Past Talks

Russell Hirst:

Dr. Russell Hirst is an associate professor in English at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. His research interests include professional and technical writing, with a recent focus on style and document design for scientific and technical communication. He spoke to us on April 13th, 2017.

Mark Zachry:

Dr. Zachry is a professor in Human Centered Design & Engineering at the University of Washington, and his professional interests include human-computer interaction, social computing, communicative practices of organizations, and sociotechnical systems. He spoke with us on February 23, 2017 about his work and his career. You might have read his work on genre ecologies (“Genre ecologies: An open-system approach to understanding and constructing documentation”) or his NCTE award winning edited collection, Communicative Practices in Workplaces and the Professions: Cultural Perspectives on the Regulation of Discourse and Organizations.

Dr. Kristin Arola—Kristin Arola is an associate professor of rhetoric, composition, and technology at Washington State University. She teaches classes in digital rhetoric and multimodal composition. She also serves as the Director of Graduate Studies. Dr. Arola’s research focuses on digital rhetoric by bringing together ideas of culture, digital literacy, composition theory. Read more about Dr. Arola by visiting her website. She spoke with us on November 4, 2016 about her work with indigenous tribes in the Midwest and her experiences with professional development and helping instructors use video in their classes.

Dr. Amy Devitt—Amy Devitt is a Full Professor at the University of Kansas where she specializes in all things writing-related. Her work involving genre has been particularly influential. Dr. Devitt researches all kinds of genres and the ways they affect the way we communicate and our broader society as a whole. Learn more about Dr. Devitt’s research or read her blog. She spoke with us on April 27, 2016 about genre and the intersections of linguistics, particularly sociolinguistics, and rhetoric and composition. Quote of the event: “Genre makes rhetoric visible.”

Dr. Craig Rood—Our very own Craig Rood is an Assistant Professor here in RPC. He spoke with us on February 18, 2016 about how to apply for jobs in Rhetoric and Professional communication.

Dr. Jordan Frith—Jordan Frith is an Assistant Professor at University of North Texas. We have invited him in part because of his recent experience with the academic job market and current experience with earning tenure, and also because of his work with Social Network Analysis, a methodology comparable to Activity Theory or Actor-Network Theory. He spoke with us on October 15, 2015 about preparing for the academic job market, publishing, and finding a “niche.”

Dr. Brenton Faber—Brenton Faber teaches at Worcester Polytechnic institute. His work continues to examine organizations and change as a human dynamic, particularly at sites of vision and adaptation, resistance and promotion, language and representation. He has studied activities in the financial services sector that have compelled bankers to introduce mutual funds, stocks, and bonds to customers historically comfortable with savings and checking accounts; the introduction of new computer systems in contested organizational sites; and the promotion of nanoscience and technology as a new science within residual disciplinary frameworks. He spoke with us on April 14, 2015.

Dr. Clay Spinuzzi—Clay Spinuzzi is a former Iowa Stater who now works at the University of Texas at Austin. Spinuzzi‘s interests include research methods and methodology, workplace research, and computer-mediated activity. He has written three books: Tracing Genres through Organizations (MIT Press, 2003); Network (Cambridge University Press, 2008); and Topsight (via Amazon CreateSpace, 2013). Spinuzzi teaches graduate courses in the Department of English and the School of Information, as well as in the Human Dimensions of Organizations MA program. His blog focuses on rhetoric, technology, and research. Learn more about Clay Spinuzzi. He spoke with us on February 22, 2015.