Tag: Rhetoric Theory and Culture

Doctoral Finishing Fellowship Fall 2019 Recipient – Nancy Henaku

Nancy Henaku
Rhetoric, Theory and Culture

I am currently a doctoral candidate on the Rhetoric, Theory and Culture (RTC) program in the Department of Humanities. Generally, my research examines the intersections between discourse and socio-political processes with a specific emphasis on postcoloniality and transnationality. For my doctoral dissertation, I argue for a Global Southern perspective on women’s politics, suggesting that a serious engagement with postcolonial (African) women’s politics provides critical insights into the complexities of female political power and the role that language and rhetoric play in constructing this complexity. Besides suggesting a multitheoretic framework for unravelling the socio-discursive complexities that I identify in my discursive data, the dissertation also contributes to discussions in transnational feminist research by highlighting the connections between discourses on/about an African woman and discursive patterns identified from a broader transnational context. Because my doctoral project is itself an effort to recover an African woman’s political contributions, I have had to cover significant ground in order to highlight the complex issues in the texts examined. I am currently completing the final chapters of my dissertation and looking forward to my defense and graduation in Fall 2019. The Finishing Fellowship will therefore facilitate my work on the final sections of my dissertation. I am extremely grateful to the Michigan Tech Graduate School and the Graduate Dean Awards Advisory Panel for this generous financial support. I am also grateful to Dr. Victoria L. Bergvall—my advisor—for her support and intellectual guidance and to the Department of Humanities for supporting my academic endeavors since I started the PhD program.

Nominee for 2019 CGS/ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award: Aranya Srijongjai

Aranya Srijongjai
Rhetoric, Theory and Culture

I received a PhD in Rhetoric, Theory and Culture in 2019 at Michigan Tech under the supervision of Dr. Karla Kitalong. My dissertation focused on digital rhetoric of cosmopolitanism of people from a marginalized culture as situated in the context of a transnational experience. Using cases of Thai students studying at Michigan Tech, my dissertation project investigated their digital practices as they engaged with the Other on social media in everyday life. The methodological framework of this project was designed by consolidating various concepts and perspectives of new cosmopolitanism and digital rhetoric. In its contributions, apart from theoretical and pedagogical implications, this project also helps to shape the idea of digital rhetoric of cosmopolitanism by proposing a definition and a model to explain its ontological dimension.

After graduation, I returned to Thailand and resumed the position of a lecturer at the Faculty of Humanities, Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, Thailand.

Three Students Awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowships

Rose Turner, Gabriela Shirkey and Helena Keller were named GRFP Fellows while Katelyn Kring received Honorable Mention.

Turner, from Berkley, Michigan, graduated from Michigan Tech in December with a bachelor’s in environmental engineering. She was the student speaker for Fall Commencement and is planning to pursue graduate studies in Environmental Engineering here at Michigan Tech

Katelyn Kring, from Portage, MI, graduated from Michigan Tech in December and is continuing as a first-year master’s student in Tech’s Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences.

Shirkey, from Manitou Beach, Michigan, graduated from Michigan Tech in the Fall of 2013 in scientific and technical communications  and is currently studying geography at Michigan State University.

Keller, from Elk River Minnesota, graduated from Tech in Spring 2014 with a degree in Chemistry. She is currently studying macromolecular, supramolecular and nanochemistry at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

THE NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited US institutions.

MAGS/ProQuest Distinguished Masters Thesis Award 2018 Nominee – Alexis Newton

Alexis Newton
Rhetoric, Theory and Culture

Alexis Newton 201708While in the Rhetoric, Theory and Culture Master’s program at Michigan Technological University, my thesis research focused on the relationships between hardware, software, and wetware – namely, looking at how video games virtually and physically effected the way we understand and engage with play. By defining and distinguishing between “gamespaces” (the virtual spaces players engage with to play a game) and “playspaces” (the physical spaces players inhabit while playing a game), I explored the various ways in which hardware constrains, encourages, and/or politicizes play. This research not only guided my work as a student, but also informs my work as an instructor of Rhetoric and Composition, where I focus on teaching students to be critical readers and writers of culture, both popular and otherwise. In the future, I plan to expand upon my thesis work and explore how these concepts apply to and flourish specifically in museum and gallery spaces.

