Alex Jennings

Alex Jennings is a PhD candidate and instructor in the University of Pittsburgh’s Rhetoric and Composition program where she has taught First Year and upper division Digital Humanities writing courses.

Alex is interested in the triangulation between AI, writing process, and efficiency. Her work grapples with the ways in which the use and application of generative AI tools are closely connected to societal and field specific ideas and attitudes about writing and efficiency. Specifically, Alex draws from Disability Studies and Data Science methodologies to better understand the writing processes of neurodivergent students and their needs in light of emergent AI writing tools. 

Alongside Alex’s interest in AI and pedagogy, she is a graduate student researcher in the University’s Hub for AI and Data Science Leadership (HAIL) cohort–a competitive interdisciplinary program which explores ethical and responsible AI & Data Science practices across disciplines.

Her work has been published in Xchanges, Writing Spaces, Constellations: a Cultural Rhetorics Publishing Space, Mise en Scene, and forthcoming work in NCTE.

Representative Publications

Jennings, Alex and Megan Simmermeyer. “Whose Voice Is it Anyway?: Approaching Writing Assignments in the Age of AI" Writing Spaces, vol. 7. (2026).

Jennings, Alex. “Chat(GPT)-ing about the Affordances Generative AI Tools Offer for ADHD Writers.” Xchanges. (2025). 

Jennings, Alex. "Embodying Academic Experiences as Cultural Rhetorics: A Conversation." constellations: a cultural rhetorics publishing space. (2025).

Jennings, Alex. “Same Women Altered Autonomy: A Look at the Perception of Power in Carol." Mise-en-scene: The Journal of Film and Visual Narration. (2022).

Invited Talks

University of Pittsburgh Writing Center | “Tools to Support ADHD Student Writers and their Processes” (2025)

Nominations and Awards

Nominated for the 2024, 2025, and 2026 A&S GSO Elizabeth Baranger Excellence in Teaching Award

Recipient of the Carolyn Chambers Memorial Predoctoral Fellowship (2026-2027)

Hub for AI and Data Science Leadership Award (2026)

Conference Presentations

“Whose Voice Is Accessible? Exploring GenAI Pedagogies through Writerly Voice and Accessibility.” CCCC. (March 2026). 

“What Your Music Playlist Says About Your Teaching Practices: Remixing Methodologies.” CCCC. (April 2025). 

“Voices that Connect: Exploring Identity in and Beyond the Classroom.” Blueridge Rhetoric and Writing Conference. (September 2025). 

“Approaches to Multimodality: A Digital and Cultural Rhetorics Approach to Pedagogy in Composition Classrooms.” CCCC. (April 2024). 

Collaborator on “Grit Is Not It: Reckoning with Resilience in "Post"-Pandemic FYC.” Watson Conference. University of Louisville. (March 2024). 

Collaborator on “Building the Two-Way Street: A Guide for Two-Year/Four-Year College Writing Program Partnerships.” Watson Conference. University of Louisville. (February 2024). 

“It’s in the Syllabus: A Quantitative Study Using Composition and Writing Course Syllabi to Examine Equitability and Student-Centered Teaching Practices” Cultural Studies & Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies Graduate Student Organization Symposium at The University of Pittsburgh. (February 2023). 

“Unlearning Problematic Beliefs to Improve the Teaching and Learning of Academic Writing.” CCCC. (February 2023).

Forthcoming Works

Chapter: "Building the Two-Way Street: A Guide for Two-Year/Four-Year College Writing Program Partnerships" in the "Supporting Students" section, NCTE. (Expected Fall 2026).