Penn Professors on Writing in Religious Studies
Dr. E. Ann Matter
About the Professor
Dr. E. Ann Matter teaches and studies the history of Medieval Christianity. In her academic pursuits, she is especially concerned with the history of spirituality and devotion, the interpretation of the Bible, and the roles of women during the Middle Ages and Early Modern periods. She focuses particularly on text studies in Italian and the Latin tradition. She works with many primary and secondary sources in print, manuscript, and online. Dr. Matter thinks a lot about what she wants to write about and how she wants to communicate it before putting pen to paper. She notes that the University of Pennsylvania has given her the opportunity to travel all over the world to work with original sources.
Writing Tips
Dr. Matter diligently works with her students to help them develop proper writing skills in her discipline. Since she often teaches a freshman seminar, many of her students have yet to complete a writing seminar. In this way, Dr. Matrer finds that students often have inventive ideas but have yet to develop the rhetorical skills to articulate them effectively through writing. While she no longer uses a writing handbook or style guide, Dr. Matter suggests students needing additional instruction visit Penn’s Critical Writing Center.
Links
Writing in the Discipline: Religious Studies
Other professors in Religious Studies: Dr. Talya Fishman
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