This fall, 5-Year MA in English alum Michael Laudenbach will be continuing his studies as a student in Carnegie Mellon University’s Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric Program. The program is one of the oldest and most prestigious Ph.D. programs in rhetoric in the United States. At CMU, Laudenbach will be examining the effects of technology on communication and the role of technology in teaching literacy. “I intend to answer some of the following questions in my research: how should teachers approach writing when so much of digital communication is imagistic?” Laudenbach said. “What are the power dynamics at play in the digital sphere? How has ‘writing’ become a multimodal synthesis of information, and how does that affect the writing process? I look forward to teaching classes in an environment where new technology and media are a central focus.”
