Dr. Robin Murphy, assistant professor of English at East Central University, will discuss her book and a chapter she co-wrote for another book about counterculture icon Joss Whedon on Tuesday [MARCH 13] at ECU’s Linscheid Library.
The discussion and book signing will be held from 3 to 4 p.m. in the atrium on the library’s second floor, sponsored by Linscheid Library Academic Friends.
Murphy’s book, “How Social Trauma Affects How We Write: Post 9/11 Rhetorical Theory and Composition Pedagogy,” extends the role of composition to civic education with a focus on 21st century literacy practices. It is based on the dissertation she wrote for her doctoral degree at Bowling Green State University in 2007.
“Social trauma changes the media we use in writing,” she said. “It's historically proven that education practices changed, say after WWII, and I claim 9/11 changed the way we write and share information via media.”
The co-authored chapter in “The Philosophy of Joss Whedon” applies German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s theory of the ‘overman’ to select characters created by popular culture producer Joss Whedon.
The title of the chapter is “Heroes and Villains: Morality, the Will to Power, and the Overman in the Work of Joss Whedon.” Whedon is the creator of such cult-classics as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dr. Horrible and Angel, among others.