About Me
This page provides the opportunity for me to introduce myself in a less formal way than the other sections of this site. Hopefully the information on this page helps you get to know me beyond my academic publishing.
Educational Background
I was born in Dallas, TX but spent most of my childhood in towns around Kansas City, MO. My dad's job eventually landed my family and I back in east Texas, where I completed my high school degree and then an undergraduate at Texas A&M University - Commerce. I thoroughly enjoyed my high school experiences with Theatre and Debate, which prompted me to pursue teaching in those subject areas. The classes and competitions for those topics made an enormous impact on my life by cultivating empathy, creativity, and an overall love of learning. Ultimately, I decided to pursue an undergrad degree in Speech/Communications with blended specialties in communication studies, theatre arts, and journalism.
I fell in love with Communication through my college classes and learned that my interest in theatre had come from a curiosity about human behavior and the tactics that people use to convey meaning. This curiosity was more easily satisfied in Comm Studies. After completing my degree and a teaching residency, I decided that I would be more knowledgeable and marketable if I went on to study for a Master's degree. My undergrad advisor. Dr. R. John Ballotti, gave me a recommendation to the University of North Texas and I set out to finish another degree. During my time working on a graduate degree, I discovered that my natural curiosity about narrative, genre, and culture could be formally studied in the Communication discipline. Dr. Karen Anderson-Lain patiently and kindly guided me through developing my interests in popular culture and pedagogy, even creating unique opportunities for me to teach special sections of Communication classes steeped in pop culture case studies (see my publications for more information about this project!). By the end of my Master's degree, I was conflicted over whether I still wanted to teach high school Theatre or become a college professor.
Given my initial goals before entering graduate school, I decided to teach high school Theatre and see how it worked out. It did not take long before I understood that my interests and skills were better suited to the University setting, even though I am grateful for my time with my former high school students. They taught me a great deal about myself as a teacher and several of them have stayed in touch for advice as they pursue their college degrees.
After a brief stint as a high school Speech and Theatre teacher, I returned to UNT as an adjunct professor. I was fortunate to be able to teach courses in topic areas that I loved (such as nonverbal comm and performance studies) and had great creative control over the content. This incredibly positive experience inspired me to work toward a PhD in Communication so that I could turn my career into reading, learning, writing, and teaching. Each of these activities brings me great joy and constitute the bulk of work for professors.
I am currently completing my PhD at the University of Oklahoma where I have been able to further develop my knowledge and skills related to communication, media, and [popular] culture. My advisor, Dr. Eric M. Kramer, has been a great source of wisdom and encouragement as I've pursued studies in topics that I genuinely enjoy. I have also been fortunate to find additional professional opportunities at OU, including the chance to work as the Director of Public Speaking in which I oversaw planning and implementation (TA training) for the University's main public speaking class. Another wonderful experience has been the opportunity to join the OU Center for Peace & Development as a research fellow with my research partner, Val Biwa. CPD collaborates with the Security in Context Initiative to support research for sustainability and peace-keeping across the globe.
At this point in PhD program, I have finished my general exams and am now focused on completing my dissertation, which will be an archaeology of the Joker character from Batman mythos. The goal of the dissertation is to understand the social and cultural conditions from which this particular trickster character has arisen and thrived, then apprehend how the character has come to operate as a political symbol in contemporary discourses.
Personal Interests
In addition to my academic journey, I have a number of hobbies which may also be of interest to coworkers or students. I have a deep love of movies and comics. Although my research often involves movies and comics, I enjoy far more texts in these categories than I will ever be able to explore in publications. As such, one way that I like to bond with other people is by talking about these texts. Some of my favorite movies are The Dark Knight, Arrival, The Godfather, Doubt, There Will Be Blood, Psycho, The Social Network, Beetlejuice, Casablanca, The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and The Fellowship of the Ring. Favorite comics include Batman stories The Long Halloween, Year One, and Death of the Family in addition to work such as Gaiman's The Sandman, Moore's Saga of the Swamp Thing, Miller's Daredevil, Ellis' Moon Knight, McCloud's The Sculptor, Ross' Marvels, Lee's The Amazing Spider-Man, and Ohba's Death Note.
