Deborah Balzhiser
Associate Professor, Rhetoric, Composition, and Technical Writing
Director, Texas State Writing Center
Deborah Balzhiser joined the Department of English at Texas State University in 2005, and became the Director of the Texas State University Writing Center in 2014. She has taught rhetoric, composition, and technical communication since 1992, including designing customized courses for Mitsubishi and the Mayo Clinic Graduate School. Dr. Balzhiser's courses are hands on, so students can expect authentic writing experiences with projects they can put in their portfolios; courses she commonly teaches include Rhetorical theory, Studies in English Language and Linguistics, Principles of Technical Communication, Digital Literacies, Computers and Writing, and Technical Writing. Dr. Balzhiser has worked as a technical communicator, technical editor, instructional designer, training analyst, and change management specialist in start-up, large corporate, and academic settings. Most recently, she worked to co-ordinate the training and help development teams of 91 interrelated projects and to lead them into best practices of re-use.
Contact:
| Office | ASB-N 101 A |
|---|---|
| Office Phone | 512-245-3018 |
| dbalzhiser@txstate.edu |
| Degrees |
|---|
| Ph.D., English Studies, Illinois State University |
| M.S., Writing, Illinois State University |
| B.A., English, Western Illinois University |
| Teaching & Research Interests | |
|---|---|
| Workplace communication, processes, and best practices | Medical rhetoric |
| Visual rhetoric | Instructional technology |
| Design methodologies | Rhetorical theory |
| Courses Commonly Taught |
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| Studies in Rhetorical Theory |
| Studies in English Language and Linguistics |
| Principles of Technical Communication |
| Digital Literacies |
| Computers and Writing |
| Technical Writing |
| Selected Publications |
|---|
| Stephanie Vie, Deborah Balzhiser and Devon Fitzgerald Ralston. “Community Guides: Disrupting Oppression in Comment Threads on Social Sites.” Technoculture: An Online Journal of Technology in Society, vol. 4, 2014. |
| Balzhiser, Deborah, Caroline Jones, and Julie Good. “Participatory Media & Culture: The Spirit of the Human.” Technoculture: An Online Journal of Technology in Society, 4, 2014. |
| Pimentel, Charise, and Deborah Balzhiser. “Whites’ Panic: The Double Occupancy of Hispanics in the U.S. Census Questions.” Journal of Business and Technical Communication, vol. 26, no. 3, 2012, pp. 311-339. |
| Balzhiser, Deborah, and Ted Ingweresen. “Learning Communities, Success, and Perceptions.” Academic Exchange Quarterly, vol. 15, no. 3, 2011. |
| Balzhiser, Deborah, Jonathan D. Polk, Evelyn Lauer, Jon Zmikly, Mandy Grover, Sarah McNeely, Corey Saucier, Ellen Porter, Tiffany Swearigen, and Cade Holmes. “The Facebook Papers.” Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, & Pedagogy, vol. 16, no. 1, 2011. Finalist for Kairos Best Webtext 2012. |
| Balzhiser, Deborah, and Susan McCleod. “The Undergraduate Writing Major. What Is It? What Should It Be?” College Composition and Communication, vol. 61, no. 3, 2010, pp. 415-33. |
| Jackson, Rebecca, and Deborah Balzhiser Morton. “Becoming Landscape Architects: A Postmodern Approach to WAC Sustainability.” The WAC Journal: Writing Across the Curriculum, vol. 18, 2007, pp. 43-58. |