Roger Stahl
Curriculum Vitae
[updated May 31, 2012]
Associate Professor
Dept. of Speech Communication
University of Georgia
119 Terrell Hall
Athens, GA 30683
rstahl@uga.edu
706.542.3249 (off)
706.542.3245 (fax)
Education
Ph.D., Communication Arts & Sciences, Penn State University, August 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 2010 ? Present. Associate Professor, Department of Communication Studies, University of Georgia
Fall 2004 ? Fall 2010. 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. Yale University, 2005.
Fall 1998 – Summer 2000, Instructor/Graduate Student/Research Assistant, Department of Communication, Northern Illinois University
Publications
Books
Militainment, Inc.: War, Media, and Popular Culture (New York: Routledge Press, 2010). Turkish translation edition, 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, 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. Reprinted in International Communication. Daya K. Thussu, editor. New York: Sage, 2012.
?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.? The Rhetoric of the New Political Documentary. Thomas Benson and Brian Snee, eds. (Carbondale, IN: Southern Illinois University Press, 2008): 78-104. Book was the recipient of the 2008 Bruce A. Gronbeck Award in Political Communication Research Award.
Films
Returning Fire: Interventions in Video Game Culture. 2011. Northampton, MA: Media Education Foundation. Documentary film. Writer, Director, Producer, Narrator. Distributed by Mundovision for European television as Returning Fire: Hacking War Game Culture (2011).
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.
Edited Books
Rhetoric and Popular Culture. Roger Stahl, ed. (San Diego: Cognella, 2012).
Book Reviews and Other Creative Work
?A Clockwork War: Rhetorics of Time in a Time of Terror,? Communication Currents 3.1 (2008).
?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.
Works In Progress
?Drone Vision.? Forthcoming for a 2013 issue of Australian Journal of International Affairs.
?The War on Terror and the Weaponization of Discourse.? Targeted for Quarterly Journal of Speech in 2013
?Dreaming the Future through Biomimetic Weapons.? Co-authored with Charles Miller. Targeted for Cultural Studies <=> Critical Methodologies in 2013
?War Films, War Games? Invited book chapter for We Create Our Own Reality: The War on Terror and U.S. Cinematic Representation, Hamilton Carroll and Liam Kennedy, eds. Targetedfor publication in 2013.
Pluroptica: Political and Cultural Crises of the Camera. Book manuscript in progress regarding the power dynamics of the miniaturized and multiplied camera.
TheVisionMachine.com. An online scholarly platform for analyzing the optics of contemporary political struggles. Inauguration set for November 2012.
?War and Media.? Introductory chapter to Communication and the Military:Research and Practice, Erin Sahlstein and Lynne Webb, eds. Targeted for 2013 with Peter Lang Publishing.
?Immaterial War in a Digital Age.? Chapter for (In)Visibility of America’s Wars, John L. Lucaites, ed. Targeted for 2013.
Honors and Awards
Keynote Speaker at the 209th anniversary of the founding of the Demosthenian Literary Society. University of Georgia. February 18, 2012.
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 the documentary Returning Fire: Interventions in Video Game Culture (2011).
Center for Humanities and Arts lecture grant, University of Georgia, 2005. $600 awarded for a public documentary screening.
Public Presentations of Scholarship
Invited Lectures
Sticks and Stones: Immaterial War in a Digital Age.? (Lecture, Screening of ?Returning Fire,? and seminars.) Indiana University’s Series ?The In/Visibility of America’s 21st-Century Wars? Bloomington, IL. Supported by a Remak New Knowledge Seminar grant, by a Themester co-curricular program grant, by the Center for Integrated Photographic Studies and the Departments of Communication and Culture, Gender Studies, and Political Science. November 9-11, 2011.
Screening of ?Returning Fire? and discussion at NYU Tisch School of Art. October 21, 2011. Sponsored by the Department of Photography and Imaging at New York University?s Tisch School of the Arts, in collaboration with the Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film, TV and New Media and the NYU Game Center along with the Department of Art and Public Policy and NYU’s Institute for Public Knowledge.
Returning Fire: Art and Activism in Militainment Culture. Keynote lecture at 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 and Other Public Appearances
Returning Fire: Hacking War Game Culture. Documentary shown in Finland, Spain, Belgium, and Qantas Airlines. Screened at the International Communication Association, May 2012.
?Ike’s Farewell Address.? Live panel broadcast for Action Speaks Network and aired through WBGH Boston. Providence, RI. October 5, 2011.
?On the Rise of Militainment,? Fully interview transcribed for the Providence Phoenix, Sept. 28, 2011.
Interviews on V-Radio regarding research and documentary work. July 16, 2010 (Interview with Roger Stahl, author/filmmaker of “Militainment Inc.”); February 11, 2011 (Interview with Peter Joseph, Ben Stewart and Roger Stahl); March 24, 2011 (Roger Stahl of “Militainment Inc.” talks about his new film “Returning Fire”)
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
Screening of Returning Fire: Hacking War Game Culture. Part of the University of Georgia Dept. of Communication Colloquium Series. March 22, 2011.
The Academic Job Market. Panel participant at the University of Georgia Department of Speech Communication Colloquium Series, Aug 31, 2010.
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
?The Nature of War: Visions of Biomimesis in the Future Military.? Rhetoric Society of America annual convention. Philadelphia. May 25, 2012.
