Dr. Kevin Brooks
Office: Minard 322E
Phone: 231-7147
Email: Kevin.Brooks@ndsu.edu
I have been a professor at NDSU since the fall of 1997, and am currently an Associate Professor and Director of Upper Division Writing. In the fall of 2008, I will be interim department chair.
Teaching: In the fall of 2008, I am teaching a graduate seminar (English 758) on the topic of "War and Peace in the GlobalVillage: Rhetorical Acts Post 9/11." I have set up a course website at virtualpeacegarden.com.I regularly teach English 325 (Writing in the Health Professions), English 357 (Visual Culture and Language), and English 457 (Electronic Communication).
Research:
My research interests used to be the history of writing instruction, but for the last 5 years, I have been
focusing on the future of writing instruction through investigations of the use of weblogs in classrooms,
laptops in our graduate program, PowerPoint Music Videos in our first-year composition courses, and Scott
McCloud's visual language as a guide to reading and writing visual compositions.
My research generally grows of out my teaching. I like to try new things in the classroom--especially but not exclusively with new technology--I like to have fun, but I also expect my students to work hard and have high expectations for themselves. My mentor, Dr. Carl Ridd, liked to say "No play, no joy, no life." That quotation is on all my syllabi, and I hope students find play, joy, and life in my classes.
I've started down a new research and creative activity path by working on a documentary about one of Fargo's Lost Boys of Sudan. The African Soul, American Heart project took me to Kenya and Sudan in December of 2007, and I plan to begin presenting on and publishing on Sudanese stories--told through documentaries, fiction, and non-fiction--in 2008.
You can follow my blogging, my tagging, and my photo taking at my (un)official website, http://kabbie.suprglu.com.
Last updated: Aug. 14, 2008.