Bethany Monea

Bethany Monea is an Assistant Professor of English focused on community-engaged writing and research. She uses participatory and arts-based research approaches to broaden the scope of participation in academia and foster more inclusive writing pedagogies, with a particular emphasis on supporting transitions to college for first-generation students.

Experience

Education

Doctor of Philosophy in Literacy Studies, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education
Master of Arts in English, North Carolina State University
Bachelor of Arts in English with a Minor in Art, Abilene Christian University

Roles

Assistant Professor of English, UDC

Courses Taught

Critical Writing
Writing for the Web
Foundation Writing I
Foundation Writing II
Discovery Writing

Expertise

Research Focus/Works in Progress

Community-engaged writing and research; participatory, qualitative, and arts-based research methods; first-year writing; multimodal and digital literacies; first-generation student success; Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR), youth writing and media.

Leadership

Co-Director, Youth Research Council (2022–Present)
Advisory Committee Member, DC Postsecondary Success Collaborative, 2025–Present

Impact

Selected Publications

Monea, B., and Aguiar, C. (forthcoming) Finding common ground: Using multimodal student showcases to foster community and collaboration. In T. Azar & Smith A. E. (Eds). "Celebrating Student Writing in Writing Programs."

Monea, B., Call-Cummings, M., Berhe-Abraha, S., Goraya, A., Kalinichenko, O., Khalid, W., Rotherham, L., Best, A. L., Khaseem Davis, K., Gray, N., Keller, J., Martah, S. (2024). What brought us here, what Keeps us here: Multiple perspectives on building and sustaining a community-engaged youth research partnership. "Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Research."

Stornaiuolo, A., & Monea, B. (2023). Adolescents’ ‘Pocket Writing’: How concealed writing circulates in schools. "Written Communication."

Monea, B. (2022). Sharing the screen: Reconfiguring participatory methodologies for digitally mediated literacy research. In Lee, C., Bailey, C. Burnett, C. and Rowsell, J. (Eds.) "Unsettling Literacies: Directions for Literacy Research in Precarious Times." Springer.

Monea, B., Andrade, J., Gonzalez, P., & Pozo, M. (2020). Beyond words: Reimagining education through arts and activism. "Perspectives in Urban Education." 18(1).

Selected Presentations

Russo, R., Jensen, A., Monea, B., Aguiar, C., Kervina, C. Doheney, K., Jensen, D., Yupanqui, B., (March 2025). “Institutional Remixing for Resilience and Resistance” Engaged Learning Session organized for the "Conference on College Composition and Communication," Baltimore, MD.

LaFrance, M., Monea, B., & Martinez, T. (Oct. 2023). “Enacting Sustainable, Community-Based Curricular Change: Creating a Community and Public Writing Minor.” Symposium organized for the "Coalition on Community Writing." Denver, CO. 

Monea, B. (Apr. 2022) “The Composing Practices of First-Generation, Latinx Students Transitioning to College.” Paper presented at the "American Educational Research Association." San Diego, CA.

Selected Grants

“Extending Research in Support of First-Generation Students’ College Pathways” Summer Start-Up Research Funds, University of the District of Columbia College of Arts and Sciences, 2024

“Re-conceptualizing​ ​College​ ​Transition through Digital Participatory Research with First-Gen, Latinx Youth” American Educational Research Association (AERA) Division D Early Career / Graduate Student Grant, 2021

“First-Gen Stories: A Web Series” Sachs Student Arts Innovation Award, 2020

Recognitions

Honorable Mention, James Berlin Outstanding Dissertation Award, presented by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC), 2024

The Morton Botel Award for Outstanding Commitment to Critical Issues of Identity the Literacy Education of Adolescents and Young Adults, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, 2023

Best Webtext, "Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy," 2021

Best Paper, American Educational Research Association  Media, Culture, and Learning Special Interest Group, 2021

Fulbright English Teaching Fellowship Award, 2013

Invited Participations

"Publishing Equitably with Community: An ICETS (Incorporating Community-Engaged Teaching and Scholarship Into Promotion and Tenure)" Institute, Co-Chair, University of the District of Columbia and Transform Mid-Atlantic, 2025

"Dialogues on Community Writing Series," Moderator, Virginia Community Writing Collective 2024

"Digital Platforms in the ELA Classroom," Co-Panelist, National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Learning and Leading Series, 2023

"Evaluating Multimodal Scholarship in Educational Research," Co-Facilitator, Johns Hopkins University School of Education, 2022

"Valuing the Arts and Linguistic Diversity," Co-Panelist, George Mason University, Honors College, 2022

"Multimodal and Video Methods in Educational Research," Co-Panelist, Texas Tech University, 2021

"Visual Literacies," Co-Panelist, Illinois State University, 2020

"Participatory Research Methodologies," Co-Panelist, Florida State University, 2020