?Visuality and International Relations: Using Audiovisual Research Methods to Investigate the Role of Images in IR.? International Studies Association annual convention. San Diego. April 3, 2012.
?The Big Uneasy?: Voice and Rhetorics of New Political Documentary Films. National Communication Association Annual Convention. New Orleans. Nov. 19. 2011.
Mastering the Master’s Tools: The Productive Citizen-Subject of the Global Media Matrix. International Studies Association annual convention. Montreal. March 19, 2011.
Google Earth and the Imperial Gaze. War 2.0 Conference. Center for Advanced Media Arts Studies, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University. Beppu City, Japan. January 22, 2011. Via webcast.
Engaging MILITAINMENT, INC.: Americans and the New Interactive War. Respondent to a panel arranged around my recent book. National Communication Association annual convention. San Francisco. November 2010.
Becoming Bombs: 3D Satellite Imagery and the Weaponization of the Eye. National Communication Association annual convention. San Francisco. November 2010.
Soft Power at the Movies: Incorporating the Military-Entertainment Complex. Cold War Cultures conference, University of Texas, September 30, 2010.
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.
Respondent, ?The Sublime and the Constitution of Society.? Eastern Communication Association Annual Convention, 2005.
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 8330: Topics in Rhetorical Theory: Nietzsche’s Progeny. Fall 2010. Tracks the influence of Friedrich Nietzsche on post-structuralist thought and the discipline of rhetoric.
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, Spring 2012. 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, 2011, 2012. 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), Spring 2012. 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, Spring 2012. Looks at the act of looking itself, symbolism of the eye, optics, and multiple gazes through a variety of case studies and theoretical lenses. 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. Fall 2010. 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, 2011, 2012; Spring 2007-2011. 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), 2010 (4 students). 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
Bethany Keeley-Jonker (completed 2012)
Nicole Hurt, Ph.D. (completed 2011)
Jamie Landau, Ph.D. (completed 2010)
Lisa Slawter-Volkening, Ph.D. (completed 2010)
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
Chip Miller, MA (completed 2010)
Blake Abbot, Ph.D. (completed 2010)
Aaron Martin, MA
Kevin Marinelli, Ph.D. (2010-present)
Independent Studies
Olesya Venger, MA student, Journalism (Spring 2012)
Samantha Moss, undergraduate (Spring 2012)
Kristina Sick, undergraduate (Fall 2012)
Service to the Profession
Editorship
Editorial Board
K. B. Journal (2007-)
Advisory Board
MediaTropes (2008-)
Journal Reviewer
Game Studies 2011
Millennium: Journal of International Studies 2011
Western Journal of Communication 2011
Quarterly Journal of Speech 2008
Rhetoric and Public Affairs 2008-2010, 2012
Critical Studies in Media Communication 2006-2008
MediaTropes 2008
Security Dialogue 2008, 2011
K.B. Journal 2007
Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies 2007-08
Northwest Communication Association Journal 2008
Games and Culture 2009, 2011
Book Manuscript Reviewer
Sage Publishing, 2007
National and International Organizations
Chair: Roundtable Discussion on Research in Progress: Media and Culture. National Communication Association Annual Convention, New Orleans, LA, 2011.
Paper Referee. Political Communication Division. National Communication Association Annual Convention, 2009, 2011
Chair, “Synthetic Worlds and Second Lives: Human Communication and Online Role Playing Games? at National Communication Association Annual Convention, 2007.
Nominating Committee, Rhetoric and Communication Theory and Division of the National Communication Association, 2006.
Department and University
Curriculum Committee, Department of Communication Studies, University of Georgia, 2011-12.
Undergraduate Coordinator, Department of Speech Communication, University of Georgia, 2010-12.
Faculty Position Search Committee, Department of Speech Communication, University of Georgia, 2010.
Strategic Vision Committee, Department of Speech Communication, University of Georgia, 2010.
Website Design Committee, Department of Speech Communication, University of Georgia, 2009-2010.
Graduate Admissions Committee, Department of Speech Communication, University of Georgia, 2009-2011.
Chair of Committee on Planning and Evaluation, Franklin College of Liberal Arts Faculty Senate, 2009-2010.
Committee on Planning and Evaluation member, Franklin College of Liberal Arts Faculty Senate, University of Georgia, 2009-2011.
Faculty Senate Representative, Franklin College of Liberal Arts, University of Georgia, 2008-2011.
Professional Concerns Committee Member, Franklin College of Liberal Arts Faculty Senate, University of Georgia, 2008-2009.
Ad Hoc Curriculum Revision Committee, Department of Speech Communication, University of Georgia, 2008.
Colloquium Series Director, Department of Speech Communication, University of Georgia, 2005-2010.
Executive Committee Member, Rhetoric, Department of Speech Communication, University of Georgia, 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
Curator and Emcee, Rabbit Box Storytelling Collective. Athens, GA. 2012-
Member, Our New Silence. Sound art collective focusing on cultural collaboration with Indonesia and gamelan orchestra. Athens, GA 2010-201
President, The Club of Odd Volumes literary society. Athens, GA. 2009-2011
Member/Player, Theater of Pure Form. Athens, GA. 2008.
Volunteer, Athens-Clarke Citizen Advocacy. Establish regular visiting relationship with special needs person. 2009-Present.
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
International Studies Association