Douglas Eyman

Associate Professor

Writing and Rhetoric: Classical and contemporary rhetorical theory, digital rhetoric, digital scholarship and electronic publication, web authoring and design, technical and scientific writing

Douglas Eyman is Director of Writing and Rhetoric Programs at GMU. He teaches courses in digital rhetoric, technical and scientific communication, web authoring, new media, and professional writing. 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 video games as sites of composition. Eyman is the senior editor and publisher 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.

His publications include Digital Rhetoric: Theory, Method, Practice (University of Michigan Press, 2015) and Play/Write: Games, Writing, Digital Rhetoric (co-edited with Andrea Davis, Parlor Press, 2016).

His scholarly work has appeared in Pedagogy, Computers and Composition, Technical Communication, Cultural Practices of Literacy (Erlbaum, 2007), Digital Writing Research (Hampton Press, 2007), Rhetorically Rethinking Usability (Hampton Press, 2008), Rhetoric and the Digital Humanities (Chicago, 2015), and Microhistories of Composition (Utah State, 2015).

Douglas earned his PhD in Rhetoric and Writing at Michigan State University (2007).

Selected Publications

Digital Rhetoric: Theory, Method, Practice. (2015). University of Michigan Press, Digital Culture Books series, http://www.digitalculture.org/books/digital-rhetoric/

Play/Write: Digital Rhetoric, Writing, Games. (2016). co-edited with Andrea Davis. Anderson, SC: Parlor Press.

Text/Design/Code – Advice on developing and producing a scholarly webtext. (2019). In John Gallagher & Danielle DeVoss, (Eds.), Explanation Points: Publishing in Rhetoric and Composition (pp. 206-209). Fort Collins: University of Colorado Press.

Text, design, code: Digital rhetoric in academic and professional writing. (2018). In Shirley Logan and Wayne Slater, (Eds.), Perspectives on Academic and Professional Writing in an Age of Accountability (pp. 221-233). Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.

The rise of multimodal languages in academic publishing. (2018). with Cheryl Ball and Andrew Morrison. In Mary Jane Curry and Theresa Lillis, (Eds.), Global Academic Publishing: Policies, Practices, and Pedagogies (pp. 117-136). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters Publishing.

Digital rhetoric as evolving field: Traditional and contemporary practices. (2016). Enculturation: A Journal of Rhetoric, Writing, Culture, 23: http://enculturation.net/looking-back-and-looking-forward

From player to maker: The value of rhetoric in an age of ubiquitous gaming. (2016). PRE/TEXT: A Journal of Rhetorical Theory, 21: 45-57.

Composing for Digital Publication: Rhetoric, Design, Code. (2014). with Cheryl Ball. Composition Studies, 42.1: 114-117.

Writing, Rhetoric, and Design: A Virtual Collaboration Case Study. (2010). In Beth Hewett and Charlotte Robideaux, (Eds.), Virtual Collaborative Writing in the Workplace: Computer-Mediated Communication Technologies and Processes (pp. 350-359). Hershey: IGI Press.

Usability: Methodology and Design Practice for Writing Processes and Pedagogies. (2009). Rhetorically Rethinking Usability: Theories, Practices, and Methodologies (pp. 213-228). Ed. Susan Miller-Cochran and Rochelle Rodrigo. Cresskill: Hampton Press.

Computer Gaming and Technical Communication: An Ecological Framework. (2008). Technical Communication, 55.3: 242-50.

Digital Literac(ies), Digital Discourses, and Communities of Practice: Literacy Practices in Virtual Environments. (2007). Cultural Studies of Literacy Practices (pp. 181-95). Ed. Victoria Purcell-Gates. Mahwah: Erlbaum.

Expanded Publication List

Invited Contributions

Eyman, D. (2020). Keyword: Rhetoric. In Rebecca Frost Davis, Matthew Gold, Katherine D. Harris, & Jentery Sayers (Eds.), Digital Pedagogy in the Humanities: Concepts, Models, and Experiments, New York: Modern Language Association.

Eyman, D. et al. (2016). Access/ibility: Access and Usability for Digital Publishing. Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy, 20(2): http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/20.2/topoi/eyman-et-al/index.html

Ball, C., & Eyman, D. (2015). Editorial workflows for multimedia-rich scholarship. Journal of Electronic Publishing 18(4): http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/3336451.0018.406

Walker, J., Blair, K., Eyman, D., Hart-Davidson, B., McCleod, M., Grabill, J., Kemp, F., Palmquist, M., Purdy, J., Sorapure, M., Tulley, C., Vitanza, V. (2011). Computers and composition 20/20: A conversation piece, or what some very smart people have to say about the future. Computers and Composition, 28(4): pp. 327-346.

