Roger Stahl
Curriculum Vitae
Updated April 13, 2010
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Speech Communication
University of Georgia
145 Terrell Hall
Athens, GA 30683
rstahl@uga.edu
706.542.3249
706.542.3245 (fax)
Education
Ph.D., Communication Arts & Sciences, Penn State University, September, 2004. Specialties: History and Theory of Rhetoric, Contemporary Theory, Critical Theory. Dissertation: “War Games: Popular Media and Play in Post-Industrial Militarism.” Thomas Benson, Chair.
M.A., Communication, with Distinction, Northern Illinois University, May 2000. Thesis: “Documentary and Truth-Telling in Postmodernity” John Butler, Chair.
B.A., Communication Studies, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, August 1998.
Academic Employment
Fall 2004 – Present. Assistant Professor, Department of Speech Communication, University of Georgia.
Fall 2000 – Summer 2004. Instructor/Graduate Student, Department of Communication Arts & Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University.
Summers 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006. Instructor, Junior Statesman of America Summer Program, Stanford University and Yale University (2005).
Fall 1998 – Summer 2000, Instructor/Graduate Student/Research Assistant, Department of Communication, Northern Illinois University
Publications
Book
Militainment, Inc.: War, Media, and Popular Culture (New York: Routledge Press, 2010). Turkish translation, May, 2010.
Journal Articles
“Becoming Bombs: 3D Animated Satellite Imagery and the Weaponization of the Civic Eye.” Media Tropes 2.2 (2010): 65-93.
“Why We ‘Support the Troops’: Rhetorical Evolutions.” Rhetoric and Public Affairs. In press for issue 12.4 (2009): 533-570.
“A Clockwork War: Rhetorics of Time in a Time of Terror.” Quarterly Journal of Speech, 94.1 (2008): 73-99.
“Have You Played the War on Terror?” Critical Studies in Media Communication, 23.2 (2006): 112-130.
“Carving Up Free Exercise: Dissociation, ‘Religion,’ and Supreme Court Jurisprudence.” Rhetoric and Public Affairs 5.3 (2002): 439-458.
“Blair Witchery: Simulacra, Propaganda and Documentary.” Mythosphere 2.3 (2001): 307-319.
Book Chapters
“Vietnam Flashbacks: Dueling Memories of Dissent in the 2004 Presidential Elections.” New Political Documentary. Thomas Benson and Brian Snee, eds. (Carbondale, IN: Southern Illinois University Press, 2008): 78-104.
Films
Militainment, Inc.: Militarism and Popular Culture. Northampton, MA: Media Education Foundation, 2007. Documentary film. Writer, Director, Producer, Narrator.
“The Dekalb Finns” section of documentary film Dekalb Stories (2000). Co-Writer/Co-Director. Produced at Northern Illinois University. Shown on regional public television in 2000.
Book Reviews and Other Creative Work
“A Clockwork War: Rhetorics of Time in a Time of Terror,” Communication Currents 3.1 (2008). Invited to rewrite a summary of the journal article for a lay audience.
“In the Name of Terrorism by Carole Winkler.” Book review. Rhetoric and Public Affairs 10.3 (2007): 526-528.
“Video Games, Political.” Encyclopedia of Political Communication. Linda Lee Kaid and Christina Holtz-Bacha, eds. (New York: Sage, 2007): 807-808.
Work In Progress
“The Perfect War Film: The Hurt Locker and the Ballistics of the Gaze
“Patriotism at 500 feet and 450 mph: Whoosh and Awe in Military Flyovers at Sporting Events.” Gordon R. Mitchell, Michael L. Butterworth and Roger Stahl. Targeted for Journal of Popular Culture.
“’And Now, to Honor America’: Commercial Sport and the Wartime Citizen.” Michael L. Butterworth, Gordon R. Mitchell and Roger Stahl. Targeted for Rhetoric and Public Affairs.
“Burning Images: Visual Forces of Self-Immolation.” Roger Stahl and Kevin Deluca. Targeted for Critical Studies in Media Communication.
Searching Eyes: Political and Cultural Crises of the Camera. Book manuscript regarding the power dynamics of the miniaturized and multiplied camera.
Returning Fire: Art and Activism in Militainment Culture. Documentary video examining some of the ways that artists and activists have stirred public controversy and reevaluation of war-as-entertainment. Grant acquired; projected completion date March, 2010.
Honors and Awards
Faculty Graduation Speaker, elected by student body, Spring Commencement 2007.
