Everything old is new again. In February of this year the Department of Drama and Speech Communication put out a call for a new Assistant Professor position within the unit of Speech Communication. After interviewing, observing their teaching and meeting the candidates over coffee, the Department chose Kim Hong Nguyen. Professor Nguyen has been with the Department for a year as a Visiting Assistant Professor and had taught ARBUS 300 "Practical Business Skills" & SPCOM 111 "Leadership, Communication and Collaboration" and is currently teaching SPCOM 434 "The Discourse of Dissent".
Jennifer Simpson, Chair of the Department of Drama and Speech Communication says,
I am excited about the strengths in teaching and research that Professor Nguyen will bring. Her focus on critical rhetorical studies has a particularly good fit with the program and departmental priorities.
Kim completed her PhD at the University of Iowa in 2008. She is interested in how the field of communication and the study of everyday rhetorical practices can enhance our tools of interpretation and understanding of cultural identity. Her research projects involve questions about contemporary practices of remembering war, the ways in which vernacular language is used, and how neoliberalism has shaped social recognition of women and minorities. Kim is excited to be back with the department in a tenure-track position. She says:
While this will be my second year here at uWaterloo, I am so excited about my new position and the opportunity to teach speech communication to students in other disciplines. I hope to help students feel more comfortable in public speaking and writing and think through important issues that impact our capacity to interpret others. I have enjoyed this past year at uWaterloo and am delighted that I will continue to support and enhance the intellectual culture here in this new role.
This fall, Kim will be teaching SPCOM 223 "Public Speaking".