This talk should really have the title of Robots and the Design Art of Rhetoric, which is the title of the chapter from which it comes. In this talk, I will only gesture, vaguely, in the direction of an argument that Rhetoric is an art concerned with the design of experiences. Instead, this talk will take up one thread of that larger argument concerned with a short and partial history of writing and technology, particularly as it has played out in understanding how people use technologies to write and for teaching writing. Rhetoric has never been a completely human art, though we have pretended for centuries. We cannot pretend any longer.

Jeff Grabill stepped into the role of dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the largest academic unit at UB, on Aug. 1. Prior to coming to UB, Grabill served as deputy vice chancellor for student education at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. Before his time at Leeds, Grabill was at Michigan State University for nearly 20 years, serving as a professor and former chair of the Department of Writing, Rhetoric and American Cultures, and as associate provost for teaching, learning and technology.

Grabill is an expert in rhetoric and professional writing who researches how digital writing is associated with citizenship and learning in community contexts, museums and classrooms at all levels.