Obstacles and Opportunities

April 16, 2010

James Madison University
Harrisonburg, Virginia
Communication in the 21st Century:
Obstacles and Opportunities

Program and Abstracts

April 16, 2010

James Madison University
Harrisonburg, Virginia
 Table of Contents
Welcome & Introduction..............................................................................................................................................................1

Schedule of Events.........................................................................................................................................................................3

Biographies & Abstracts................................................................................................................................................................5

Behind the Scenes....................................................................................................................................................................... 13

About WRTC................................................................................................................................................................................... 15

Communication in the 21st Century v

vi Communication in the 21st Century
 Welcome & Introduction
Welcome to the first Communication Symposium of the School of Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical
Communication (WRTC) at James Madison University. The theme of this inaugural gathering is
“Communication in the 21st Century: Obstacles and Opportunities.” We are very glad that so many
student-scholars are joining us here in Harrisonburg to discuss the complex issues of modern
communication.

As we near the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century, our field faces a lot of pressing
questions and challenges. Modern communication technologies have made the dissemination of
information easier than ever. As writing, rhetoric, and communication professionals we need to be
paying attention to technological developments such as media and device convergence, mobile
computing and virtual workplaces. Together with providing unprecedented opportunities for
communication and persuasion, these new technologies have created many new challenges. Among
these challenges are issues of ethics, privacy, and corporate and civic responsibility, among others.

It is in this exciting and challenging context that over twenty presenters from eight universities gather at
JMU to share and discuss their work. When we began planning the symposium about a year ago, we
envisioned it as a regional event. However, in the 21st century information travels fast, and we are happy
to welcome participants from Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Washington.
We thank everyone for joining us in Harrisonburg for what we hope will become a regular and
stimulating opportunity to discuss pressing issues of our field.

The JMU graduate students, faculty advisors and staff who planned this event have worked very hard to
make this a fulfilling experience for everyone. We hope that you will enjoy being a part of this event as
much as we have enjoyed organizing it.

Dr. Michael Klein (kleinmj@jmu.edu), Symposium Organizer, Assistant Professor, WRTC

Dr. Pavel Zemliansky (zemliapx@jmu.edu), Symposium Adviser, Graduate Coordinator, WRTC

Communication in the 21st Century 1

2 Communication in the 21st Century
 Schedule of Events
12:00-1:15pm........Welcome and Opening Remarks Festival Highlands Room
Dr. Reid Linn, Dean of The Graduate School, James Madison University

Lunch and Keynote Speaker Festival Highlands Room

Dr. James Dubinsky, Associate Professor, Rhetoric and Writing, Virginia Tech

1:30-2:45pm...........Panel Session I (individual presentations are approximately 20 minutes each)

Festival Conference Room 1 Moderator: Dr. Elizabeth Pass, WRTC

The Visual Rhetoric of Convenience-Food Labels
Gracemarie Mike, Virginia Tech

The Language of Visuals: A Peircean Study of Text and Graphics on the Internet
Jose M. Cortez, Eastern Washington University

A Breath of Fresh Air: Comics Journalism as Alternate Discourse in the 21st Century
Molly Scanlon, Virginia Tech

Festival Conference Room 2 Moderator: Dr. Lucy Bednar, WRTC

Determining Intercultural Challenges in Technical Communication

Melissa Pfau & Promeet Singh, James Madison University

Information Packaging in Colonial and 21st-century America:
New Ways to Think About Old Media
Trisha Capansky & Alexis Poe Davis, East Carolina University

Whose Fault Is It?: The Role of Language Attitudes in Multicultural, Multilingual Education
Libby Anthony, Virginia Tech

Festival Conference Room 3 Moderator: Dr. Pavel Zemliansky, WRTC

Spacial Dimensions of Online Expression
Karen Ives, Carnegie Mellon University

Communication and the Joomla Open Source Content Management System (CMS):
How Social Networking Has Redefined Instructional Documentation
Carly Finseth, Clemson University

The Internet and Consilience

Michael Morrison, James Madison University
Communication in the 21st Century 3
 Schedule of Events

