Melinda Obach
Academic Calendar | University Center Faculty Directory | Faculty Meetings | Faculty Newsletter | Policies and Procedures | Security Contacts | University Center Excellence in Teaching Award | Melody Jewell | Sara Madsen | Barbara Myers | Melinda Obach | Jamie Ladonski | Michael Grams | Randall Warren |
![]() |
Melinda Obach
Instructor of English
Contact Information:
Office: Room 155, University Center South
Phone: (605) 367-8381
E-mail: Melinda.Obach@usd.edu
Spring '10 Office Hours: Mondays: 10 am - 1 pm; Tuesdays: 10 am - 1 pm; Thursdays: Noon - 4; by appointment.
Education:
B.A. in English, Minot State University, 2003
M.A. in English/Creative Writing, The University of South Dakota, 2005
"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education."
-Martin Luther King, Jr. |
About Me:
I am originally from a farm on the edge of the Badlands of North Dakota, and I have been teaching introductory English courses for the University of South Dakota since 2006. I love to bike and swim, hang out at coffee shops and write, watch infomercials, spend time with my family, and collect goodwill tee shirts.
I love being in the classroom with a group of engaged, aware, and dedicated students. If you come into my classroom ready to work, I will help you become a stronger writer. Nothing is off limits in my classroom, so come prepared to discuss, analyze, evaluate, and critique your worlds. Your voice is your power--use it.
Research and Teaching Interests:
- The Portfolio Method
- Race, Class, and Gender
- Media and Pop Culture as Rhetoric
- Creative Writing
- Poetry as Social Commentary
- Rural Life
Courses Recently and/or Regularly Taught at University Center:
![]() |
"If you do not breathe through writing, if you do not cry out in writing, or sing in writing, then don't write, because our culture has no use for it."
-Anais Nin |







