Professor
Ph.D., University of Detroit

Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures
Michigan State University
5 Olds Hall
East Lansing, Michigan 48824

517/432-2583 (office); 517/353-9162 (fax)
porterj8@msu.edu
http://kairos.wide.msu.edu/porter/

teaching interests: rhetoric theory and history, technical and professional communication, digital writing

courses: AL 841 Professional Writing Theory and Research; AL 805 Rhetoric Theory and History; BUS 491 Business Communication; WRA 420 Advanced Technical Writing; WRA 320 Technical Writing, WRA 110 Writing-Science and Technology

Porter (PhD, University of Detroit, 1982) has authored or co-authored four books, including Audience and Rhetoric (1992) and Professional Writing Online (2001; 3rd edition planned for 2009), a web-based textbook. His book Rhetorical Ethics and Internetworked Writing (1998) won the Computers and Composition Best Book award. His co-authored book, Opening Spaces: Writing Technologies and Critical Research Practices (1997), won the NCTE book award for Excellence in Technical and Scientific Communication. And his co-authored article "Institutional Critique: A Rhetorical Methodology for Change" won the CCCC Braddock Award in 2001.

Porter's research focuses on digital rhetoric -- that is, on the art of communicating with/within computer-networked environments and in technical/professional communication contexts. He is especially interested in exploring how writing in digital environments requires that we develop new rhetoric theories, modify our professional writing practices, and redesign our writing pedagogies. His recent research and publications focus on digital communication ethics (particularly Internet research ethics); the economics of digital delivery and distribution; and the impact of copying, downloading, and filesharing on writers' notions of intellectual property and authorship and on their composing processes. Currently he is serving as Co-Director of the WIDE Research Center.