The Parlor Digital Writing and Research Lab, UT Austin

General Summary: Wendi Sierra, an associate professor of game studies at TCU and a game designer, discusses her Oneida heritage while sharing insights about the production of her game “A Strong Fire,” designed to convey an Oneida worldview. Undergraduates Zeshan and Alex explore Sierra’s passion for pedagogy and game design, examining the thoughtful design choices of the game and its impact on the Oneida community.

Detailed Summary: Sierra introduces herself and her academic background (01.47-04.35); Sierra discusses how she got interested in the combination of pedagogy and game design (04.37-07.45); Sierra’s interest in making an Oneida game (07.46-11.03); design choices for “A Strong Fire” (11.04-14.57); the role of technology in preserving Oneida culture (15.12-18.17); the distinction between “doing Indian” and “being Indian” (18.19-24.04); interest in digital rhetoric from Oneida youth (24.06-26.23); Sierra’s recent accomplishments (26.26-29.07).

Scholarly Article Informing this Production: Sierra, Wendi (2022) Designing with and for Ka’nikuhli:yo: An exploration in Indigenously Determined Game Design. _Computers and Composition Online_. Available at http://cconlinejournal.org/fall2022/DesigningGoodMind/index.html

Credits: This podcast was produced by Cassidy Swinson, Ava Hammon, Zeshan Rashid, Alex Sanchez, and with resources and assistance from the Digital Writing and Research Lab. It features the voices of Wendi Sierra, Zeshan Rashid, Alex Sanchez, Ava Hammon, and Cassidy Swinson. The music featured in this podcast, titled “commonGround” was composed by airtone and has been repurposed here under Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial license 3.0. Furthermore, the use of conversation.wav and music from “A Strong Fire” have been adapted and incorporated under the Creative Commons 1.0 license.

General Summary: Professor Jenny Rice talks about her research on digital rhetoric and the importance of using digital tools as mechanics to teach rhetoric and writing. Two undergraduate students at UT interview Dr. Rice about mechanics and its connection to rhetoric, the role of digital tools in rhetoric, and the state of digital mechanics in 2023.

Detailed Summary: Introduction of interviewers and Jenny Rice (00.00-00.42); Rice’s summary of her article’s argument (00.42-0.2.57); Rice’s definition of mechanics (02.57-04.45); why Rice thinks Americans have been influenced to believe in this ideology of proper grammar (04.45-07.41); Rice gives examples of mechanics she believes to be creative rather than instrumental (07.41-10.13); Rice explains part of Robert Pirsig's book, and the issue of _Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance_ and how this can apply to rhetoricians and students (10:13-14:03); Rice explains how rhetoricians can teach students to be stronger writers by using mechanics and creativity, straying from cookie cutter mechanics (14:03-19:04); Rice explains how templates do not have to be limiting and the creative work that can come from them (19:04- 23:34); acknowledgements (23:34-24:18).

Scholarly Article Informing this Production: Rice, Jenny Edbauer. “Rhetoric’s
Mechanics: Retooling the Equipment of Writing Production.” _College Composition and Communication_, vol. 60, no. 2, 2008, pp. 366–87.

Credits: Under the guidance of Mark Longaker, this podcast was produced by Claire Baxter, Josh Franklin, Maria Piedra Castillo, and Ken Tarleton. The voices on this podcast feature Dr. Jenny Rice, Maria Piedra Castillo, and Ken Tarleton. This podcast was produced with resources and assistance provided by the Digital Writing and Research Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. Music featured in this podcast, titled “commonGround” was created by airtone and has been repurposed here under Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial license 3.0. Additionally, conversation.wav was
adapted and incorporated under Creative Commons 1.0 license.

General Summary: Dr. Caddie Alford talks about her and co-author John Carter’s paper “Adoxastic Public,” which defines adoxastic publics and explores their direction toward more violent ends. Their paper also examines the ways in which social media platforms, primarily Facebook, enable and encourage the engagement of these radical private groups.