Dean’s Award for Outstanding Teaching Award – Spring 2018 Recipients

Congratulations! Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award Spring 2018 Recipients

Rasmi Adhikari (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology PhD)
Mohammad Alizadeh Fard (Environmental Engineering PhD)
Apurva Baruah (Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics PhD)
Timothy Butler (Biological Sciences MS)
Chethan Ramakrishna Reddy (Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics PhD)
Daniel Crane (Mathematical Sciences PhD)
James Davis (Electrical Engineering MS)
Jennifer Dunn (Environmental and Energy Policy PhD)
Silke Feltz (Rhetoric, Theory, and Culture PhD)
Sanaz Habibi (Chemical Engineering PhD)
Arash Jamali (Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics PhD)
Matthew Kilgas (Integrative Physiology PhD)
Anindya Majumdar (Biomedical Engineering PhD)
Aeshah Khudaysh M Muqri (Physics PhD)
Rohit Sunil Pandhare (Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics PhD)
Sagar Umesh Patil (Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics PhD)
Nishchal Sharma (Electrical Engineering MS)

Dean’s Award for Outstanding Scholarship – Spring 2018 Recipients

Congratulations! Outstanding Graduate Student Scholarship Award Spring 2018 Recipients

Shadi Ahmadi Darani (Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics PhD)
Ting Bao (Civil Engineering PhD)
Kishan Bellur (Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics PhD)
El Hachemi Bouali (Geology PhD)
Liang Chang (Materials Science and Engineering PhD)
Joshua Davis (Accounting MS)
Wenping Deng (Forest Molecular Genetics & Biotechnology PhD)
Jennifer Dunn (Environmental  and Energy Policy PhD)
Brandon Jackson (Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics PhD)
Meghnath Jaishi (Physics PhD)
Zhaoxiang Jin (Computer Science PhD)
Steven Landry (Applied Cognitive Science and Human Factors PhD)
Xiaoyu Liang (Mathematical Sciences PhD)
Ameya Narkar (Biomedical Engineering PhD)
Kimberly Tweedale (Rhetoric, Theory, and Culture PhD)
Le Zhao (Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics PhD)
Saeedeh Ziaeefard (Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics PhD)

Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award Fall 2017 Recipients

Congratulations! Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award Fall 2017 Recipients

Mahsa Asgarisabet (Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics PhD)
Briana Bettin (Computer Science PhD)
Jianheng Bi (Chemistry PhD)
David Falish (Civil and Environmental Engineering MS)
Sean Gohman (Industrial Heritage and Achaeology PhD)
Ian Greenlund (Biological Sciences MS)
Nancy Henaku (Rhetoric, Theory & Culture PHD)
Ashley Hendricks (Mechanical Engineering MS)
Melinda Kleczynski (Mathematical Sciences MS)
Miles Penhale (Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics PhD)
Julie Tomasi (Chemical Engineering PhD)
Saeedeh Ziaeefard (Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics PhD)

Dean’s Award for Outstanding Scholarship – Fall 2017 Recipients

Congratulations! Outstanding Graduate Student Scholarship Award Fall 2017 Recipients

Ala Mahmood Nahar Al Zaalig (Mathematical Sciences PhD)
John Arnold (Industrial Heritage & Archaeology PhD)
Andrew Chapp (Biological Sciences PhD)
Sorayot Chinkanjanarot (Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics PhD)
Shuaicheng Guo (Civil Engineering PhD)
Ashok Khanal (Chemistry PhD)
Vinaykumar Konduru (Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics PhD)
Vincent Manzie (Rhetoric, Theory & Culture PHD)
Sathya Prasad Potham (Mechanical Engineering MS)
Sandesh Subhaschandra Rao (Mechanical Engineering MS)
Nicholas Steffey (Business Administration MS)
Mohammad Hosain Teimourpour (Physics PhD)
Brenna Thompson (Accounting MS)

 

Dean’s Award for Outstanding Scholarship Spring 2017

Recipients—Spring 2017

  • Yunana Ahmed (Rhetoric, Theory and Culture PhD)
  • Samer A. Alokaily (Mathematical Sciences PhD)
  • Shiva S. Bhandari (Physics PhD)
  • Sachin M. Bhosle (Mechanical Engineering PhD)
  • Nicholas W. Bolton (Forest Science PhD)
  • Kyle A.  Brill (Geophysics PhD)
  • Natasha I. Chopp (Data Science MS)
  • Mustafa Gezek (Mathematical Sciences PhD)
  • Pei Hou (Atmospheric Sciences PhD)
  • Caoyang Jiang (Electrical Engineering PhD)
  • Yiping Mao (Biological Sciences PhD)
  • Chelsea J. Nikula (Chemistry PhD)
  • Zichen Qian (Biomedical Sciences PhD)
  • Amir Rezaei (Electrical Engineering PhD)
  • Abbey J. Senczyszyn (Master of Business Administration)
  • Ali Solouk (Mechanical Engineering PhD)
  • Shuo Wang (Mechanical Engineering PhD)
  • Dong Xia (Accounting MS)
  • Wentao Yao (Mechanical Engineering PhD)