bjmc227 | University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences

Brian McNely

Research Interests:

Professional Writing

Technical Communication

Visual Research Methods

Visual rhetoric

Qualitative Methods

ethnography

Availability

Office Hours, Spring 2020 | TR 12:30–1:30

Education

Ph.D. | Rhetoric and Writing Studies, University of Texas at El Paso, 2009
M.A. | English and American Literature, University of Texas at El Paso, 2005
B.A. | Anthropology and English, University of Oregon, 1996

Biography

I study everyday affects, sensations, aesthetics, and contexts, exploring their relationships to rhetorical theory. I teach courses in visual rhetorics and cultures, rhetorical theory, user experience research, and technical and professional writing.

Research

Rhetorical theory, research methodologies and methods, visual rhetorics and methods, professional and technical communication.

Selected Publications:

McNely, B. (2019). Lures, slimes, time: Viscosity and the nearness of distance. Philosophy & Rhetoric 52(3), 203–226.

McNely, B. (2019). Under pressure: Exploring agency–structure dynamics with a rhetorical approach to register. Technical Communication Quarterly 28(4), 317–331.

Rice, J., & McNely, B. (2018). Networked humanities: Within and without the university. Anderson, SC: Parlor Press.

McNely, B. (2018). El Paso, plastic bags, aesthetics. In C. Boyle and J. Rice (Eds.), Inventing Place: Writing Lonestar Rhetorics (220–231).

McNely, B. (2017). Moments and metagenres: Coordinating complex, multigenre narratives. Journal of Business and Technical Communication 31(4), 1–38.

McNely, B. (2016). Circulatory intensities | Take a book, leave a book. In S. Barnet and C. Boyle (Eds.), Rhetoric, Through Everyday Things (139–154). Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press.

Gestwicki, P., & McNely, B. (2016). Interdisciplinary projects in the academic studio. Transactions on Computing Education 16(2), 80–104.

McNely, B. (2015). Instagram, geocaching, and the when of rhetorical literacies. Kairos 19(3).

McNely, B., Spinuzzi, C., & Teston, C. (2015). Guest Editors' Introduction: Contemporary research methodologies in technical communication. Technical Communication Quarterly 24(1), 1–13.

McNely, B, & Teston, C. (2015). Tactical and strategic: Qualitative approaches to the digital humanities. In J. Ridolfo and W. Hart-Davidson (Eds.), Rhetoric and the Digital Humanities (111–126). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

McNely, B. (2014). Writing in sacred spaces: Tangible practices for understanding intangible spirituality. College Composition and Communication 66(2), 243–246.

McNely, B., & Rivers, N. (2014). All of the things: Engaging complex assemblages in communication design. In SIGDOC '14: Proceedings of the 32nd Annual Conference on Design of Communication. New York: ACM.

McNely, B. (2014). Knowledge work, knowledge play: A heuristic approach to communication design for hybrid spaces. Communication Design Quarterly 2(4), 14–51.

McNely, B. (2013). Visual research methods and communication design. In SIGDOC '13: Proceedings of the 31st Annual Conference on Design of Communication. New York: ACM.

McNely, B. (2013). Exploring lived experience through ambient research methods. In N. Sappleton (Ed.), Advancing Research Methods with New Technologies (227–242). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Gestwicki, P., & McNely, B. (2013). Assessing the immersive studio with periodic retrospectives. SIGCSE '13: Proceedings of the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education. New York: ACM.

McNely, B., Gestwicki, P., Gelms, B., & Burke, A. (2013). Spaces and surfaces of invention: A visual ethnography of game development. Enculturation 15.

McNely, B. & Gestwicki, P. (2013). Visualizing knowledge work with Google Wave. In G. Pullman and B. Gu (Eds.), Designing Web-Based Applications for 21st Century Writing Classrooms. Amityville, NY: Baywood Press.

McNely, B. (2012). Big data, situated people: Humane approaches to communication design. Communication Design Quarterly Review 1(1), 27–30.

McNely, B., Gestwicki, P., Burke, A., & Gelms, B. (2012). Articulating everyday actions: An activity- theoretical approach to Scrum. In SIGDOC '12: Proceedings of the 30th Annual Conference on Design of Communication. New York: ACM.

Hashimov, E., & McNely, B. (2012). Left to their own devices: Ad hoc genres in the design of transmedia narratives. In SIGDOC '12: Proceedings of the 30th Annual Conference on Design of Communication. New York: ACM.

McNely, B. (2012). Shaping organizational image-power through images: Case histories of Instagram. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Professional Communication Conference. Piscataway, NJ: IEEE.

McNely, B., Gestwicki, P., Hill, J.H., Parli-Horne, P., & Johnson, E. (2012). Learning analytics for collaborative writing: A prototype and case study. In Proceedings of the 2nd Annual International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge. New York: ACM.

McNely, B. (2011). Informal communication, sustainability, and the public writing work of organizations. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Professional Communication Conference. Piscataway, NJ: IEEE.

McNely, B. (2011). Sociotechnical notemaking: Short-form to long-form writing practices. Present Tense: A Journal of Rhetoric in Society 2(1).