Detailed Summary: Exposition and context of Dr. Alford and Jonathan Carter’s paper “Adoxastic Public” (00.00-00:40). How Dr. Alford got into rhetorical studies and doxa (00:40-02:23). Dr. Alford’s thoughts on doxa, endoxa, and adoxa and how they relate to her article—accompanied by a short discussion of her upcoming book (02:55-06:23). General synopsis on the article "Adoxastic Publics" in the words of Dr. Alford. Discussion of Facebook private groups, justification of violent means and publics. (06:42-09:30). How can we combat adoxastic public spaces and what are the steps required to promote conversations? (09:35-12:30). Adoxa in relation to US politics and the unification of White nationalism and right wing ideologies (13:27-18:05). Why was Facebook the main platform discussed in the article? (18:50-24:41). Discussion of what social media users should do to combat misconceptions (25:26-30:04). Conclusion (30:05-32:14).

Scholarly Article Informing this Production: Carter, Jonathan S., and Caddie Alford. "Adoxastic publics: Facebook and the Loss of Civic Strangeness." _Quarterly Journal of Speech_ 109.2 (2023): 176-198.

Credits: This podcast was produced by Briana Gonzalez, Duaa Zulfiqar, Sydney Young, Anna Allen, and Lily Gold., with resources and assistance provided by the Digital Writing and Research Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. It features the voices of Briana Gonzalez, Duaa Zulfiqar and Lily Gold. Music featured in this podcast, titled “commonGround,” was created by airtone and has been repurposed here under Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial license 3.0. Additionally, conversation.wav was adopted and incorporated under the Creative Commons 1.0 license.

General Summary: Professor Eric Detweiler expands on his argument that the ancient rhetorical progymnasmata exercises can be modified to benefit contemporary studies of digital media and sound. UT undergraduate student Ian Denning reflects on Detweiler’s practical suggestions of specific exercises that can be incorporated in podcasts, and exchanges ideas about the rhetorical and communicative nature of the popular sonic medium.

Detailed Summary: 0:00-7:29 Eric Detweiler shares his path toward rhetorical theory and his definitions of progymnasmata, pedagogy, and rhetorical pedagogy to provide context about the article; 7:30-9:55 Detweiler explains the challenges to modifying ancient progymnasmata into social media, where arguments commonly take place; 9:56-13:18 Detweiler discusses certain elements found in the exercises presented in his article: 13:19-16:28 Detweiler explains his ability to maintain audience engagement while trying to instruct them about podcast projects and shares his opinions about how people should practice podcasting; 16:29-20:36 Detweiler shares his opinions on how people should approach podcasting as beginners; 20:37-23:58 Detweiler describes how the increased accessibility to podcasting through social media, such as TikTok, has affected his teaching style; 23:59-24:45 Detweiler explains that podcasting is a medium that offers creators opportunities to share their niche interests and gain unique audiences; 24:45-26:30 Denning’s reflection on the interview and credits.

Scholarly Article Informing this Production: Detweiler, Eric. “Sounding out the Progymnasmata: Rhetoric Review: Vol 38, No 2.” Taylor and Francis Online, 2019, www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07350198.2019.1588567 Links to an external site.

Credits: This podcast was produced by Jacob Johnson and Ashley Taylor. It features the voices of Ian Dennings, Eric Detweiler, and Jacob Johnson. The music in the podcast is called “common ground”Links to an external site. and is used under Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial license 3.0.Links to an external site.

General Summary: Professor Brandee Easter discusses her research on digital rhetoric and software studies, specifically focusing on Brainf*ck discussed in her article “Fully Human, Fully Machine.” Several undergraduate students at UT reflect on her research, the connection between literature/texts and technology, and the impact coding languages have on the programmer, specifically how it reinforce gender stereotypes.

Detailed Summary: Easter’s interest and introduction to digital rhetoric and transition over from literary studies (00.00-2.53); Easter on the importance of talking about code and what Brainf*ck is (2:53-7:07); Easter discussing the relationship between coding and rhetoric, the vulgarity of B in the coding world, and the limited syntax and somatics of the programming language (7:07-11:37); Easter’s opinion on the “ideal programmer” becoming one with the machine and gender and coding, specifically, particular masculinity among coders (11:37-17:40); a brief word from our sponsors (17:40-18:10); Easter responding to how students -- both involved with coding or not -- can move away from the strict, traditional values often depicted (18:10-19:28); Easter on how her article “Fully Human, Fully Machine” fits into her upcoming book as well as how she envisions the future of this field (19:28-22:57); extra takeaways Easter wanted to emphasize (22:57-26:00).