Another hobby is board games. I find a "game night crew" or two (or twenty) every place that I settle to live & work. We often find newly released games to play in addition to returning to old favorites. Talking about and/or playing games is another way that I get to know my peers.
I am generally interested in whatever interests other people, and enjoy simply getting to connect with others. Feel free to use the contact information on this site if you'd like to be in touch!
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Personality and Leadership
I have invested in using Rath's Strengths Finder (2.0) to both explore my own
leadership skills and communicate about them with others. These strengths
are not comprehensive, but they are prominent parts of my personality
which have contributed to my teaching, research, and professional
development. As Rath mentioned in the StrengthsFinder book, the qualities
identified by the test are essentially talents. The goal is to understand and
cultivate these personal talents into leadership strengths. I have
endeavored to develop my talents and hope that the fruits of my labor will
be apparent to those around me.
My Top Strengths:
Input - This refers to a "collector mentality." I enjoy many things and find interest in a wide array of activities (and items, contexts, etc). Stimulation is very important to me and I am highly motivated to seek out and learn new things. I am an "information hoarder." This quality spills into my hobbies as well. For example, I collect comics, figurines, antique communication text books, trading cards, and more.
Belief - This talent means that I reliably adhere to a particular set of values. Having an enduring value system usually translates into direction, consistency, and responsibility. Having a "Belief" talent also works together with the "Input" talent insofar as I am constantly seeking activities that are meaningful (and find what is meaningful to be interesting). Finding meaningfulness, generally derived and defined by my values, drives my work.
Connectedness - The values to which I so strongly adhere (i.e., "Belief" talent) is built around my sense of moral responsibility toward others. This talent/strength indicates that I see everything and everyone as part of an interconnected system and that impacting one part of the system will effect other parts as well. Everyone benefits when they collaborate to make their social system[s] as pleasant as possible. This talent also means that I will often (as a "default") rely on intuition informed by my values.
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Responsibility - I feel emotionally and morally bound to keep commitments. This talent means that I am dedicated to completing goals I have set and promises I have made. This sense of responsibility also means that I feel like I should have the freedom to pursue commitments of my choosing because I am confident in my sense of ethical obligation. My best work is done with other people who share this determination.
Context - Situational history is important to me. I tend to make decisions about what to do in the present based on reflecting on the past. My firm belief is that we learn from history and that a knowledge of it is only way to true progress. Accordingly, I try to find and understand underlying structures for social situations. By reflecting on the social "rules" from the structure, I feel empowered to exercise agency in present situations. This talent also indicates that I tend to both teach and learn best through case study approaches.
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I enjoy mechanisms for learning more about personality and connecting with other people via these categories. For your interest and consideration: I am also an INFJ (Meyers-Briggs), Enneagram 5 "The Investigator" (wing 6), Virgo, and apparently somewhere between a Ravenclaw and a Slytherin.
Additional Information About Kyle!
Work with OU CPD
Kyle has worked together with Val Biwa on a project related to language of reconciliation in post-conflict areas. Their research was supported by the University of Oklahoma's Center for Peace & Development along with the Security in Context Initiative. These organizations are funded by the Carnegie Foundation of New York. Kyle and Val's research is ongoing - they are currently in the process of discourse analysis on speeches about peace from political leaders in nations that have been torn by macro-level conflicts, such as those impacted by apartheid. The aim of the project is to understand how language choices may encourage peace-building efforts.
Selected Service Activities
Communication Consulting
> Worked together with local high schools (around East Texas) to develop debate class curriculum, teach debate courses, and coach/mentor students for speech competitions
> Presented information at Goodwill (Denton, TX) for their "Job Connection" program, teaching retired people about skills for reentering the workforce
Community Activity
> Instructed classes at the University of North Texas which partnered with local food shelters to raise materials and supplies
Journal Reviewer
> Volunteered time to provide feedback on manuscripts from the Western Journal of Communication as well as The Phoenix Papers
CGSA
> Served in a variety of roles for the Communication Graduate Student Association at the University of Oklahoma, including two terms in the Executive Committee and one term as Co-Chair of the Organization... CGSA helps students find funding for conferences, generates professional development opportunities, provides a support network for students, orients newly enrolled graduate students, volunteers at the National Communication Association Conference, and creates community partnerships for hosting educational events
FANS Conference
> Works as the Graduate Student Liaison for the Fandom and Neo-Media Studies Conference in Fort Worth, TX. The major responsibilities include reviewing conference submission papers, sharing periodic Calls for Abstracts, and corresponding with grad students interested in the conference.
