
Katherine DeLuca, PhD
Assistant Professor
English & Communication
Contact
508-910-6644
kdeluca1@umassd.edu
Liberal Arts 310
Education
2015 | The Ohio State University | PhD |
2010 | The Ohio State University | MA |
2007 | Louisiana State University | BA |
Teaching
Programs
Programs
Teaching
Courses
The study and contemporary application of ancient Greek and Roman rhetorical theory. Students will apply rhetorical theory in ongoing analyses of a wide range of communication media (written, spoken, visual) and in their own writing.
Principles of research, writing the thesis/project proposal, and initial thesis/project drafting. The course explores primary and secondary research methods. Course content includes in-depth and formal interviewing techniques, principles of field observation, content analysis, literature reviews, electronic data searches, historical analysis, focus groups, case studies, questionnaire design, use and abuse of statistical inquiry, fundamentals of logic and causation, and philosophical inquiry into qualitative and quantitative research perspectives. The course places major emphasis on how to write a proposal and thesis/project aimed at eventual publication.
Emphasis on combining textual and graphic components to accomplish production-oriented, informative, instructional, and persuasive tasks. Students will acquire a broad understanding of the fundamentals of visual communication and document design. Students will then evaluate the effectiveness of design choices for particular rhetorical situations and apply those principles to specific projects using industry-standard design/publishing software.
Introduction to strategies, techniques, and technologies used by web developers and designers. Teaches how to establish site goals, articulate user needs, improve user experience, produce quality web content, and compose usable web writing. Students learn front-end, back-end, and social-web development and design principles, as well as current web production technologies.
Teaching
Online and Continuing Education Courses
Introduction to the communication skills required in business and industry. Students will learn how to prepare, produce, revise, and deliver business reports, professional communications, computer-supported presentations, and oral presentations.
Register for this course.
Research
Research Interests
- Digital Media Studies
- Writing Studies
- Rhetorical History & Theory
Dr. Katie DeLuca received her Ph.D. in Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy Studies from The Ohio State University. She teaches courses on writing and social media, composition, and rhetoric, among other topics. Dr. DeLuca’s research focuses on the intersections of digital media studies, composition studies, and rhetoric, examining performative identity rhetorics and ethos in online spaces. She studies digital citizens’ everyday rhetorical and composing practices for the insights they can provide composition, rhetoric, and digital media studies. Her work has recently appeared in Computers and Composition, Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy, the Journal of Teaching Writing, and WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship, and she is co-editor of The Rhetoric of Participation: Interrogating Commonplaces In and Beyond the Classroom, published by Computers and Composition Digital Press/Utah State University Press. Her current research projects explore the relationships between online communities, ethos formation, and writing pedagogy.