• Contact Info

Padgett, Adam

Teaching Assistant Professor

Positions

Research Areas research areas

Research

research overview

  • Broadly, my research is interested in information literacy, surveillance, and digital culture. In the wake of ubiquitous surveillance, it seems that people are always discursively engaged, and our conceptions of “privacy” are becoming less clear. Cameras take and publicize our image. Our online activities are tracked and commodified as we use a variety of free services. Social media platforms collect data on our engagements (clicks, likes, views, etc.) to craft customized newsfeeds, which shape our perception of the world. So, short of retreating into the wilderness, it seems difficult to not participate in digital publics. In our current information landscape, what is the value of privacy? What are the stakes for constantly being watched? Intersecting queer theories of embodiment, circulation theory, and classical rhetorical theory, I study the ways in which humans and bodies are mediated by surveillance technologies, where bodies non-autonomously participate in a variety of publics without their awareness or consent. This work illustrates how simply being in the presence of technologies—like smart phones, cameras, smart speakers, wearable technologies etc.—effectively collapse commonly held distinctions between public and private spaces. As a teacher of writing and rhetoric, I am particularly interested in discovering ways students can improve their digital information literacy, ethically leverage networked tools for rhetorical ends, and even recognize and challenge the ethics of their own participation within these everyday systems.

keywords

  • Modern Rhetorical Theory, Classical Rhetorical Theory, Digital Culture, Surveillance Studies, Composition Pedagogy

Teaching

courses taught

  • FYXP 2200 - Design Thinking Seminar: Using Design Thinking to Create Your Brand and Share You
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2024
    The Design Thinking Seminar introduces students to the principles of the design thinking framework and its application toward solution development and personal brand building. In this course students will participate in interactive and hands-on sessions to develop their own story, understand community needs, and create tangible solutions. Students will acquire a strong understanding of the design thinking framework, a deeper sense of their personal passions, and tools to craft their own path at CU and beyond. Department enforced prerequisite: Students must be enrolled in the Design Your Path Living Learning Community.
  • WRTG 1150 - First-Year Writing and Rhetoric
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2023
    Rhetorically informed introduction to college writing. Focuses on critical analysis, argument, inquiry and information literacy. Taught as a writing workshop, the course places a premium on invention, drafting and thoughtful revision. For placement criteria, see the arts and sciences advising office. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours.
  • WRTG 3020 - Topics in Writing
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2023 / Spring 2024
    Through sustained inquiry into a selected topic or issue, students will practice advanced forms of academic writing. Emphasizes analysis, criticism and argument. Taught as a writing workshop, places a premium on substantive, thoughtful revision. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours. Department enforced prerequisite: WRTG 1150 or equivalent (completion of lower-division writing requirement).
  • WRTG 3030 - Writing on Science and Society
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2024
    Through selected reading and writing assignments, students consider ethical and social ramifications of science policy and practice. Focuses on critical thinking, analytical writing, and oral presentation. Taught as a writing workshop, the course addresses communication with professional and non-technical audiences. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours.

Background