between theory, practice, and pedagogy; the ethical, political, and civic expectations and responsibilities of rhetoric scholars.

Native Rhetoric and Literatures (ENGL 689). Texas A&M University: Spring 2010.

This course examines Native American rhetorics and literatures, focusing on the relationship between composed, performed, and material rhetorics in Native histories and present. We look at the work of Native rhetors and creative writers from pre-colonization to the present and contextualize Native rhetorics and poetics within contemporary struggles for cultural continuance and decolonization.

History of Rhetoric to 1800 (ENGL/COMM 654). Texas A&M University: Fall 2009.

In 1999, Victor Villanueva called for the field of Rhetoric and Composition to "break precedent" from dominant histories and theories of rhetoric: "I have a great affection for the rhetoricians of Greece and Rome. But we must break from the colonial mindset and learn from the thinkers from our own hemisphere as well." This graduate course looked at the dominant version of the history of rhetoric while also providing counter-stories and additions to that history. We examined the history of rhetoric through the stance that rather than a singular, monolithic "history of rhetoric," that there are in fact numerous and complicated histories of rhetorics. With a particular focus on rhetorics of the Americas, this course will offer revisions to the history of rhetoric by including rhetorics of color and other rhetorical histories too often left out of discourse. This class looked at a wide variety of rhetorics, including textual, performed, and material.

Communication Design (CCC 540). Antioch University Seattle: Fall 2006.

Communication Design is a core course offering for all graduate programs in the Center for Creative Change (CCC): Environment & Community, Management, Organizational Psychology, Strategic Communication, and Whole Systems Design. The course is designed to offer perspectives and skills for designing, presenting and evaluating effective communication with particular emphasis on writing. Students were expected to develop their ability to analyze rhetorical contexts, design and develop appropriate written and oral communication strategies, gain an understanding of the visual dimensions of oral and written communication, and develop effective skills for critiquing communication.

Undergraduate Courses

Native American Rhetorics & Literatures (ENGL 357). Texas A&M University: Fall 2011.

This course examines Native American rhetorics and literatures, with a focus on the relationship between composed, performed, and material rhetorics; covering Native American rhetors and writers from pre-colonization to the present and contextualizing them within contemporary Native issues. Reading extensively in Native rhetorics, literatures, and critical theories, this course addresses a wide range of texts that include theory, material rhetorics, visual rhetorics, poetry, fiction, performance, speculative fiction, and non-fiction. The course also focuses on the intersectional and interdisciplinary nature of Native American and Indigenous Studies as a field. (Designed, proposed, and added course to regular course offerings).

Elements of Creative Writing (ENGL 235). Texas A&M University: Fall 2011, Fall 2009, Fall 2008.

Creative writing is a tool to tell stories. This course is meant to develop skills in storytelling through the invention, revision, and production of creative works. This section will has a particular focus on theater and poetry, paying close attention to the relationships between poetry, playwriting, creative non-fiction, and fiction. The course introduces students to the work of the creative writer from invention to production, performance, and publication. Further, this section of ENGL 235 addresses how stories, through creative writing, are used—and can be used—in struggles for social justice. We look to the work of creative writers in order to examine how writing is employed as a tactic to interrupt racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, classism, and other forms of oppression. Interactive theater is a regular part of classroom activity both as an invention activity as well as a tool to discuss issues of oppression, power, and social transformation. This course collectively authors a single play. Fall 2009's play, The Ballad of Emile Cloud, was presented as part of TAMU's "Student New Works Festival."

History of Rhetoric (ENGL 353). Texas A&M University: Spring 2011, Spring 2009.

This course investigates rhetorical histories from the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and other parts of the world in order to examine the numerous and complicated histories of rhetorics from ancient times through the 19th Century. We look at how these histories are complicated by contemporary constructions of race, class, gender, sexuality, religion, and other forms of power and oppression. We include textual, performed, visual, and material rhetorics in our understanding of "rhetoric." As part of the learning activities for this course, students develop and contribute to the wiki "Beyond Greco-Roman Rhetorics: Breaking Precedent, Revising Stories."

Modern Rhetorical Theory (ENGL 354). Texas A&M University: Spring 2010, Fall 2009, Spring 2009.

With a particular focus on cultural rhetorics—the intersections of rhetoric, cultures, and systems of power—this class examines rhetoric's relationship with contemporary constructions of race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, class, and disability. We examine the ways these constructions intersect and relate to one another and to modern rhetorical theory. We consider writing, performance, visual rhetorics, and material rhetorics within our understanding of what constitutes "rhetoric." The Spring 2010 section of this course had a focus on African-American rhetorics and was cross-listed with Africana Studies (AFST).

Writing: American Radical Thought (WRA 130). Michigan State University: Spring 2007.

Writing: American Radical Thought involves drafting, revising, and editing compositions derived from readings on American radical thought to develop skills in narration, persuasion, analysis, and documentation. The course is designed to have students examine the assumptions and positions of radical thinkers and organizations as well as assess their impact and influence on social change. This section focused on the ways in which the arts have been, are, and can be used as tools for radical social transformation. We examined social movements against racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, and ableism in the United States. There was clear attention to intersectional politics with particular focus on feminist, people of color, and Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender movements, identities, and communities. We engaged with the subject matter by exploring various genres including theory, poetry, fiction, visual rhetorics, film, music, and theater. The use of interactive theater in the classroom was a common learning technique.

Writing: The American Ethnic and Racial Experience (WRA 125). Michigan State University: Fall, 2006.

Writing: The American Ethnic and Racial Experience involves drafting, revising, and editing compositions derived from readings on the experience of American ethnic and racial groups to develop skills in narration, persuasion, analysis, and documentation. This section focused on Native people and the diverse identities and experiences that exist within Native nations, communities, histories, and intellectual traditions. Specifically, we looked to Native feminisms, Native Gay/Lesbian/Bi/Trans and Two-Spirit identities, Native people with (dis)abilities, and Red-Black (African-Native American) experiences. We engaged with the subject matter by exploring various genres including theory, poetry, fiction, visual rhetorics, film, music, and theater. The use of interactive theater in the classroom was a common learning technique.

Writing: Men in America. (WRA 145). Michigan State University: Spring 2006.

Writing: Men in America involves drafting, revising, and editing compositions (in a wide variety of genres) derived from readings on men in America to develop skills in narration, persuasion, analysis, and documentation and is a Tier One writing course at MSU. This section had a particular focus on the experiences of Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (GBTQ) identified men of color, "gender variant" people of color from a wide spectrum of gender expressions, constructions of masculinity, feminism, and anti-sexism.

Preparation for College Writing (WRA 1004/0102). Michigan State University: Fall 2005.

Preparation for College Writing is a writing and reading course designed to help students develop critical and practical knowledge of writing in order to succeed in Tier One writing at MSU, other university courses, professional settings, and everyday life. The main goal of PCW is to introduce students to a range of general strategies for interpreting, assessing, and composing within particular rhetorical situations. This particular section included a focus on social justice.