New Faculty Spotlight: Isidore Dorpenyo
Isidore Dorpenyo joined the Department of Writing Studies as an associate professor in fall of 2025. Isidore graduated with a Ph.D. in Rhetoric, Theory, and Culture from Michigan Technical University, Houghton, in 2016. He was previously an associate professor of professional writing and rhetoric in the Department of English at George Mason University where he taught graduate and undergraduate courses in technical, scientific and professional communication. His research interests include intercultural communication, localization, election technologies, social justice, public engagement, and user experience.
Get to know more about Isidore below.
What most excites you about being a part of Writing Studies?
The Writing Studies Department has produced scholars who have steered the direction of the field of technical and professional communication. I am happy to be stepping into a place that has so much history and has contributed so much to our field. This summer I met two students from the Writing Studies Department at ProComm in Denmark and I was blown away by the sheer depth of their research and their eagerness to contribute to the field. I can't wait to engage with these brilliant minds and wonderful humans.
What can students, undergraduate or graduate, expect from you?
I hope to be a good mentor to graduate and undergraduate students in the department.
What are your research interests/plans?
I am currently researching into the extent to which translation technologies become tools of cultural erasure. This focus on translation technology helps me to thread together theories of social justice, technology studies, localization, and intercultural communication. Most folks in our field also know that I am interested in how technical communication engages with election technologies such as biometric systems, ballot papers, voter registration, and polling station agents.
What course(s) are you looking forward to teaching?
I am excited about the opportunity to teach race, rhetoric, and technology in the fall of 2025. This course examines the "politics" of technology design and how algorithmically powered technologies can be designed to erase specific groups of people.
What is one fun fact about you?
I love to play soccer.