3:00-4:15pm..........Panel Session 2 (individual presentations are approximately 20 minutes each)

Festival Conference Room 1 Moderator: Dr. Jim Zimmerman, WRTC

Twitter and Activism in the Globalized World:

Social Networking and the Transmission of Affects
Amy Ann Metcalf, Wayne State University

Cyberactivism and Women in the Blogosphere:

The Role of a Virtual Wave in the Feminist Movement
Heba Saleh, George Mason University

Festival Conference Room 2 Moderator: Dr. Traci Zimmerman, WRTC

Advocating for Social Change Through Web Design
J.A. Dawson, East Carolina University

Gendered Discourses in Online Environments

Katrina Hinson, East Carolina University

From Text Messaging to Micro-Blogging:

Keeping Trials Fair in the Face of 21st Century Technical Communication
Deborah Welsh, East Carolina University

Festival Conference Room 3 Moderator: Dr. Scott Lunsford, WRTC

The Eye of Hubble: Contexts for Images of Deep Space

Evan Snider, Virginia Tech

The Use of Rhetoric in the Scientific and Medical Communities

Lindsay Deliman & Brandi Mooring, James Madison University

Ethics in Communication
Teagan O’Bar, James Madison University

4:30-5:00.................Closing Remarks and Wrap-up Festival Highlands Room

Dr. Larry Burton, Director of WRTC
Dr. Pavel Zemliansky, WRTC Graduate Coordinator
Dr. Michael Klein, Assistant Professor, WRTC

4 Communication in the 21st Century

 Biographies & Abstracts

Keynote Speaker

You are not a Gadget: Rhetoric, Engagement, and the Promise of Democracy
Dr. James Dubinsky Rhetoric and Writing, Virginia Tech

Dr. Dubinsky (dubinsky@vt.edu) is an associate professor of Rhetoric and Writing and the inaugural
director of the Center for Student Engagement and Community Partnerships. He earned his bachelor’s
degree from Wake Forest in 1977, his master’s from UC Berkeley in 1986, and PhD from Miami (Ohio) in
1998. He began his teaching career at the US Military Academy from 1986–1990. While on active duty, he
also directed the Communication and Ethics Program at the U. S. Army Field Artillery School and served
as an adjunct faculty member at the Command and General Staff College. He retired from the U.S. Army
as a Lieutenant Colonel.

His research interests include professional writing pedagogy, service-learning and civic engagement,
and the role of the academy in creating a participatory democracy. He combines historical, rhetorical,
and qualitative methods to study the importance of experiential learning and makes a case for
service-learning as a pedagogical strategy that helps students and teachers become reflective
practitioners and more engaged citizens through service and advocacy.

Dr. Dubinsky is the author/editor of Teaching Technical Communication: Critical Issues for the Classroom
and has contributed articles to journals ranging from Business Communication Quarterly to the Michigan
Journal of Community Service Learning. He also has edited special issues of Technical Communication
Quarterly (on civic engagement and professional communication) and Reflections (on professional
writing and service-learning).

Dr. Dubinsky chairs the board of directors for the YMCA at Virginia Tech and just finished his term as
president for the Association for Business Communication. Dr. Dubinsky is the faculty advisor for VT’s
Sustainable Food Corps and for WUVT, the campus radio station. He is a recent winner of college-
level awards for teaching and outreach, and the first university level award for the scholarship of
teaching and learning. University Unions and Student Activities recently selected him for the second
Hokie Community Award, which honors exemplary multi-year service to the greater Hokie Nation;
demonstrated support of the University’s mission and values; and true embodiment of the university’s
motto Ut Prosim: that I may serve.

Communication in the 21st Century 5

 Biographies & Abstracts
Panel Session I: Conference Room 1

The Visual Rhetoric of Convenience-Food Labels

Gracemarie Mike English, Virginia Tech

This presentation demonstrates how the visual rhetorical analysis of food labels can illuminate the
construction of labels and consumers’ responses to them. Focusing specifically on the techniques food
companies use to communicate health information, I discuss labels’ ability to persuade and resulting
implications for the public, the government, and industry.

