Lunford's quests

Nancy’s focus was on Lunsford’s attention to the role of women, historically, in the area of writing. She also discussed Lunsford’s ideas about the role of collaboration present in much of her writing. These areas highlight Lunsford’s work in the past, as well as what she is continuing to do today.
Lunsford spent a lot of time working to change the image of women’s roles in writing. She struggled against the male-centered world of academia in order to reach the goals that she had set for herself. She was able to pursue a higher education even after she was turned away initially. Lunsford continues to work to address the roles of women in the classes that she teaches today. In order to bring the works of female writers to the attention of her students, she pairs them with well-known male authors. By introducing her students to the little-known female authors, she can begin to demonstrate to her students that women have been important figures as long as men have been. As a culture, we tend to overlook the contributions of women writers. Lunsford is working to put a stop to this trend. She finds works and authors form the major stages in composition that have been marginalized for most of recorded history.
Lunsford also spends a lot of time focusing on the idea of collaboration in writing. She claims that, “all writing is collaborative.” Even when we write on our own we have a dialogue running through our head. We respond to what we have heard, or read from other sources. We think through and address arguments that people might make against our own argument. We have people read what we have written in order to verify that it is clear and comprehensible. In the most overt forms of collaboration, we work side by side with another person to create a single piece of writing. We discuss back and forth about the topic and create a more complete argument through this discussion. Lunsford modeled her ideas regarding collaboration through much of her work. She wrote many titles with her collaborator Lisa Ede. Even though the two had very different styles of writing and the process that accompanies it, they were able to use these differences in order to create a stronger work. They worked together and helped each other overcome their shortcomings. This collaboration proves to be an effective example for those who read their works. Her work with collaboration also continues today. She is constantly pushing for changes in the world of higher education in regard to collaboration. She is seeking acceptance for collaborative graduate dissertations, and thesis projects. While many see these changes as an attack on the integrity of academia, Lunsford sees them as a chance for students to work together in order to create a stronger end product.