Douglas Eyman
Assistant Professor
Classical and contemporary rhetorical theory, digital rhetoric, digital scholarship and electronic publication, web authoring and design, technical and scientific writing
Douglas Eyman teaches courses in digital rhetoric, technical and scientific communication, and professional writing in the department's undergraduate concentration in Nonfiction Writing and Rhetoric (NWR) and graduate concentration in Professional Writing and Rhetoric (PWR). His current research interests include investigations of digital literacy acquisition and development, new media scholarship, electronic publication, information design/information architecture, teaching in digital environments, and massive multiplayer online role playing games as sites of composition. A recent graduate of the Rhetoric and Writing PhD program at Michigan State University, his dissertation project began the work of developing methodologies for research in digital rhetoric, with applications in professional writing, computer-supported cooperative work, informatics, and composition. Eyman is the senior editor of Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy, an online journal that has been publishing peer-reviewed scholarship on computers and writing since 1996. In addition to his work with Kairos, Eyman coordinates the Computer Connection at the annual Conference on College Composition and Communication, serves as list and reviews editor for H-DigiRhet, and has recently joined the staff of Enculturation: A Journal of Rhetoric, Writing, and Culture as technical editor. His scholarly work has appeared in Pedagogy, Technical Communication, Cultural Practices of Literacy (Erlbaum, 2007), Digital Writing Research: Technologies, Methodologies, and Ethical Issues (Hampton Press, 2007), The Handbook of Research on Virtual Workplaces and New Business Practices (IGI, 2008), and Rhetorically Rethinking Usability (Hampton Press, 2008).
Current Research
He is currently working on a book that locates and defines "digital rhetoric," providing a map of the theories, methods, and practices of digital rhetoric as an emergent field (as distinct from but related to both new media and digital humanities).
Selected Publications
"Writing, Rhetoric, and Design: A Virtual Collaboration Case Study." Virtual Collaborative Writing in the Workplace: Computer-Mediated Communication Technologies and Processes. Ed. Beth Hewett and Charlotte Robideaux. Hershey: IGI Press, (2010).
"Usability: Methodology and Design Practice for Writing Processes and Pedagogies." Rhetorically Rethinking Usability: Theories, Practices, and Methodologies. Ed. Susan Miller-Cochran and Rochelle Rodrigo. Cresskill: Hampton Press, 2009. 213-28.
"Learning from Kairos: Value, Visibility, and Virtual Teamwork." Handbook of Research on Virtual Workplaces and the New Nature of Business Practices. Ed. Pavel Zemliansky and Kirk St. Amant. Hershey: IGI Publishing, 2008. 590-98.
"Computer Gaming and Technical Communication: An Ecological Framework." Technical Communication 55.3(2008): 242-50.
"Digital Literac(ies), Digital Discourses, and Communities of Practice: Literacy Practices in Virtual Environments." Cultural Studies of Literacy Practices. Ed. Victoria Purcell-Gates. Mahwah: Erlbaum, 2007. 181-95.
"Moving In from the Periphery: Exploring the Disciplinary Labyrinth." Technology and English Studies: Innovative Professional Paths. Ed. James Inman and Beth Hewett. Mahwah: Erlbaum, 2005. 75-89.
"Students as Builders of Virtual Worlds." Weaving a Virtual Web: Practical Approaches to New Information Technologies. Ed. Sibylle Gruber. Urbana: NCTE, 2000. 207-18.
"Hypertext and/as Collaboration in the Computer-Facilitated Writing Classroom." Kairos: A Journal for Teachers of Writing in Webbed Environments 1.2 (1996)
Courses Taught
ENGL 342: Web Authoring and Design
ENGL 410: Technical and Professional Writing
ENGL 501: Introduction to Professional Writing and Rhetoric
ENGL 505: Computer-Aided Publication and Design
ENGL 508: Digital Rhetoric
ENGL 613: Technical and Scientific Writing