Dr. Leonard Cassuto, professor of English at Fordham University, held a talk on Oct. 23 in the Loris Forum about ethics and the importance of writing in higher education in today’s world.
Source: Nicholas Maisano, Staff Writer and Photographer
Cassuto’s latest published book, Academic Writing as If Readers Matter, explains the importance of how academic writing should be clear to understand and reader-friendly. Cassuto also touches on how writing in higher education does not need to be overcomplicated and how it is more beneficial to sound smart while still being easy to understand.
This event was introduced to students and faculty by Dr. Cara Kilgallen, an associate English professor. Kilgallen has been a SHU professor for about sixteen years, and she specializes in American literature, nonfiction and creative writing. Kilgallen attended Fordham University, where she earned her doctorate.
“[Cassuto] was my mentor at Fordham, along with many other professors’ mentors, and Leonard is all about giving back,” said Kilgallen.
After the talk, Cassuto and Kilgallen held a Q&A panel open to both students and faculty members.
The talk was organized by the Department of English, the Human Journey series, the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, and the Hersher Institute of Ethics.
“All of these departments came together in hopes to make a difference in students’ writings and allow them to connect their writing to ethics and for future education,” said Kilgallen.
While there were more faculty members than students in attendance, the students present were able to take away key information about how to make writing clearer and stronger.
“I am happy that I attended this talk today because I learned how to improve my writing,” said junior Amy Southall. “I always thought that my writing had to be written a certain way to sound smart and strong; however, today I was told it is more beneficial to write in a more understanding style so that it is inclusive for all readers to understand.”
Writing in higher education at the moment is contentious because students’ reliance on artificial intelligence (AI) has been on the uptick. Rather than relying on these tools, professors are trying to ensure students can write and edit their own work.
“With the use of AI, it does not allow us to tell our own story within writing, and what I hope students take away from this talk is the importance of connecting human relationships through writing,” said Kilgallen.
Dr. Brian Stiltner, a professor in the Theology and Religious Studies dept., had many strong feelings about having Leonard Cassuto on campus and the impact he would have on SHU students in attendance.
“I hope that all students will take away that good writing requires taking care of your reader, which means making your writing useful and readable,” said Stiltner.
Stiltner not only attended this talk for his students but also to improve his own skills to enable his writing to benefit his students and other readers.
“Professor Cassuto is reminding everyone to use these skills, professors too, and I hope students will see professors are constantly trying to improve their writing ability and will be willing to make more efforts to improve their own writing as well,” said Stiltner.
