Blake Scott

Associate Professor

bscott@mail.ucf.edu
Office Hours: On Sabbatical Fall 2008
Campus Location: CNH 411K

Education

Ph.D. in English: Rhetoric and Composition from Penn State University (1999)
M.A. in English: Composition, Rhetoric, and Literacy from University of Oklahoma (1994)
B.A. in English Education from East Central University (OK) (1991)

I came to UCF in 2002, after three years at UF. On the undergraduate level, I teach courses in technical and professional writing and in composition. I also teach a wide array of courses in the Texts and Technology, Rhet/Comp, and Tech Writing graduate programs. Generally, my research in technical communication and the rhetorics of biotechnology aims to develop models of cultural critique and civic engagement. In technical communication, for example, I have drawn on theories of cultural circulation and user-centered design to develop more responsive and sustainable forms of service-learning. In my work on biotechnology, I have merged Foucaultian and classical rhetorical theory to critique and propose public health policy around HIV testing and HIV prevention more broadly. My current research project mobilizes globalization theory to analyze risk management rhetoric around global debates about pharmaceutical access and regulation. My research on HIV/AIDS issues is connected to my community service, which includes my work on the Orlando EMA HIV Services Planning Council, the community planning body for the millions of dollars in federal Ryan White Modernization Act funding that comes to the four-county area surrounding Orlando. Here at UCF, I also work on university-wide service-learning efforts and advocate for faculty as part of UFF's grievance committee.

Research Interests

Rhetorics of Biotechnology and Public Health Policy
History of Rhetoric
Theory and Teaching of Composition
Technical and Professional Communication

Selected Publications

Books

Critical Power Tools: Technical Communication and Cultural Studies. Co-edited by Bernadette Longo and Katherine V. Wills. Albany: SUNY P, 2006. Part of the SUNY Series in Scientific and Technical Communication.
Risky Rhetoric: AIDS and the Cultural Practices of HIV Testing. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 2003.
Service-Learning in Technical and Professional Communication. Co-authored by Melody Bowdon. New York: Longman, 2003. Part of the Allyn and Bacon Series in Technical Communication.

Articles/Essays

Forthcoming “Civic Engagement as Risk Management and Public Relations: What the Pharmaceutical Industry Can Teach Us about Service-Learning.” College Composition and Communication.
Forthcoming “The Practice of Usability: Teaching User Engagement through Service-Learning.” Technical Communication Quarterly.
"The Rhetoric of Science versus Politics in U.S. HIV Testing and Prevention Policy." Communication Perspectives on HIV/AIDS for the 21st Century. Eds. Timothy Edgar, Seth M. Noar, and Vicki S. Freimuth. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2008. 297-327.
"Limited Prevention, Limiting Topos: Reframing Arguments about Science and Politics in the HIV Prevention Policy Debate." Sizing Up Rhetoric. Eds. David Zarefsky and Elizabeth Benacka. Long Grove, IL: Waveland P, 2008. 273-284.
"Kairos as Indeterminate Risk Management: The Pharmaceutical Industry's Response to Bioterrorism." Quarterly Journal of Speech 92.2 (2006): 115-143.
“Extending Service-Learning’s Critical Reflection and Action: Contributions of Cultural Studies.” Critical Power Tools: Technical Communication and Cultural Studies. Eds. J. Blake Scott, Bernadette Longo, and Katherine V. Wills. Albany: SUNY P, 2006. 241-258.
“Contradictory Stances toward Interdisciplinarity: A Response to E.O. Wilson from a Rhetorician of Science.” Writing Environments: Rhetoric, Texts, and the Construction of Nature. Ed. Sidney Dobrin and Chris Keller. Albany: SUNY P, 2005. 347-353.
"Tracking Rapid HIV Testing through the Cultural Circuit: Implications for Technical Communication." Journal of Business and Technical Communication 18.2 (2004): 198-219.
"Rearticulating Civic Engagement through Service-Learning and Cultural Studies." Technical Communication Quarterly 13.3 (2004): 289-306.
"Extending Rhetorical-Cultural Analysis: Transformations of HIV Home Testing." College English 65.4 (March 2003): 349-367.
"The Public Policy Debate over Newborn HIV Testing: A Case Study of the Knowledge Enthymeme." Rhetoric Society Quarterly 32.2 (Spring 2002): 57-83.

Awards

NCTE Award for Best Collection of Essays on Technical and Scientific Communication, 2007
NCTE Award for Best Article on Methods of Teaching Technical or Scientific Communication, 2005
Richard Ohmann Award for Best Article in College English, 2003
UCF Research Incentive Award, 2006-2007
UCF Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award, 2006-2007
CAS Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award, 2005
UCF University Award for Excellence in Professional Service, 2007