I research in the areas of technical, professional, and business communication as well as composition, rhetorical theory, and ethics. I specialize in institutional analysis, curriculum design, and research methods.
My dissertation research focuses on institutional ethnography and the ways in which doctoral examinations contribute to disciplinarity in rhetoric and composition. Part of this project entails better understanding the pedagogical and professional purposes of doctoral exams, particularly insofar as their format and content varies from program to program. Further, my dissertation investigations the ways in which doctoral exams professionalize and prepare students for particular academic and non-academic career tracks.
Prior to my graduate work in rhetoric and composition, I studied political philosophy, ethics, and East Asian philosophies (primarily Buddhism and Confucianism). My research in philosophy is described in further detail on my research in philosophy page.