Hello! O’siyo! Konichiwa!
My name is Kenlea Pebbles, and I am one of the fellows in the Cultural Heritage Informatics cohort at Michigan State University (MSU). I am one of two of the Writing, Rhetoric, and American Culture (WRAC) fellows in this year’s cohort. I am looking forward to everything we will be learning and producing this year.
This is my first year in the Ph.D. program in WRAC. I will be focusing on cultural rhetorics and linguistics in the Writing and Rhetoric program. I have a strong interest in: environmental rhetorics, feminist rhetorics, visual rhetorics, Native American and Indigenous rhetorics, digital rhetorics, and a plethora of other topics. In particular, I am interested in how linguistics and cultural rhetorics intercept and overlap.
My research areas overlap with my education: I have bachelor degrees in English and anthropology, and finished the course work for minors in international studies, social studies, and sociology from the University of Michigan—Flint. I have an M.A. TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and secondary certifications in English and English as a Second Language (ESL) from Central Michigan University.
Since it is my first year in this program, I do not feel the need to narrow my interests just yet. I see this as a year to explore a couple of potential areas I am interested in developing for possible dissertation topics. I am hoping to use this fellowship to investigate and develop the possible visuals and/or mapping of:
a. business e-mails in a global Japanese corporation through the use of the lingua franca of business, English, via e-mail and other forms of communication in small motor engine plants in 19 countries around the world (including the U.S.A.). Specifically, I am interested in looking at the translingual communication and corporate language used by both native and ESL speakers as well as the mapping of interactions and methods of communication in this particular corporation.
b. Water rights issues in communities, specifically communities of color, around the USA. Specifically, focusing on power, race, location, and class gives insight into an emerging issue in our nation through the discourse genres forming around this issue.
I am looking forward to what this year will bring and what we will develop as a cohort and in our individual research!
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