I am an assistant professor in the Department of English at Old Dominion University, where I teach undergraduate and graduate courses and do research in the area of rhetoric and textual studies.

Research Interests

My research centers primarily on discourse of and about science, especially in the context of socioscientific controversies-where scientific and scientistic arguments are implicated in social and political disputes. I approach my work from the perspectives of critical discourse studies and social cognition. Some of the general research questions that I investigate under these rubrics are:

Critical Discourse Studies. How does discourse from and about science circulate in the context of controversy? How do interlocutors use such discourse for various rhetorical and ideological purposes? How do different discourse practices (scientific, public, religious, etc.) intersect and influence one another?

Social Cognition. How do discourse frames influence audience perceptions of scientific research? How do audience members' beliefs about science influence their perceptions of scientific arguments? How are different rhetorical strategies likely to persuade various audiences in particular contexts?

Teaching Interests

At the undergraduate level, I frequently teach Introduction to Rhetorical Studies and have taught Advanced Composition as well.

At the graduate level, I am teaching a Summer Doctoral Institute course on Rhetoric of Science & Technology in Summer 2008 and a seminar in Discourse Analysis in Fall 2008. I co-taught a seminar on Language & Social Psychology with Maggie Pitts (Department of Communication) in Spring 2008 and taught Modern Rhetoric & Theory Building in Spring 2007.

Education

PhD, rhetoric, Carnegie Mellon University, 2006

MS, cognitive psychology, University of Memphis, 2000

BS, psychology, Lambuth University, 1997