Scholarly Article Informing this Production: Easter, Brandee. “Fully Human, Fully Machine: Rhetorics of Digital Disembodiment in Programming.” _Rhetoric Review_, vol. 39, no. 2, 2020, pp. 202-215.

Credits: This podcast was produced by Trinity Ngo, David Saenz, Khanh Nguyen, Mallory Wilcox, and Emily Wilschetz with resources and assistance provided by the Digital Writing and Research Lab and Professor Mark Longaker at the University of Texas at Austin. The engaging voices of David, Mallory, and Brandee Easter resonate throughout this podcast, adding depth and nuance to the discussion. Trinity Ngo, who not only co-produced but also made significant contributions to the editing process, ensuring a polished and cohesive final product. Khanh Nguyen played a pivotal role in shaping the narrative by assisting with the script and providing a detailed transcript, contributing to the seamless editing process. Emily Wilschetz's noteworthy contribution to the script further enriched the content. Music featured in this podcast, titled “commonGround” was created by airtone and has been repurposed here under Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial license 3.0 Additionally, conversation.wav was adapted and incorporated under Creative Commons 1.0 license. Setting the background music is the soulful composition "Unpacking" by SoulProdMusic, contributing a distinctive atmosphere to the listening experience. Adding further dimensions are the captivating glitch sound effects by Premswaroop Kasukurthi and the dynamic rock sounds titled "Rock It" by Coma-Media, both discovered on Pixabay.com.

General Summary: In this podcast, Dr. Wendy Anderson discusses her deep dive on the digital rhetoric of white, nationalist women within America. Undergraduates Bridget Barragy and Alexa Peña unpack the topics of contained agency, intersectionality, and the utilization of digital architecture and anonymity to grow the white nationalist movement. Our podcast sheds light on the chosen identity of white nationalist women and how it enables them to reconcile the inherent dissonance between their political views and societal position.

Detailed Summary: Anderson’s scholarly career to her undergraduate degree in speech communication to her PhD in rhetoric and media, as well as addressing gap years (00.00-03.23); Anderson’s summary of the argument of “Classifying Whiteness: Unmasking White Nationalist Women’s Digital Design through an Intersectional Analysis of Contained Agency,” and the effects it was trying to achieve (03.23- 05:23); Anderson’s explanation of intersectionality and how it applies to white women (05.23-07.14); Anderson’s response to how the categories of mothers and warriors intersect and how they affect non-white women who do not fit within these classifications (07.14-9.34); Anderson responding to her comments that “contained agency” occurs when an individual's oppression is localized to their particular situation, rather than recognizing the larger, frameworks that contribute to oppression(9.34-14.10); Anderson explaining how white nationalists can choose between an oppressed identity and a non-oppressed identity (14.10-17:01); Anderson’s elaboration on white nationalist women globally embracing feminism (17.01-19.16); Anderson addressing comments on technology being past the point of no return when iit comes to gating people with others who share similar ideas (19.16-22.13); Anderson’s thoughts on User Interface and UX design (22.13-25.17); Anderson's thoughts on TikTok and the opportunity for anonymity in the webspace through cloaking (25.17-29.51).

Scholarly Article Informing Production: Anderson, Wendy K. Z. “Classifying Whiteness: Unmasking White Nationalist Women’s Digital Design through an Intersectional Analysis of Contained Agency.” Communication, Culture and Critique, vol. 11, no. 1, Mar. 2018, pp. 116–32. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1093/ccc/tcy002.

Credits: This podcast was produced by Esmeralda Hernandez, Dewayne Benson, and Noah Rivera. It features the voices of Bridget Barragy, Alexa Pena, Dr. Wendy Anderson, and Esmeralda Hernandez. This podcast was made possible by the use of resources from the Digital Writing and Research Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. Music featured in this podcast, titled “commonGround,” was created by airtone and has been repurposed here, utilized under the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License 3.0. Additionally, the sound effect titled “conversation.wav” was also incorporated into the final production under Creative Commons 1.0