Lauren Bowen
Director of Composition, & Co-Director of Writing Across the Curriculum
Area of Expertise
Lauren Marshall Bowen's research in writing studies primarily examines literacy, identity, and aging across the lifespan, with particular attention to how age shapes and is shaped by literate practices. Her interdisciplinary work also advances age inclusivity in higher education, where she has helped develop foundational frameworks and assessment tools for creating age-friendly campus environments.
Degrees
PhD, English (concentration in Writing Studies), University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2012
MA, English, University of Maine, 2006
BA, English, University of Maine, 2004
Professional Publications & Contributions
Peer-Reviewed Articles
Montepare, J., Silverstein, N., Bowen, L. M., Whitbourne, S. K., Nikzad-Terhune, K., Graf, A. S., & Porter, M. M. (forthcoming). Reimagining the academic environment: Applying the Age Inclusivity Domains of Higher Education (AIDHE) model. The Gerontologist.
Bowen, L. M., & Pinkert, L. A. (forthcoming 2026). 'The field continues to occupy me': Writing expertise and civic engagement in retirement from rhetoric, composition, and writing studies. Writing & Pedagogy, 17(2) [Special issue: The Writing Lives We Choose: Exploring Agency with Lifespan Writing Research].
Banat, H., & Bowen, L. M. (forthcoming 2026). Holistic guided self-placement for multilingual students. WPA: Writing Program Administration, 49(2).
Montepare, J. M., Bowen, L. M., Whitbourne, S. K., & Silverstein, N. M. (2024). . Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, 1–13.
Bowen, L. M., Silverstein, N. M., Montepare, J. M., Whitbourne, S. K., Lin, Y., & Xu, S. (2024). . Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 18(Suppl. 1).
Whitbourne, S. K., Bowen, L. M., Silverstein, N., Montepare, J., & Stokes, J. E. (2024). . Research in Higher Education, 65, 601–624.
Silverstein, N., Whitbourne, S. K., Bowen, L. M., Montepare, J., Jansen, T., Beaulieu, C., & Prasad, A. (2022). . The Gerontologist, 62(1), e48–e61.
Pinkert, L. A., & Bowen, L. M. (2021). . Composition Studies, 49(1), 16–41.
Bowen, L. M., & Pinkert, L. A. (2020). I. College Composition and Communication, 72(2), 251–281.
Bowen, L. M. (2020). . Enculturation, 31.
Silverstein, N. M., Hendricksen, M., Bowen, L. M., Fonte Weaver, A. J., & Whitbourne, S. K. (2019). . Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, 40(2), 203–220.
Bowen, L. M. (2018). . Literacy in Composition Studies, 6(2), vi–xxii.
Bowen, L. M. (2017). . Computers and Composition, 74, 1–14.
Bowen, L. M., Arko, K., Beatty, J., Delaney, C., Dorpenyo, I., Möller, L., Roberts, E., & Velat, J. (2014). . Community Literacy Journal, 9(1), 20–40.
Bowen, L. M. (2014). . Age, Culture, Humanities, 1(1), 63–95.
Bowen, L. M. (2012). . College English, 74(5), 437–457.
Bowen, L. M. (2011). . College Composition and Communication, 62(4), 586–607.
Peer-Reviewed Book Chapters
Pinkert, L. A., & Bowen, L. M. (2026). Laboring through the lifecycle: Toward a disciplinary approach to faculty evaluation. In T. Oleksiak & J. Barsczewski (Eds.), Adequate: Writing new logics of success in rhetoric and composition (pp. 181–198). Utah State University Press.
Bowen, L. M., & Pinkert, L. A. (2024). Political, personal, and pedagogical imperatives: Tactical disciplinarity among early members of writing studies. In L. C. Lewis (Ed.), Pivotal strategies: Claiming writing studies as discipline (pp. 23–43). Utah State University Press.
Bowen, L. M. (2024). . In V. Lipscomb & A. Swinnen (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of literature and aging (pp. 77–96). Palgrave.
Montepare, J. M., Farah, K. S., Bowen, L. M., Silverstein, N. M., & Whitbourne, S. K. (2024). . In V. C. Greer & L. S. Edelman (Eds.), Age-friendly ecosystems: Environments for equitable aging by design (pp. 37–52). Springer.
Bowen, L. M. (2020). . In R. J. Dippre & T. Phillips (Eds.), Approaches to lifespan writing research: Generating an actionable coherence (pp. 111–125). The WAC Clearinghouse/University Press of Colorado.
Bowen, L. M., & Davis, M. (2020). . In B. Devet & D. Driscoll (Eds.), Transfer of learning in the writing center: A WLN digital edited collection.
Rumsey, S. K., Ray, R. E., Bowen, L. M., & Hillard, D. (2012). . In I. Baca (Ed.), Service-learning and writing: Paving the way for literacy(ies) through community engagement (pp. 205–226). Brill.
Edited Special Issues
Bowen, L. M., & Rumsey, S. K. (Eds.). (2018). [Special issue]. Literacy in Composition Studies, 6(2).