Subscribe
I am a Ph.D. Candidate in Communication, Rhetoric, & Digital Media [ Link ] at North Carolina State University, specializing in political communication, and critical and rhetorical theory, with a minor focus on information architecture (networks, interface, and composition). My dissertation (in progress), focuses on political rhetoric in digital contexts - campaigns, parties, and parodies - as embodied in visual and encoded rhetoric (that aspect of digital code that is rhetorical - and yes, code is rhetorical).
While at State, I have served as a research assistant to the Campus Writing and Speaking Program, two professors, and I now act as the editorial assistant for Rhetoric Society Quarterly [ Link ]. Additionally, I have taught courses in Academic Writing & Research, rhetoric, and web design.
This site has information concerning my research and teaching, including a semi-frequently updated set of book reviews for valuable readings in political communication, which has become one of the most crowded areas in academe. Additionally, I've posted my curriculum vitae, links to interesting or valuable sites and to my photography and digital art that holds a creative commons license.
Background
I grew up in St. Albans, WV, attending Nitro High School and then the University of Charleston, where I majored in English and was a member of the crew. I graduated in May 2002, and began working on a MA in English at NC State in Fall 2003, focusing on American Literature (1850-1960) and theory. Upon completing my thesis on the evolution of the Adamic figure in American literature through Melville, Twain, Salinger and Vonnegut, I decided that although I still enjoyed criticism and literature, it was time to change paths, shifting my research to the digital.
Since age five, when my father brought home an Atari 800 (48K RAM! 2 cartridge slots! A floppy disk drive! WOW!), I've maintained an interest in computers. I designed my first website when Netscape was still in version 1.0 (1995?), and throughout college, I worked in both web and graphic design. From time to time, I still do, albeit usually in some capacity as a research assistant rather than as a contract employee.
When not working, I'm a rabid music fan who enjoys photography, getting lost in a good book, and spending time with my family.
