Dr. Leonardo Flores
Department Chair; Professor
Research Interests:
Digital literature, e-poetry, and the history and future of written expression in digital media.
Highlighted Project:
Tiny Protests
Tiny Protests is a “living project” which deploys algorithmic protest to comment on contemporary political turmoil. It consists of five iterations of activist expression. @TinyProtests is a Twitter bot that generated U.S. themed marches and protests. @Protestitas generated...
Dr. Jiangxue Ashley Han
Assistant Professor, Public Relations
Research Interests:
Diversity in public relations, and narrative persuasion.
Highlighted Project:
Overcoming Hurdles of Gender and Race: Seasoned U.S. Practitioners Reflect on Their Career Progressions in Communication Industries
This study gives voice to U.S. women who overcame the challenges of their gender or race and had to switch jobs or industries to achieve professional success. A feminist theoretical approach was adopted to conduct in-depth qualitative...
Dr. Shanshan Lou
Associate Professor, Advertising
Research Interests:
Cross-cultural advertising and the effects of media technologies on audiences’ attitudes and behaviors.
Dr. Paul Sebastian
Assistant Professor, Spanish & Teaching English as a Second Language / Applied Linguistics. Undergraduate Teacher Education Program Director for World Languages.
Research Interests:
Relationship between language and the constructed environment; learning space design; place semiotics; technology-enhanced language learning and teaching.
Highlighted Project:
Signs of Resistance in the Asturian Linguistic Landscape
This study is a linguistic landscape analysis grounded in the ideas of contestation and resistance, and carried out using Scollon’s concept of place semiotics. It was conducted in four cities located in the Asturias region of Northern Spain. The primary goals of the project were to investigate and interpret...
Dr. Xiaorong Shao
Information Literacy Librarian & Professor
Research Interests:
Library resource and service needs for international students and visiting scholars; effects of information literacy on student success; library assessment; cultural studies.
Highlighted Project:
American Cultural Center Grant Program in China
Between 2012 and 2022, Dr. Shao secured $440k from the U.S. State department in 6 grants for the American Cultural Center (ACC) programs. The aim of the ACC grants was to promote American culture and academics, as well as to facilitate cultural exchanges between China and the United...
Dr. Kin-Yan Szeto
Professor, Theatre Arts - Performance Studies
Research Interests:
Theater, dance, film, and media studies; comparative literature; postcolonial and global studies; gender and ethnicity in transnational perspectives.
Highlighted Project:
The Martial Arts Cinema of the Chinese Diaspora
In The Martial Arts Cinema of the Chinese Diaspora, Dr. Kin-Yan Szeto critically examines three of the most internationally famous...
Dr. Rahman Tashakkori
Department Chair, Lowe's Distinguished Professor of Computer Science
Research Interests:
Honey Bee Monitoring Systems, Image Processing, Data Science, and CS Education
Highlighted Project:
Appalachian State Multipurpose Apiary Informatics Systems
AppMAIS is an interdisciplinary project that aims to investigate the health, development and genomic diversity of honey bee hives in North Carolina to better understand and optimally prevent the honey bee colony collapse disorder (CCD).
How does this...
Dr. Matthew Thomas-Reid
Associate Professor of Educational Foundations
Research Interests:
Philosophy of education; social justice education; queer pedagogy, praxis, and digital literacies; LGBTQIA histories and narratives.