Ms. Mike (gmike@vt.edu) is a graduate of King’s College, Pennsylvania. She is currently pursuing her Master’s in
English at Virginia Tech. Her primary focus is composition and rhetoric.

The Language of Visuals: A Peircean Study of Text and Graphics on the Internet
Jose M. Cortez Rhetoric & Technical Communication, Eastern Washington University

The Internet is a relatively new multimodal medium that affords the combination of text, graphics, audio,
and video, allowing new ways of creating and analyzing discourse. We can deconstruct and analyze the
rhetoric of the multimodal elements separately to examine how each communicates, but this paper
offers a holistic way of analyzing the elements by applying Charles Peirce’s theories of rhetoric.

Mr. Cortez (jcortez@eagles.ewu.edu) is a first-year graduate student at Eastern Washington University with
research interests in social and political discourse, multimodal composition, and classical theory.

A Breath of Fresh Air: Comics Journalism as Alternative Discourse in the 21st Century
Molly Scanlon English, Virginia Tech

Since their 17th-century origin, comics have served as social commentary, and have since broadened
into several genres including comics journalism—combining the narrative of visual storytelling with the
“reporting” of traditional journalism. Affordances of the medium allow comics to represent war in ways
that resist hegemonic pressures of mass media.

Ms. Scanlon (mscanlon@vt.edu) is a PhD student in the Rhetoric and Writing Program at Virginia Tech. Her
research interests include visual rhetoric, alternative discourse, and digital media studies.

6 Communication in the 21st Century

 Biographies & Abstracts
Panel Session I: Conference Room 2

Determining Intercultural Challenges in Technical Communication

Melissa Pfau Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication, James Madison University
Promeet Singh Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication, James Madison University

In order to disseminate information effectively across cultures we must understand our international
audiences. These challenges can be addressed through the seven categories that Nancy Hoft relates to
the Iceberg Model: politics, economics, social traditions, religions, education, languages, and technology.
Through research and examples, best practices in intercultural communication are examined.

Ms. Pfau (pfaumj@ jmu.edu) is graduate student in WRTC. Upon graduating in May 2010, she hopes to work in
the areas of technical writing and publications management.

Mr. Singh (singhpj@ jmu.edu ) is a WRTC graduate student. He will re-join IBM as the Global Program Manager
for Market Intelligence when he graduates in December.

Information Packaging in Colonial and 21st-century America: New Ways to Think About Old Media
Trisha Capansky English, East Carolina University
Alexis Poe Davis English, East Carolina University

We will discuss the concept of audience as it relates to information packaging, using our own studies
of audience from Colonial America and 21st-century America. We will demonstrate how information
packaging determines how the audience will consume the information, and conclude with insights into
producing more effective civic discourse.

Ms. Capansky (tkc0925@ecu.edu) studies 18th-century Colonial American discourse. Her interests include
political discourse and community activism and her dissertation focuses on the Declaration of Independence
and England’s response.

Ms. Davis (apd0816@ecu.edu) is finishing up her dissertation at ECU while focusing on collaborative writing
processes. Other interests include cultural rhetoric, first-year writing, and writing in the workplace.

Whose Fault Is It?: The Role of Language Attitudes in Multicultural, Multilingual Education
Libby Anthony Rhetoric & Writing, Virginia Tech

By analyzing assumptions teachers and students make based on what are perceived to be errors in
non-standard English-speaking writers, I maintain that we can help our students, both monocultural and
multicultural, explore the ways in which they use language assumptions to categorize and represent
others.

Ms. Anthony (anthonye@vt.edu) received her BA from Dickinson College and MA from DePaul University. She
is currently researching World Englishes and the relationship between language and identity.
Communication in the 21st Century 7
 Biographies & Abstracts
Panel Session I: Conference Room 3

Spacial Dimensions of Online Expression

Karen Ives Rhetoric, Carnegie Mellon University

With the emergence of online communities and communications come new perspectives on
experiential time and space. Cyberspace, divorced from notions of time, must create new ways of
building otherwise temporally-bound communicative strategies. Through analyzing instant messaging
conversations, we see how temporally-bound expression manifests in online spaces.

