Hello, I’m Robert.
In addition to being a PhD candidate, I am a licensed Captain legally allowed to operate
any vessel of 100 gross register tons or less on any of the Great Lakes or domestic
rivers. Unfortunately, my former job driving boats doesn’t have anything to do with my
current work but I don’t know of many other Captains currently pursuing a PhD in
rhetoric. If you are also a Captain, of any tonnage, please reach out to me so I can get a
count of how many of us there are.
My research is focused on digital rhetoric, rhetorical invention and rhetorical circulation.
I am particularly interested in how participation on social media habits can inform user
behavior. In my dissertation, I discuss this using a term called prosumption—a
portmanteau of production and consumption—and use it to discuss the rhetorical nature of algorithms and the influence the algorithm and the user has on each other. My
dissertation considers what limitations users experience in how they act and perceive
the world when they prosumptively engage with algorithms.
I am excited to join the DRC this year. My email is beck163@purdue.edu