Edwin Earle Sparks Graduate Fellowship, Penn State University, 2003. An $8,000 award issued to outstanding graduate students in Communication Arts & Sciences.
Graduate Scholar Award, Penn State University, 2000-01. $2000.
Research and Graduate Studies Office Travel Support Award for the National Communication Association Convention in Seattle, WA, 2000. $300; competitively selected.
Masters Degree awarded with Distinction, Northern Illinois University, 2000.
Grants
University of Georgia Research Faculty Grant from the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, 2009. $6991 awarded for the production of a documentary film regarding political activism, militarism, and popular culture.
Center for Humanities and Arts lecture grant, University of Georgia, 2005. $600 awarded for a public documentary screening.
Public Presentations of Scholarship
Invited Lectures
Returning Fire: Art and Activism in Militainment Culture. Keynote lecture at the Communication Day 2009 hosted by the Department of Communication Studies at Eastern Illinois University. February 18, 2009.
Why We ‘Support the Troops’: Rhetorical Evolutions. University of Pittsburgh Ridgway Center for International Security Studies Speaker Series. April 7, 2008.
Why We ‘Support the Troops’: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the War. Northern Illinois University Graduate Colloquium Series. March 5, 2008.
A Clockwork War: The Symbolics of Time in a Time of Terror. The Political Communication Speaker Series. University of Delaware. Newark, Delaware. March 12, 2007 with additional screening of Militainment, Inc. followed by Q&A.
The Ticking Clocks of the Long War. Presentation at Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon. Communication 298: Rhetoric and Public Memory. February 20, 2007. Followed by screening of Militainment, Inc. with Q&A.
Critically Approaching Media Bias in Wartime. Indiana University, for Political Science Y200, Media Bias and the War on Terror. March 10, 2003.
Media Appearances
Military Video Games. Interview for Al Jazeera International program “The Listening Post.” Aired twice daily the week of January 18, 2008.
Hollywood and the Pentagon. Interview for Al Jazeera International program “The Listening Post.” Aired twice daily the week of August 3, 2007.
Intra-Departmental Lectures
Surviving the Job Market Process. Panel participant at the University of Georgia Department of Speech Communication Colloquium Series, September 8, 2009.
Why We ‘Support the Troops’: Rhetorical Evolutions. University of Georgia Department of Speech Communication Colloquium Series, October 3, 2008.
A Clockwork War: Rhetorics of Time in a Time of Terror. University of Georgia Department of Speech Communication Colloquium Series. August 28, 2007.
Between Madman and Assassin: Citizenship and Post-Industrial Militarism. Penn State Communication Arts & Sciences Colloquium Series. December 5, 2003.
Tips for Publishing Within and Outside the Communication Discipline. Panel discussion of the publishing process. Penn State Communication Arts & Sciences colloquium series. September 19, 2003.
Emerging Modes of Social Activism: Theater, Media and the Question of Public Space. Penn State University Communication Arts & Sciences 497C, Private Lives, Public Voices. July 28, 2003.
Conference Presentations
First Person War: Google Earth and the Gaze. 2008 National Communication Association Annual Convention, San Diego, CA.
Signs of Time: Rhetorics of the Clock in Post-industrial War. 2007 National Communication Association Annual Convention, Chicago, IL.
Torture Time. Panel presentation: Extreme Ethics, Extreme Measures: Debates On Torture in the ‘War On Terror.’ 2007 National Communication Association Annual Convention, Chicago, IL.
The Virtual Citizen-Soldier. Panel presentation: Playing War: Combat Video Games and the Extension of American Empire through Modeling and Simulation. 2007 American Studies Association Annual Convention, Philadelphia, PA.
Citizenship and the Militarization of Civic Space. 2006 Youth Indifference to News Conference. Grady School of Journalism, University of Georgia, Athens, GA.
Vietnam Flashbacks: Public Memory, 2004 Campaign Documentary, and What We’re Fightin’ For. Panel presentation: Political Documentary Films and Election 2004. 2005 National Communication Association Annual Convention, Boston, MA.
Virtual Citizen-Soldiers: Video Games, Militarism, and the War on Terror. 2005 Eastern Communication Association Annual Convention, Pittsburgh, PA.
Citizen as Extreme Soldier: War, the Politics of Play, and the Post 9/11 Body. 2004 National Communication Association Annual Convention, Chicago, IL.
The King’s Two Bodies: The Corporeal President as Ironic Trope in the FDR Wheelchair Controversy. 2002 National Communication Association Annual Convention, New Orleans, LA.
