digital rhetoric and professional communication
Eh? What's that? I'm talking about AI approaches to the synthesis of speech on your smartphone and related devices. I.e., how does Siri figure out how to pronounce the words its saying? OK. But what does that have to do with us? Another necessary detour around the aporias of disciplinary thought... This is really about... Continue Reading →
One of the major stories of the weekend has surrounded the interview with Christopher Wylie, former employer turned whistleblower of Cambridge Analytica. Here's that interview if you haven't seen it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXdYSQ6nu-M It's good to see this story getting attention, but it's also something we've basically know for a while, right? For example, here's a NY Times op-ed... Continue Reading →
Many have noted their displeasure/anger with two recent NY Times pieces both by Richard Fauset: the first is a piece of reporting about a particular Nazi/white nationalist, Tony Hovater, and the second is what I think one would call a reflective op-ed follow up to that story. The displeasure/anger stems from the way in which the pieces... Continue Reading →
Blade Runner 2049 is a film that has generated some divided criticism. To borrow from the comedian Mitch Hedberg's story about his experiences in a band: "Some people loved us. Some people hated us. Some people thought we were ok." And really what more is there to say about aesthetic judgment after the fact? Describing the... Continue Reading →
I have been working on my book, so I haven't found as much time to write here, and this post comes out of the work I'm doing there rather than any particular current event (though I'd like to think it has some currency!). In the broadest terms the manuscript considers the value of a particular... Continue Reading →
Perhaps you are familiar with the recent and excellent essay collection, Thinking with Bruno Latour in Rhetoric and Composition (edited by Paul Lynch and Nathaniel Rivers). If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it, but I'm not here to talk about it today. It's just the inspiration for the title of this missive, where I... Continue Reading →
The LA Review of Books has published 4 interviews so far in an ongoing series on the digital humanities conducted by Melissa Dinsman. The series promises "Through conversations with both leading practitioners in the field and vocal critics, this series is a means to explore the intersection of the digital and the humanities, and its impact... Continue Reading →
Despite the title, this isn't really about animal rhetoric, instead a video and a recent article about evolution. The video below explains how the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone Park not only altered the ecosystem but the physical geography. (Spoiler: wolves chased the deer out of certain areas of the park, allowing for trees and... Continue Reading →
Organization is a common topic of discussion in writing instruction. Often, students are asked to produce "well-organized" essays and organization is a familiar criteria for assessment. Organization generally refers to the rhetorical cannon of arrangement, but somehow it makes more sense to say to students that their essays should be well-organized instead of well-arranged. Organization also... Continue Reading →
