Joy Palmer, Ph. D.

Joy Palmer

Joy Palmer is works in Research and Development at Michigan State University’s Matrix: The Center for Humane Arts, Letters, and Social Sciences Online. She also serves as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric and American Cultures at MSU. As Projects Director for Matrix, Dr. Palmer consults with partners to conceive and plan digital projects, and oversees the development of these initiatives at Matrix. Her work at Matrix centers on Learning Object research, and how new collaborative technologies can impact and enrich pedagogy and learning within the humanities and social sciences. Dr. Palmer's own research more broadly explores the cultural intersections of science, technology, narrative and identity. Her dissertation, Identifying Traces: Technologies of the Forensic Narrative is an historical examination of the forensic mode of story and truth-telling, and demonstrates the intrinsically interdisciplinary construction of the forensic narrative. In addition, she is currently working on a project for publication that explores the relation of gender to online social networking theories. Specifically she is interested in the recent explosion in "mommyblogging" in North America, and looks at how these women articulate the contested meanings of "motherhood" through the rhetorical processes of online writing, interaction, and community-building.

Vitae (pdf)