Phantom Bodies: Signifying the Abject in the Age of Genetic Fingerprinting. 2002 National Communication Association Annual Convention, New Orleans, LA.
Carving Up Free Exercise: Religion, Dissociation and the Pauline Legacy. 2002 Western States Communication Association Annual Convention, Long Beach, CA.
Gene Harvesting and the Rhetorics of the New Global Bio-economy. 2001 National Communication Association Annual Convention, Atlanta, GA.
Blair Witchery: Simulacra, Propaganda and Documentary. 2000 National Communication Association Annual Convention, Seattle, WA.
Teaching Experience
Graduate Instruction at the University of Georgia
SPCM 8430: Topics in Public Address: Rhetoric and War. Spring 2009. A look at dominant rhetorical formations in 20th century geopolitical conflict, especially regarding American intervention.
SPCM 8330: Special Topics: Thinking Through Media. Fall 2009. Examines the major components of media studies including media ecology, effects, political economy, and others. Explores the intersection of these fields with the study of rhetoric.
SPCM 8330: Special Topics: Specters and Vectors of Post-industrial War. Fall 2007. Examines the rhetoric of war, propaganda, media technology, and theoretical aspects of information warfare.
SPCM 8200: Introduction to Rhetorical Theory. Fall 2005, 2006, 2008. Reviews major trends in rhetorical theory from the pre-Socratics through the contemporary period. Required for all incoming graduate students.
SPCM 8990: Directed Study. Fall 2008 (2 students). Developed an individual reading list on a particular topic, engaged in weekly discussions, and worked intensely with student on developing a journal article.
SPCM 8050: Research Practicum in Communication. Fall 2008. A one credit hour course focusing on developing a particular student project in progress.
Undergraduate Instruction at the University of Georgia
SPCM 3310 and 4900: Special Topics: Cultures of the Camera, Fall 2007, 2009. Looks at the act of looking itself, symbolism of the eye, technologies of looking, and multiple gazes through a variety of case studies. Examines looking as an expression of power and the source of political controversy.
SPCM 3310 and 4900: Special Topics: Exploring Media and War. Spring 2005 and 2007, Fall 2008 (3310); Spring 2006 (4900). An overview of journalistic practices and twentieth-century advances in media technology, predominantly since Vietnam. Topics include political economies of institutions, rhetorics of The Cold War, The War on Terror, violent images, the function of imperialism, the development of television and cyber wars, the nature of citizenship, propaganda, and image management.
SPCM 4330: Communication Strategies in the Courtroom. Spring 2005-2006, 2008-2009. This course explores the idiom of the courtroom as a sphere of argument, making extensive use of mock trials as a means of investigating various roles and methods. Also examines various social and ethical issues surrounding the courtroom such as the role of media and the ethics of certain courtroom practices.
SPCM 2360: Rhetoric and Popular Culture. Fall 2004-2005, Spring 2007-2010. Examines the confluence of politics and the production of culture. Reviews major perspectives of political economy, critical theory, and cultural studies. Examines political conflicts through a variety of case studies.
SPCM 1100: Introduction to Public Speaking. Summer 2005-2006. A practicum that introduced students to elements of argumentation, language use, speech construction, and nonverbal communication in the interest of developing presentation skills. The course emphasized civic engagement as the primary sphere of action.
SPCM 4930: Directed Study. Fall 2006. An intensive, independent reading and topic exploration with a student.
SPCM 4910: Internship in Communication. Summer 2005 (2 students), 2006 (12 students), 2007 (5 students), 2008 (2 students), 2009 (1 student). Supervising a student internship, which entails weekly correspondence and feedback over the course of the internship as well as a final research project.
Undergraduate Instruction at Penn State University
CAS 497A: Exploring Media in the War on Terror. Spring and Fall 2003. Focuses primarily on the media environment after the traumatic events of September 11th and continuing through the conflicts in the Middle East. Issues include the history of media in twentieth century conflict, changes in technical sophistication, the notions of propaganda and media bias, media spectacle, public participation and polling, portrayal of dissent, the structures and interests of news organizations, and uses of language and issue framing.
CAS 100a: Effective Public Speaking, Spring and Fall 2000-2002. Instruct students in basic rhetorical theory, group theory, practical language and argument skills, delivery, and critical thinking. At Junior Statesmen of American Summer School
Public Speaking and the Law, Stanford University 2001, 2002, 2006 and Yale University 2005. Guide students in investigating persuasive strategies for crafting and delivering messages in civil and criminal court, appellate court, and on the legislative floor. The course also contains an element wherein these practices and the American judicial system are critically examined.
