I’m an American professor and new media theorist who researches tech including open source software and collaborative multimedia content development (particularly online content) in the of the history of publishing (particularly technical communication). My pronouns are he/him.
I’m also a husband to a wonderful wife, Alisha, and a father of two amazing daughters, Quinn and Charlie.
Degrees
About my Research
My research focuses on the history of publishing, both from theoretical perspectives (using both cultural and rhetorical theory) and in pragmatics (typography, offset printing, online document management, new media). From 1990-2017 I was the founding director of EServer.org, an open-access arts and humanities website, from 2004-2023 I was the founding director of the ISU Studio for New Media, and now I’m the director of the Texas Tech English Media Lab.
I am currently researching learning management systems as a form of material rhetoric, writing about why applied technologies are a crucial skill in English departments, and investigating problems with contemporary theories of dialectical negotiation when applied to cloud and virtualized online platforms.
About my Teaching
I teach courses about workplace communication, web design, content management systems, nonlinear video editing, film theory, technical writing, usability and user experience.
When I left ISU for Texas Tech I stepped down from serving a four-year term as the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the English Department, in which I chaired the committee that supervises undergraduate curricula for a large department. And I mentor graduate students who study rhetoric, professional, and technical communication in our master’s and doctoral programs. Today I teach undergraduates, masters and doctoral students both in person and via synchronous online hybrid courses.
About my Service
I the new incoming director the Texas Tech English Media Lab. I’m a member of a large number of professional associations, and I have many service commitments inside and outside Texas Tech. I’ve served on my previous department’s Administrative Committee and I chaired ISU’s Library Advisory Committee, I serve on the editorial boards of two highly-ranked, peer-reviewed scholarly journals, and serve as a reviewer for new media scholarship for several more. In short, I keep busy.
But I’m never too busy to talk with people across the country and around the world. I often meet with classes, colleagues, and administrators about new media technologies and their impact on our work. Contact me if you’d like me to talk with you, your department, or your organization. New media have led to substantive changes in how we all work; in 2024, we can all improve how we think about these changes — quite easily, if via videoconference!
Outside the University
I love to hike, bicycle and play golf. I love drone-based aerial photography and videography. And I’m working now to re-learn playing tennis without embarrassment, with weekly mixed doubles.