Ms. Ives (khi@andrew.cmu.edu) is currently a graduate rhetoric student at Carnegie Mellon pursuing research
in Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC).

Communication and the Joomla Open Source Content Management System (CMS):
How Social Networking Has Redefined Instructional Documentation
Carly Finseth English (M.A. Professional Communication), Clemson University

This presentation outlines how the Joomla CMS utilizes social media within the context of technical
documentation—and further forms a set of best practices that can be tailored to enhance the direction
and study of open source programming and collaboration, as well as help model effective pedagogies in
online education.

As part of Clemson University’s M.A.P.C. program, Ms. Finseth (cfinset@clemson.edu) specializes in digital me-
dia and pedagogy. She has been a Joomla CMS user and developer since 2003.

The Internet and Consilience

Michael Morrison Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication, James Madison University

A beginning exploration of the Internet as a tool of consilient behaviors, this presentation also touches
on the manner in which the Internet itself is a product of consilience.

Mr. Morrison (morrisonmp@gmail.com) is a first year graduate student of rhetoric and composition.

8 Communication in the 21st Century

 Biographies & Abstracts
Panel Session 2: Conference Room 1

Twitter and Activism in the Globalized World: Social Networking and the Transmission of Affects
Amy Ann Metcalf English, Wayne State University

This project works to understand the capacity of Twitter to mobilize revolution through the transmission
of affect. This project explores the ways in which online social networks transmit affects between
individuals and further pair those affects with the dissemination of information—thus, providing a
shared cognitive experience across multiple boundaries.

Ms. Metcalf (aj3900@wayne.edu) is a Graduate Teaching Assistant at Wayne State University. Her research
interests include new media, network theory, digital literacy, and globalization studies.

Cyberactivism and Women in the Blogosphere: The Role of a Virtual Wave in the Feminist Movement
Heba Saleh English, George Mason University

In our electronic age, the blogosphere plays the role that consciousness-raising gatherings did for
feminism in the Sixties and Seventies: it provides women worldwide with an effective forum to have
conversations that are integral in inspiring social and political change.

Ms. Saleh (heba.saleh@gmail.com) received a BA (2007) and a MA (2009) in English from GMU. She has taught
writing at GMU, and enjoys blogging about different topics.

Communication in the 21st Century 9

 Biographies & Abstracts
Panel Session 2: Conference Room 2

Advocating for Social Change Through Web Design

J.A. Dawson English, East Carolina University

This presentation provides a model for effective corporate activist websites designed to persuade
decision makers across the globe as well as insights into effective textual design features in digital spaces
for technical and professional communicators.

Mr. Dawson (dawsonj03@students.ecu.edu) is a PhD student in the Technical & Professional Discourse
program at East Carolina University.

Gendered Discourses in Online Environments

Katrina Hinson English, East Carolina University

Taking an ethnographic approach to the online environment of Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and using
participant-observation methods, this research sought to answer why some individuals, particularly
males, choose to adopt feminine traits, especially if they do not or would not portray such traits
face-to-face.

Ms. Hinson (klh0707@ecu.edu) is a PhD student in the Technical & Professional Discourse program at East
Carolina University.

From Text Messaging to Micro-Blogging:

Keeping Trials Fair in the Face of 21st Century Technical Communication
Deborah Welsh English, East Carolina University

Drawing upon Bahktin’s discussion of speech genres, this paper shows how having instant access to
language outside the context of court proceedings can affect the decisions that jurors make.

Ms. Welsh (dmw0429@ecu.edu) is a doctoral student at East Carolina University. Her interests include
therapeutic jurisprudence, jury nullification and advocacy for the elderly abused.