Undergraduate Instruction at Northern Illinois University
COMM 100: Public Speaking. Fall and Spring 1998-2000. Emphasize the fundamentals of writing, delivery, as well as theoretical uses of language and argument.
COMM 356: Critical Interpretation of Film and Television. Spring 2000. Assisted Professor Gretchen Bisplinghoff in evaluating student readings of film and film history; acted as a resource for students in a large lecture climate.
Graduate Student Committees
Jamie Landau, Ph.D.
Lisa Slawter-Volkening, Ph.D.
William Hays Watson, M.A.(completed 2009)
Erik Jenkins, Ph.D. (completed 2009)
Marita Gronnvoll, Ph.D. (completed 2008)
Courtney Caudle, M.A. (completed 2009)
Bethany Keeley, M.A. (completed 2008)
Robert Quinn, MA (completed 2007)
Shannon Holland, Ph.D. (completed 2007)
Jamie Landau, MA (completed 2007)
Major Advisor
Aaron Martin, MA
Chip Miller, MA
Blake Abbot, Ph.D.
Kevin Marinelli, Ph.D.
Service to the Profession
Editorship
Editorial Board
K. B. Journal (2007-)
Advisory Board
MediaTropes (2008-)
Journal Reviewer
Quarterly Journal of Speech 2008
Rhetoric and Public Affairs 2008-2010
Critical Studies in Media Communication 2006-2008
MediaTropes 2008
Security Dialogue 2008
K.B. Journal 2007
Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies 2007-08
Northwest Communication Association Journal 2008
Games and Culture 2009
Book Manuscript Reviewer
Sage Publishing, 2007
National and International Organizations
Paper Referee. Political Communication Division. National Communication Association Annual Convention, 2009.
Chair, “Synthetic Worlds and Second Lives: Human Communication and Online Role Playing Games” at National Communication Association Annual Convention, 2007.
Respondent, “The Sublime and the Constitution of Society.” Eastern Communication Association Annual Convention, 2005.
Nominating Committee, Rhetoric and Communication Theory and Division of the National Communication Association, 2006.
Department and University
Job Search Committee, Department of Speech Communication, 2010
Strategic Vision Committee, Department of Speech Communcation, 2010.
Website Design Committee, Department of Speech Communcation, 2009-2010.
Graduate Admissions Committee, Department of Speech Communcation, 2009-2010.
Chair, Committee on Planning and Evaluation, Franklin College of Liberal Arts Faculty Senate, 2009-2010.
Faculty Senate Representative, Franklin College of Liberal Arts, University of Georgia, Term 2008-2011.
Planning Committee Member, Franklin College of Liberal Arts Faculty Senate, 2008-2009.
Professional Concerns Committee Member, Franklin College of Liberal Arts Faculty Senate, 2008-2009.
Ad Hoc Curriculum Revision Committee, Department of Speech Communication, 2008.
Colloquium Series Director, Department of Speech Communication, University of Georgia 2005-2010.
Executive Committee Member, Rhetoric, Department of Speech Communication, 2007-2008.
Faculty Search Committee Member, Department of Speech Communication, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008.
Franklin College of Liberal Arts, Faculty Senate Proxy, University of Georgia, Spring 2005.
Conference Co-director, 2003 Penn State Rhetoric and Composition Conference with Dr. Rosa Eberly, Pennsylvania State University, Spring and Summer of 2003.
Membership Manager, Rhetoric Society of America under Dr. Rosa Eberly, Fall 2002-Summer 2003.
Service to the Community
Forum Moderator, Athens-Clarke County Mayoral debate on Sustainability. Athens, GA. April 10, 2010.
“Advertising and Everyday Life.” January 29, 2010 lecture to a group of Clarke Central High School students on a field trip to the University of Georgia for LeadershipUGA.
Public Screening of Militainment, Inc. Pine Street Community Salon, Athens, GA. September 20, 2007.
Public Presentation on Militarism and Popular Culture: Marketing War. Fellowship Meeting at the Unitarian-Universalist Church in Athens, GA. October 1, 2006.
Public Relations Officer, Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality. Coordinated efforts with local and national media regarding the activities of the department and the state of the Nebraska environment, 1997-98.
Gubernatorial Speechwriter, Public Affairs Office of Governor in Lincoln, Nebraska. Wrote and researched speeches and remarks for the governor, staffed events, edited news for review and responded to letters, 1996.
Professional Memberships
National Communication Association
American Studies Association
Eastern Communication Association
Rhetoric Society of America