About Me
Composition
Instructor.
Researcher of Story
Nikki Christensen is a composition instructor at Utah State University, with two years of classroom experience teaching First-Year and Intermediate English Composition.
About Me
Researcher of Story
Nikki Christensen is a composition instructor at Utah State University, with two years of classroom experience teaching First-Year and Intermediate English Composition.
My Approach
Nikki's approach to teaching composition centers on the writing process itself. She focuses on helping students move from a blank page to a finished draft through clear structure, honest feedback, and practical revision strategies.
Her background in storytelling and research gives her a strong sense of audience and argument, which she brings into how she teaches essay development and academic writing.
Background
In Students' Words
"Before this course, I would get overwhelmed by articles like the ones we used, but now I feel confident reading and analyzing them."
ENGL 1010, Fall 2024
"When giving feedback on my assignments, you're very clear about it, and I appreciate that a lot."
ENGL 1010, Fall 2025
"English has never been my strong point... this has probably been the most effort I've put into an English course, and the most informative English course I have ever had."
ENGL 1010, Fall 2025
"When I took what she taught and applied it to my own writing, I saw an improvement in my own work."
ENGL 2010, Spring 2026
Areas of Focus
Developing curriculum for first-year and intermediate writing courses, from drafting through revision.
Research on folklore, storytelling, and cultural narrative, including studies on children's folklore and AI-generated imagery.
Exploring how AI tools intersect with composition pedagogy and cultural narrative.
Presentations
Nikki has presented "Monster Mindscapes" at the kick-off event for USU's Data Science & AI Center and in a USU English Department professional development training, and has presented folklore research at the American Folklore Society Annual Meeting and the Western States Folklore Society.
My Substack explores AI as a cultural force — through myth, history, and the humanities. What do these systems reveal about creativity, authorship, and who we are? Published since early 2026.
Recognition
Nikki is the winner of the W. W. Newell Prize for Children's Folklore (2022) for her research on "Inverse Riddles," a subgenre she identified through original fieldwork with children ages 6–12.
Her graduate thesis, "The Dragon in the Dress," examines gender bias across AI image generators and situates the findings within existing monster theory and media scholarship.
Get In Touch
Whether you're hiring, curious about The AI Bestiary, or interested in the intersection of composition and folklore — I'd love to hear from you.