Eyman, D. (2007). Digital+writing+research: An interview with Heidi McKee and Dànielle DeVoss. Computers and Composition Online Special issue: Online research, writing, and citation practices (Fall): http://www.bgsu.edu/cconline/interview/index.htm

Eyman, D. (2006). The arrow and the loom: A decade of Kairos. Kairos: Rhetoric, Technology, Pedagogy, 11(1): http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/11.1/topoi/eyman/index.html

Ball, C., Eyman, D., & Walter, J. (2005). CCCC resolution on composing with nonprint media. Resolution adopted at the CCCC annual business meeting, March 19, 2005.

Eyman, D. (2004). Community voices: Douglas Eyman. In James Inman (Ed.), Computers and writing: The cyborg era (pp. 75-76). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Blakesley, D., Eyman, D., Hawk, B., Palmquist, M., & Taylor, T. (2002). Introduction: Facing the future of electronic publishing. Enculturation, 4(1): http://enculturation.net/4_1/intro/

Additional Peer-reviewed Journal Articles

Eyman, D., Sheffield, S., & DeVoss, D. (2009). Developing sustainable research networks in graduate education. Computers and Composition, 26(1): 49-57.

Eyman, D. (2008). Computer gaming and technical communication: An ecological framework. Technical Communication, 55(3): 242-250.

Haas, A., Driskill, Q., Eyman, D., & Hart-Davidson, W. (2007). A net-working community: WIDE and the Rhetoric and Writing Graduate Program at Michigan State University. Currents in Electronic Literacy, 11: http://currents.cwrl.utexas.edu/2007/a-net-working-community

DigiRhet.Net (2006). Teaching digital rhetoric: Community, critical engagement, and application. Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, Composition, and Culture, 6(2): 231-259. (Contributed “Recommendations by and for Digital Rhetoricians” pp. 248-255 and collaborated on all other sections).

Eyman, D. (1996). Hypertext and/as collaboration in the computer-facilitated writing classroom. Kairos: A Journal for Teachers of Writing in Webbed Environments, 1(2): http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/1.2/binder.html?features/eyman/bridge.html

Additional Peer-reviewed Book Chapters

Ball, C., Eyman, D., & Morrison, A. (2018). The rise of multimodal languages in academic publishing. In Mary Jane Curry and Theresa Lillis, (Eds.), Global Academic Publishing: Policies, Practices, and Pedagogies (pp. 117-136). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters Publishing.

Eyman, D. & Ball, C. (2016). History of a broken thing: The multi-journal special issue on electronic publication. In Bruce McComiskey (Ed.), Microhistories of Composition (pp. 117-136). Logan: Utah State University Press.

Eyman, D., & Ball, C. (2015). Digital humanities scholarship and electronic publication. In Jim Ridolfo & Bill Hart-Davidson (Eds.), Rhetoric and the Digital Humanities (pp. 65-79). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Winner of the 2015 Computers and Composition Distinguished Book Award.

Sierra, W., & Eyman, D. (2013). “I rolled the dice with Trade Chat and this is what I got”: Demonstrating context-dependent credibility in virtual worlds. In Shawn Apostel & Moe Folk (Eds.), Online credibility and digital ethos: Evaluating computer-mediated communication (pp. 332-352). Hershey, PA: IGI Publishing.

Reilly, C., & Eyman, D. (2007). Multifaceted methods for multi-modal texts: Alternate approaches to citation analysis for electronic sources. In Heidi McKee & Dànielle DeVoss (Eds.), Digital writing research: Technologies, methodologies, and ethicial issues (353-375). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

Eyman, D. (2007). Digital literac(ies), digital discourses, and communities of practice: Literacy practices in virtual environments. In Victoria Purcell-Gates (Ed.), Cultural Studies of Literacy Practices (pp. 181-195). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Eyman, D., & Reilly, C. (2006). Revising with word processing/technology/document design. In Alice Horning & Anne Becker (Eds.), Revision: History, theory, and practice (pp. 102-116). West Lafayette, IN: Parlor Press.

Eyman, D. (2005). Moving in from the periphery: Exploring the disciplinary labyrinth. In James Inman & Beth Hewett (Eds.), Technology and English studies: Innovative professional paths (pp. 75-89). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Eyman, D. (2000). Students as builders of virtual worlds. In Sibylle Gruber (Ed.), Weaving a virtual web: practical approaches to new information technologies (pp. 207-218). Urbana: NCTE Press.

Reviews

Eyman, D. (2007). Review of Communication of complex information: User goals and information needs by Michael J. Albers. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 21(1): pp. 232-235.

Eyman, D. (2007). Review of Multiliteracies for a digital age by Stuart Selber. Technical Communication Quarterly, 16(1): pp. 125-127.