10 Communication in the 21st Century

 Biographies & Abstracts
Panel Session 2: Conference Room 3

The Eye of Hubble: Contexts for Images of Deep Space

Evan Snider Rhetoric & Writing, Virginia Tech

This presentation seeks to understand the various contexts in which information about astronomical
images is communicated. Astronomical images rely heavily on context for their meaning, and this
presentation asks: What contexts account for the mediation and construction of images? What contexts
paint a more neutral and simplistic picture?

Mr. Snider (snidereg@vt.edu) is a PhD student in Rhetoric and Writing at Virginia Tech. His research interests
include visual communication, digital writing, and the sociology of scientific knowledge.

The Use of Rhetoric in the Scientific and Medical Communities

Lindsay Deliman Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication, James Madison University
Brandi Mooring Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication, James Madison University

This presentation explores how rhetoric is used as a tool to build the credibility of scientific researchers
and their work among various discourse communities. Science is legitimized by empirical research and
objectivity, but rhetoric plays an important role in strategic communication of knowledge to both the
scientific community and the public.

Ms. Deliman (delimale@jmu.edu) will earn a Master of Science Degree in Writing, Rhetoric & Technical
Communication this May with the intent of specializing in medical writing and editing.

Ms. Mooring (moorinin@jmu.edu) is a graduate student in the Writing, Rhetoric & Technical Communication
master’s program. Her interests include healthcare and nonprofit writing.

Ethics in Communication
Teagan O’Bar Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication, James Madison University

Examining Immanuel Kant’s ethics of deontology, this presentation analyzes the implications of
duty ethics in communication. This review of dishonesty in political campaign communication spells
inexorable ethical responsibility for communicators in all fields.

Mr. O’Bar (teaganobar@gmail.com) has a BA in English from James Madison University and is currently an MA
candidate in JMU’s School of Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication.

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12 Communication in the 21st Century
 Behind the Scenes

Symposium Advisory Committee

Graduate
Students Faculty Support
Ms. Lindsay Cannaday, MA Program, WRTC Dr. Michael Klein: Symposium Organizer,
Ms. Cindy Chiarello, MA Program, WRTC Assistant Professor, WRTC
Ms. Lindsay Deliman, MS Program, WRTC Dr. Pavel Zemliansky: Symposium Adviser,
Ms. Brandi Mooring, MS Program, WRTC Graduate Coordinator, WRTC
Mr. Teagan O’Bar, MA Program, WRTC Mrs. Sandra Purington: Logistics Coordinator,
Ms. Melissa Pfau, MS Program, WRTC Administrative Assistant, WRTC

Symposium logo designed by Lindsay Cannaday

Symposium program designed by Melissa Pfau

Sponsors

School of Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication

Bedford/St. Martins

Thank You

The Advisory Commitee would like to thank the following:

College of Arts and Letters

The Graduate School
Schools of Communication, Information and Media

Communication in the 21st Century 13

14 Communication in the 21st Century
 About WRTC
About WRTC

The School of Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication is a community committed to preparing its
students—both writers and technical and scientific communicators—for lives of enlightened, global
citizenship.

—WRTC Mission Statement

The Graduate Program in the School of Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication offers Master of
Arts and Master of Science degrees in two concentrations: Technical and Scientific Communication and
Writing and Rhetoric. In this program, faculty teach students how to create, design, edit, analyze, and
produce texts, all with the goal of training effective communicators.

While studies in both programs provide students with a sound foundation in writing, editing and
document production, the Master of Arts degree typically attracts students with undergraduate work
centered in the humanities. Although these students often supplement their WRTC degree plan with
courses in the sciences, they are primarily interested in gaining extensive knowledge and practice in
writing and editing skills that are not tied to a single technical or scientific field but, rather, are applicable
to multiple technical or scientific areas.

Conversely, the Master of Science degree plan of study typically proves attractive to students who want
to complement their undergraduate degrees in the sciences with advanced training in
communication within their fields. Such complementary training in technical and scientific
communication enables Master of Science graduates not only to perform more effectively as technicians
or scientists but also to move laterally into writing, editing or production positions or vertically into
management positions.

For more information about WRTC, visit www.jmu.edu/wrtc/graduate.html

Communication in the 21st Century 15

16 Communication in the 21st Century