I am an associate professor of technical communication and rhetoric at Texas Tech University (TTU) on the indigenous land of Comanche and Mescalero Apache Peoples. I work as assistant chair in the Department of English and teach courses in user experience (UX) research, information design, instructional design, web publishing, and digital rhetoric. I co-direct the UX Research Lab and serve as faculty sponsor to the TTU Society for Technical Communication student chapter.

At TTU, I also serve as a faculty mentor in the McNair’s Scholars Program and a faculty fellow in community-engaged scholarship, sponsored by the Provost’s outreach and engagement initiative.

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 in 2019 as a research partner to the Digital Life Institute, an international research collective hosted at Ontario Tech University, Canada.

My books, listed below, focus on the application of design thinking mindsets and collaborative learning in professional practice and writing pedagogy.

• Writing to Learn in Teams (Parlor Press, with Joe Moses)
• UX Writing (Routledge, with Tharon Howard and Gustav Verhulsdonck)
• Keywords in Design Thinking (WAC Clearinghouse; University Press of Colorado)
• Design Thinking in Technical Communication (Routledge)
• Collaborative Writing Playbook (Parlor Press, with Joe Moses)
• Designing Technical and Professional Communication (Routledge, with Deborah Andrews)

Currently, I am working on an edited collection on maker-culture keywords and a workplace handbook for team-based writing. See my projects page for details.

---

My recent publications include the following (please find full publication details in my CV):

• Tham, J., & Verhulsdonck, G. (2023). Smart education in smart cities: Implications for networked and pervasive learning. IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society, 4(1), 87–95.
• 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, 52(4), 428–459.
• 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. (Awarded the Ellen Nold Award for best article in Computers & Composition.)
• 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.