I am an assistant professor of technical communication and rhetoric at Texas Tech University, where I also co-direct the User Experience (UX) Lab in the Department of English. I teach courses in UX research, information design, and digital rhetorics.
I hold a PhD in rhetoric and scientific and technical communication from the University of Minnesota (May 2019). While completing my degree, I have taught at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, MN (adjunct), University of North Texas in Denton, TX (online adjunct), and Guangdong University of Foreign Studies in Guangzhou, China (visiting scholar).
Between 2015-2019, I was a researcher affiliated with the Wearables Research Collaboratory at Minnesota. I investigated the sociocultural aspects of wearable technologies and deployed devices like the Google Glass, Google Cardboard, Ricoh Theta 360, and other gadgets to examine the usefulness of wearable technologies in various learning contexts.
Currently, I am working on a book and few journal-article projects that focus on design thinking approaches in technical communication pedagogy and practice. See my projects page for details.
My recent publications include the following:
- Tham, J. (2020). Engaging design thinking and making in technical communication pedagogy. Technical Communication Quarterly. Online first.
- Tham, J., Rosselot-Merritt, J., Veeramoothoo, S., Bollig, N.W., & Duin, A.H. (2020). Toward a radical collaboratory model for graduate research education: A collaborative autoethnography. Technical Communication Quarterly. Online first.
- Duin, A.H. & Tham, J. (2020). The current state of analytics: Implications for learning management systems use in writing pedagogy. Computers and Composition. Online first.
- Tham, J. (2018). Interactivity in an age of immersive media: Seven dimensions for wearable technology, internet of things, and technical communication. Technical Communication, 65(1), 46-65. (Awarded the STC Frank R. Smith Award for best article in Technical Communication)
- Tham, J. (2017). Wearable writing: Enriching student peer reviews through point-of-view video feedback using Google Glass. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 47(1), 22-55.
- Duin, A.H., Moses, J. McGrath, M., & Tham, J. (2016). Wearable computing, wearable composing: New dimensions in composition pedagogy. Computers and Composition Online. Retrieved from http://cconlinejournal.org/wearable
I am continually intrigued by the impact of technologies on our personal, professional, and social lives, and I strive to better understand how we might facilitate better living and learning through these technologies.
Outside of work, I enjoy working out, cooking, running, and parenting an affectionate cat, two energetic doggos, and a chinchilla with my partner.
Education Background
PhD in Rhetoric & Scientific & Technical Communication, Minor in Human Factors and Ergonomics, University of Minnesota, 2019.
MA in English: Rhetoric & Writing, St. Cloud State University, 2014.
MS in Mass Communication: Advertising & Public Relations, St. Cloud State University, 2014.
BS in Mass Communication: Advertising, Minors in Communication Studies and Psychology, St. Cloud State University, 2011.
