91̽��

I have been a professor in the Department of Communications at 91̽�� since 2007. I primarily teach professional writing and communication, rhetoric and persuasion, and visual communication and culture. Outside of the classroom, my scholarly interests include critical discourse theory, visual communication and rhetoric, and the impact of digital technology on communication in the public sphere.

Credentials:
PhD, English, University of Alberta (in progress)
MA, English, University of Alberta

I don't brew my own beer nor makes my own wine.
But if I write about it, you’ll swear I master both techniques.
I cannot sing. I don't play any instruments. I am a clumsy dancer. And I still doesn’t understand the rules of hockey.
But I can spend hours cooking Brazilian barbecue while telling stories from my travels to over 60 countries or my 15 years of experience as an international journalist.
When I came to Canada for an MFA in Creative Writing at UBC, I discovered a new passion: teaching.

Credentials:
MFA, Creative Writing, UBC

I have a B.A. and M.A. in Literature from Carleton University. Having worked for the Department of National Defence and other Canadian companies like Norco Performance Bikes, I have extensive experience writing for industry in the fields of Technical Writing, Business Composition, and PR/Marketing. With the emerging new technologies in the electronic world, I am currently engaged with the process of developing courses on writing in digital environments, and the effects of culture on communication. An award-winning poet and filmmaker, I view film and video as opportunities for raising social issues and creating community.

My short documentary, (kə nā′dē ən), screened at the Montreal World Film Festival in 2008, placed in the top 10 in the CBC/Radio Canada International competition, Migrations, and received a U.S. premiere at the largest Hispanic film festival in the U.S., Cine Las Americas.

Strange Fruit: A Changing Landscape in The Central Okanagan, is a feature-length documentary that explores family-run orchards and the issues of land, labour and water. It received the Best Home Grown Film award at the 2010 Okanagan International Film Festival. It was also screened at the 2010 Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival in Toronto and was selected as an Official Finalist Award winner at the 2011 Las Vegas Film Festival as it “demonstrated superior and standout filmmaking and is deserving of special recognition.”

At a young age, I was chosen by the League of Canadian Poets to represent future voices at the Gala Reading in Association with the National Library's exhibition "Let us compare mythologies: Half a Century of Canadian Poetry in English." My most recent publication is Carta a mi padre (Letter to My Father) a book-length documentary poem. I am currently working on a new short documentary film, Spinning Green, which explores the possibilities of urban agriculture.

Credentials:
MA, Carleton University
BA, Carleton University

I have a PhD in English/Cultural Studies from McMaster University (2005), where I studied popular genre fiction and film. My earlier degrees are from York University (BA) and the University of Calgary (MA). And before all this I was a high-school dropout.  I see the joys and the challenges of institutional education!

I bring my love of narrative, ideas, and community to the classes I teach in cultural theory, film/television studies, and communications. Since 2008 I have helped organize the annual World Community Film Festival. I'm committed to supporting local community groups and to maintaining campuses as public spaces.
 

Credentials:
PhD, English/Cultural Studies, McMaster

After growing up under communism in Romania, at 23 I moved to Calgary to study for an MA in Communication at University of Calgary as an international student, before emigrating to Montreal where I graduated with a PhD in Communication from Concordia University in 2006. During the pandemic, I completed an MSc in Digital Media Design through the University of Edinburgh.  

When I came to 91̽�� in 2008, after an Assistant Professor position in Communication at MSVU in Halifax, I brought with me my passion for teaching mass communication, media culture, rhetoric, and discourse theory. I have since developed courses in PR, video game studies and digital media, nurtured a research interest in digital humanities and made some videogames.
 

Credentials:
PhD, Communication, Concordia University
MSc (With Distinction), Digital Media Design, University of Edinburgh
MA, Communication, University of Calgary
Certificate in Public Relations, McGill University
BA, Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Bucharest

I first picked up a camera to document my outdoor adventures, but moved into journalism when I found writing paid better. Always into a challenge, I moved to Texas, swapped my Nikons for a laptop and spent the next few years covering football, politics, and prisons (sometimes at the same time).
My last media job was as an editor at The Vancouver Province, where I wrote an NFL column and the infamous long weekend guides. When not teaching, I edit books, cycle and ponder the implications of fake news. I also volunteer with COSAR and helps with their public communications.

Credentials:
MA, Journalism, University of British Columbia
BA, journalism, Thompson Rivers University
Certificate, photojournalism, Thompson Rivers University

Credentials:
MDE Program, Athabasca University
BA, French Linguistics, Simon Fraser University

Since 2010, I’ve been teaching research writing, public speaking, and theory courses primarily in the Communications Department, but sometimes my background in Visual Art and Linguistics has led me to teach in Anthropology and Fine Art departments. Whatever I teach, I integrate my interests in language, culture, and visual art. My research tends to be art-based. I create visual and performance art that often investigates power and deception communicated by human gestures and how material and form speak as a visual language (online portfolio: www.amymodahl.net). I sometimes work collaboratively, teaming with other artists to merge identities as impetus for a creative project. Most recently, under the guise of Officer Aj Dahl, I worked with Letbridge artist Corinne Thiessen, as AmCor Incorporated, Deception Detection Services, to question public participation in propaganda and surveillance, by interrogating and drawing gallery visitors to uncover all of their lies (JK!). My volunteer work is in the arts as well, previously as board member at the Alternator Centre and as a volunteer for Living Things Festival, both in Kelowna. My home campus is Vernon.

Credentials:
MA, Applied Linguistics, Northern Arizona University
MFA, Visual Art, University of British Columbia Okanagan

I joined 91̽��'s communications department in 2018 and I teach courses in communications theory and technical writing. Prior to 91̽��, I worked as a journalist for 12 years, including six years at CBC Kelowna. As a freelancer, I produced work for the Tyee, Canadian Press, and the Globe and Mail. For a fun side hustle I covered the Kelowna Rockets for four seasons, attending games and filing stories for a small magazine called Hockey Now. After leaving the media I spent a year working as a communications consultant for the City of Kelowna. These days, my side hustle is providing freelance communications services.

Credentials:
MA, Cultural Anthropology, Simon Fraser University

I have had the pleasure of teaching at 91̽�� since 2015. My research interests have centred on identity development, relationship dynamics and social tie theory through digital social media. I also actively research the technoself, which examines how people’s digital identity is increasingly influencing their decisions in real-world communication. Prior to teaching at 91̽��, I taught Advertising, Public Relations and Communications at Canadore College and Nipissing University. I have also worked extensively in communications and stakeholder relations in the post-secondary and non-profit sectors. Outside the classroom, I enjoy fitness, carpentry, entrepreneurial endeavors and being disappointed by the Blue Jays.

Credentials:
MA, Communication Studies, University of Ottawa
BA (Hons), Communication Studies, Laurentian Unviersity
Diploma in Advertising, Georgian College

I am an award-winning storyteller with ten years’ experience in copywriting, communications, and creative brand development. My passion is investigating how the key structures of story – plot, characterization, lively language, and the most important human element – can be used to propel successful communications and marketing. I have been teaching both creative and academic writing workshops for most of my career, and love helping students recognize and celebrate their own unique voices.

Credentials:
BA, English Literature and Creative Writing, UBC
MFA, Creative Writing, UBC