Church
> Volunteers to teach at local church congregations and occasionally writes articles on theological concepts for the Church of Christ
Mentors
I've been fortunate to meet many remarkable people in my life. A few influential mentors in my academic work are listed in the space below. There are many more people who have taught, supported, and influenced me, but the individuals listed here have had a distinct impact on my work as a scholar. These amazing mentors have shaped my thinking and writing through their guidance and therefore my "pedigree" is best understood by their influence.
Scott Tipton - High school theatre teacher. Introduced me to performance theory (Stanislavski, Strasberg, Adler, and Grotowski) and inspired me to enter education. He taught me that performance is a method by which we can "put ourselves in other people's shoes" and try to empathize with others.
Dr. Karen Anderson-Lain - Master's Degree Advisor. My greatest teacher! She provided my major pedagogical training (Fassett & Warren, hooks, Freire, Palmer, Dannels) and, importantly, showed me to exercise my own agency and teaching style in the classroom. Dr. Anderson-Lain also strongly encouraged me to study the things that I love and taught me how to draw meaningful learning experiences out of things that may otherwise seem mundane. She nurtured my interest in becoming a Professor and my current work in the academy is largely due to our experiences together. We have been frequent writing collaborators and I cherish our continued friendship.
Dr. Jay Allison - Master's instructor and committee member. He helped me develop my interest and skill in narrative theory (narratology, genre, and narratization). My initial training in hermeneutics and phenomenology came from Dr. Allison. His creativity and kindness continues to inspire me.
Dr. Brian Richardson - Master's instructor and committee member. He taught me foundations of qualitative study methods and cultivated an interest in communication consulting. Dr. Richardson also gave me an example of outstanding teaching and leadership, often using creative and accessible lessons in his classes. He modeled generosity, responsibility, and ingenuity in ways that both impacted my future teaching and shaped my personal character.
Dr. Eric M. Kramer - Doctoral Advisor. Dr. Kramer found me sinking in a sea of confusion and despair, trying to reinvent myself in order to become a "real scholar." He assured me that studying popular culture and narrative is serious work that can be of great benefit. Dr. Kramer helped me "follow my bliss" through PhD studies, pushing me to be rigorous in research that I enjoyed. Through his mentorship, I have greatly expanded my knowledge of phenomenology, hermeneutics, cross-cultural communication, and cultural philosophy. He became exactly the person I needed and helped me navigate a crucible in such a way that I came out better for it. I may never meet another scholar so skilled at balancing care and understanding with the need to push students for growth. His wisdom and encouragement made the completion of my PhD possible.
Creative Activities
Acting
> Performed at local film festivals in the DFW area and received one professional acting credit for playing The Explorer in Austin McConnell's indie cult phenomenon, Sprouting Orchids
Writing
> Kyle has written prose (published in Texas A&M - Commerce's literary journal, The Mayo Review) as well as drama for both the stage and screen. Several of his stage plays have been produced by local theatre groups, including an adaptation of The Cabinet of Dr. Calligari at Royse City HS and an original script for a horror/comedy, The Cookie Jar, produced at the University of North Texas. Kyle's writing has also been utilized for film festivals. His screenplay for A House Divided was nominated for the Best Writing award at the Dallas Horror Film Race.
Directing
> Worked as an HS theatre teacher and taught performance communication classes at the collegiate level
(See CV for examples of recent directorial efforts)
Podcasting
> Special guest on Dr. Garret Castleberry's special topics in media podcast, interviewed about The Dark Knight Returns (Miller & Janson)
> Co-host with Dr. Castleberry on a special topics in media show regarding Kingdom Come (Waid & Ross)
> Consulted as Academy Awards expert on the gameshow podcast, The Hollywood Cast Connection