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I’m Allison, and I’m an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Composition in the English Department at Ball State University. I received my Ph.D. in Composition and Cultural Rhetoric from Syracuse University and my M.A. in Professional Writing and Editing from West Virginia University.

Allison, a white woman with brown hair and glasses, stands in front of a field of yellow, green, and brown autumn flowers
Allison smiling in a field of autumn flowers

As a researcher, I’m interested in how disability is constructed and mediated through technology, whose stories and bodies we value within our disciplinary histories, and how we can work as a community to theorize and enact more socially just pedagogical practices.

My book, Rhetorics of Overcoming: Rewriting Narratives of Disability and Accessibility in Writing Studies, addresses the in/accessibility of writing classroom and writing center practices for disabled and nondisabled student writers. I explore how rhetorics of overcoming—the idea that disabled people must overcome their disabilities in order to be successful—manifest in writing studies scholarship and practices. Visit my research page to learn more about this work and access a plain-language zine of my book!

book cover of Rhetorics of Overcoming: (in large black font at the top) Rewriting Narratives of Disability and Accessibility are written in a smaller, all caps white font with gray shading below it. The main image in the center is artwork by Rachel Deane titled "“In Search for a Weapon I Found My Bonnard Book." The painting is bright shades of pink, red, and blue with various bodies outlined. The rest of the cover is light gray background. Allison Harper Hitt is in a small black font below the image.
Cover of Rhetorics of Overcoming, featuring artwork by Rachel Deane

As an instructor, I value multimodal learning and composing. In the writing courses I teach, I incorporate a mix of print and digital assignments and activities to provide students with different access points to learn, compose, and circulate their ideas in ways that are challenging and meaningful. Visit my teaching page to learn about my pedagogical values & the courses I teach.

You can also learn about what I think, research, & make through my CV and blog.