Eyman, D. (2007). Review of Writing for the Real World 2: An Introduction to Business Writing by Roger Barnard and Antoinette Meehan and In Business: Activities to Bring Business English to Life by Marjorie Rosenberg. TESL-EJ, 10(4):http://tesl-ej.org/ej40/r5.html

Eyman, D. (2004). Review of Writing Inventions: Identities, Technologies, Pedagogies by Scott Lloyd DeWitt. Teaching English in the Two Year College, 32(2): pp. 209-212.

Eyman, D. (1996). Review of Writing at the Edge: Student Webs from Brown University, ed. George Landow. Kairos: A Journal for Teachers of Writing in Webbed Environments, 1(1): http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/1.1/binder.html?reviews/eyman/wate.html

Proceedings

Eyman, D. (2008). An ecological view of professional writing programs. Proceedings of the 2007 Conference of the Council of Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication. CPTSC (Greenville, NC).

Leon, K., Fredricksen, J., Mcleod, M., & Eyman, D. (2007) Teacher knowledge standards and digital affordances: The creation of an interactive literacy resource exchange for teacher education. Proceedings of the 18th Annual Society for Information Technologies and Teacher Education. Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (San Antonio, Texas).

Published Teaching Resources

Eyman, D. (2008). What every student should know about creating portfolios. 48 pp. New York: Longman.

Courses Taught

ENGH 301: The Fields of English

ENGH 302: Advanced Composition

ENGH 375/507: Web Authoring and Design

ENGH 380: Introduction to Writing and Rhetoric

ENGH 388: Professional and Technical Writing

ENGH 501: Introduction to Professional Writing and Rhetoric

ENGH 503: Theory and Practice of Editing

ENGH 505: Document Design

ENGH 508: Digital Rhetoric

ENGH 613: Technical and Scientific Writing

ENGH 724: Professional Writing Theory and Research

ENGH 797: Projects in Professional Writing

ENGH 824: Topics in Professional Writing

Education

PhD in Rhetoric and Writing, Michigan State University (2007)

MA in English, UNC-Wilmington (1995)

BA in English, Wittenberg University (1991)

Recent Presentations

Play/Write: Games, Writing, Digital Rhetoric. Invited Presentation. The Play of Composition Symposium, College Park MD, April 2016.

State of Play: Writing Studies Methods for Researching Games. Conference on College Composition and Communication, Houston TX, April 2016.

Edit, archive, preserve, curate – Key practices for digital scholarship. 31st Computers and Writing Conference, Menomonie, WI May 2015.

Defining Digital Rhetoric: Theory, Method, Practice, Pedagogy. Invited Presentation. Indiana Digital Rhetoric Symposium, Bloomington IN, April 2015.

Player Communities and the Construction of Ethos: Established and New Gaming Communities. Poster. Conference on College Composition and Communication, Tampa FL, March 2015.

Games as Research Context in the Digital Humanities. Presentation. 30th Computers and Writing Conference, June 2014.

The Writing Center as Research Center: A Conceptual Inquiry. Presentation. Writing Research Across Borders, Paris, Feburary 2014.

Text, Code, Design: Mulitimodal Editing for Multimodal Texts. Invited Presentation. South Atlantic MLA, November 2013.

Digital Rhetoric and the Infrastructure of DH. Invited Presentation. CUNY Digital Humanities Initiative, October 2013.

Encomium of Ethos: The Dwelling Place of Mechanization. 29^th Computers and Writing Conference, June 2013

Students as Scholars: A Framework for Inquiry-Based Learning in the Writing Curriculum. Invited presentation. Cengage TeamUP Composition Conference, April 2013.

Digital Rhetorics on the Hill: Social Media and Information Flows between the Government and its Citizens. Conference on College Composition and Communication, March 2013.

Locating Digital Rhetoric. Invited presentation. St. Joseph’s University, Department of Communications. February, 2013

redibility and the network: Evaluating and establishing digital ethos. Networked Humanities: From Within and Without the University. Lexington, KY. February, 2013

Dissertations Supervised

Kyle Trott, A Rhetorical Analysis of Teacher Instructional Speech (2022)

Ashley Yuckenberg, Ethical Implications of Communicating Risk in the Media: A Heuristic for Reporting on Crisis Events with a Focus on Mass School Shootings (2021)

Kellie Gray, ’It Wasn’t Supposed to be Hairy’: From Variant Glyphs to Rendered Ecologies of Code, Constraint, and Culture (2019)

Colleen Reynolds, 21st-century Rhetorical Practices for Business-to-Business Sales Professionals and Sales Educators that Synthesize Shakespeare and Improvisation with Theories of Kenneth Burke (2017)