I'm a PhD Candidate in the Composition & Rhetoric program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of English. I'm currently finishing my dissertation, From Literacy to Proceduracy: Computer Code Writing in Historical Context.

My research frames computer programming as a kind of literacy. Like textual literacy, the literacy of code-writing (what I call proceduracy) relies on an inscription system that is shaped by technical and social constraints and affordances. I argue that we can understand more about the benefits of and obstacles to the diffusion of proceduracy by looking at the history and practices of textual literacy.

Other research interests of mine include digital games as well as new genres of writing on the web: microblogging on Twitter; "traditional" blogs (I teach a class on blog-writing at the UW Writing Center); and ungrammatical manipulation of language for rhetorical effect (e.g., lolcats). Although I read a lot of books, I'm both watching and participating in the global shift from print-based mass literacy to online mass authorship.

My teaching style reflects my research interest in new media writing and online genres. I often use blogs to teach writing and students explore composition in images, text, video and sound in projects for my courses.

Before graduate school, I was a high school teacher, a secretary at a commercial game company, and an editor on scientific manuscripts and grants for a UW psychiatry / neuroscience lab that does sleep research. I've continued that editing work in graduate school and have also worked with legal papers and dissertations on particle physics. I like reading about science and technology.

When I'm not on the web, teaching, reading, or writing, I may be found practicing my competancies in cooking, running, home repair, landscaping, and the rhythm game Dance Dance Revolution. My dog Remy (to the left) hangs out with me during most of these activities.

If you'd like to contact me, please email me at avee@wisc.edu.