Department Archives: Texts and Technology Ph.D.

There have been many critiques leveled at those who participate in social media during times of crisis, including calling people who change their profile pictures or share viral videos “slacktivists.” However, I would suggest reframing the discussion from “slacktivism,” which I find to be a charged term that implies that no meaningful results will emerge […]

Five courageous T&T students participated in mock job interviews to assist them in preparing for the job market. Sandy Branham and Clayton Benjamin held their interviews via Skype, and Emily Johnson, John Bork, and Eric Murnane participated in face-to-face interviews.  Drs. McDaniel and Vie were friendly but tough Search Committee members, as was Ms. Wendy […]

As graduate faculty and graduate students, we are trained to be critical – to see the flaws and problems in arguments, ideas, and products. This is not surprising, because it is important to carefully evaluate ideas and thoughtful critical review is a significant aspect of what it means to be a scholar. We also operate […]

“The Library of Congress Subject Heading as a Gendered Technology” As Ph.D. students, we spend a significant amount of time researching our discipline in the library. We rely on the library to provide academic sources that are authoritative, scholarly, current, and credible. We use the library’s online catalog to search for and access these presumably […]

Connie Culler successfully defended her dissertation, Good Works: Commonplaces of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Travel and Tourism Industry. A set of six companies was selected for the study — Disney, Hilton, Intercontinental, Marriott, Starwood, and Wyndham – and commonplaces were identified through a blended method of research that employed rhetorical analysis, modified grounded theory, […]

Dr. Paulette Richards, Executive Director of the Atlanta-based digital production company, Ayamedia, presented her work in creating lo-tech videos with her handmade puppets, challenging how we see and think about race and culture. Dr. Richards, a graduate of Georgetown University and the University of Virginia, is a scholar, teacher, videographer, and performing artist, planting seeds […]

Emily K. Johnson successfully defended her dissertation, Making waves, mixing colors, and using mirrors: The self-regulated learning support features and procedural rhetoric of three whole-body educational games. Emily’s dissertation explores three whole-body educational games (WBEGs) using a quantitative study, a case study, and analyses of their procedural rhetoric to better understand the roles these types […]

John Lamothe, a graduate of Penn State University and current T&T student, successfully defended his dissertation, Disciplinary Mythologies: A Rhetorical-Cultural Analysis of Performance Enhancement Technologies in Sports, in UCF’s Center for Graduate Studies. Using a rhetorical-cultural methodological approach, John’s research led to the formation of a new theoretical framework called disciplinary mythologies. His dissertation discusses […]

Theme: Internet It’s no secret the internet is challenging the traditional ways we have lead our lives – ensuring we remain on our toes at all times and questioning the foundations on which we’ve always come to rest. Which is why Playboy Magazine’s recent change to its traditional content shouldn’t surprise anyone. That the internet […]

Elvis’ Sun recordings were the products of collaborations amongst amateur and professional artists, Elvis being the amateur. Does this mean that amateurs can achieve levels of creativity that match or better those of professionals? In some cases, yes. Amateurs established new institutions, new standards and new practices, but they would not have done so if […]