Rosalind Horowitz

Bio

I am delighted to share theory and research on speech and writing with Honors students who wish to apply this knowledge to real-life situations and work contexts.

I will draw content from Giants, from across disciplines that will help learners excel in higher education and experiential learning. Students will find this new direction, growing across universities and UTSA, useful for career planning and just simply invigorating.

I completed a B.S., M.A., and Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota—Twin Cities (where I am from) with graduate work at Harvard University, Cambridge, Ma. (as a first-generation student, rewarded with scholarships). I majored in Speech-Communications--Rhetoric, English Education, and Child Psychology, in the Institute of Child Development, ranked Number 1 in the world.

I train teachers in literacy development at the Undergraduate, M.A., and Doctoral levels—information that warrants use across multiple fields. I have taught at the University of Toronto. I came to UTSA when the school was just taking off, 8 years old, with 8,000 students. We now are 50+ years old and with the Health Science Center have 40,000 students. I have taught at UTSA for 45 years! Fear not, I am still highly energized!

I am fascinated with how children and youth learn, develop skill and confidence in communication in ways that will grow a mind, foster tolerance, and respect for ‘other’ while doing so—across the world. I’ve asked numerous poignant questions: How might oral and written communication influence the survival of a culture and community? How might an oral message differ from the written produced by an individual? How do reading and writing influence critical thinking and identity? Even a voice that is projected?

Research topics of interest and addressed in publications:

Borderlands, Adolescents who are Precocious Readers on the USMexico Border, Motivation—Developing Curiosity, Novelty, and Questioning in Reading and Writing, Talk and Silence in Communication when Writing, Collaborative Speaking and Writing, The Achievement Gap in Reading, Why Some Children Read and Others Fall Behind, The Evolution of Writing across time.

I have given international talks—including in Beijing, China; and Kyiv, Ukraine (then Russia), Tokyo, Japan; Sydney, Australia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Mexico City, Oeiras, Portugal. I am working on my Spanish, have had training in French, Russian, and Ukrainian.

My family is from Russia. what is now Ukraine. and across three generations have been composers of music—which I, surprisingly, bring to the study of speaking and writing. I recently completed The Routledge International Handbook of Research on Writing with 77 research-authors from across the globe.

I bring my published research to the Honors community and seek to mentor students in how to conduct studies that will advance knowledge of the oral and written forms of communication.

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