I am an assistant professor of technical communication and rhetoric at Texas Tech University on the indigenous land of Comanche. I co-direct the User Experience (UX) Lab in the Department of English and teach courses in UX research, information design, and digital rhetorics. I am faculty sponsor to the TTU Society for Technical Communication student chapter and co-advisor to the Raider UI/UX organization, an undergraduate student club interested in UX design and research.

I hold a PhD in rhetoric and scientific and technical communication from the University of Minnesota. My dissertation involved a study of makerspaces and the cultivation of a maker pedagogy for technical communication studies. Between 2015-2019, I was a researcher affiliated with the Wearables Research Collaboratory at Minnesota. I investigated the sociocultural aspects of wearable technologies and embodied devices to examine their applications in various learning contexts. For this work, I was inducted as a research partner in the Digital Life Institute, an international research collective hosted at Ontario Tech University, Canada.

My books, Design Thinking in Technical Communication (Routledge/T&F), Collaborative Writing Playbook (Parlor Press, coauthored with Joe Moses), and Designing Technical and Professional Communication (Routledge/T&F, coauthored with Deborah Andrews) focus on the application of design thinking mindsets in professional practice and writing pedagogy. Currently, I am working on an edited collection on design thinking keywords and a textbook on user experience (UX) writing. See my projects page for details.

My recent publications include the following:

• Tham, J., Howard, T., & Verhulsdonck, G. (2022). Extending design thinking, content strategy, and artificial intelligence into technical communication and user experience design programs: Further pedagogical implications. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication. Advance online publication.
• Tham, J., Burnham, K., Hocutt, D., Ranade, N., Misak, J., Duin, A.H., Pedersen, I., & Campbell, J.L. (2021). Metaphors, mental models, and multiplicity: Understanding student perception of digital literacy. Computers and Composition, 59. Advance online publication.
• Tham, J. (2020). Engaging design thinking and making in technical communication pedagogy. Technical Communication Quarterly, 30(4), 392–409.
• Tham, J. & Grace, R. (2020). Reading born-digital scholarship: A study of webtext user experience. Computers and Composition. Advance online publication.
• 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, 29(4), 341–357.
• Duin, A.H. & Tham, J. (2020). The current state of analytics: Implications for learning management systems use in writing pedagogy. Computers and Composition, 55. Advance online publication.
• 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.

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 and two very energetic puppers 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.

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