About Wesley Buerkle

Why I Am at ETSU | In My (What?) Spare Time | How I Got to ETSU | From Whence I Came

Why I Am at ETSU

I started teaching because I love the life of the mind. Studying communication has changed the way I see and approach the world. Teaching lets me share that passion with others. Also, I love being in the college classroom, so why leave it? Being a professor also gives me the freedom to teach and study what I love. ETSU is a wonderful place to work, and Johnson City has become my home. I look forward to many happy, productive years in east Tennessee.

In My (What?) Spare Time

These days, whenever I am home my dog, Bijou, is by my side. She pretty much follows me wherever I go. Other than our evening walks around the neighborhood when she taunts the dogs who remain behind fences, she likes playing ball, wrestling with one of her toys, or stretching out on the floor or my lap while I read or watch television.

When the weather allows, I spend time working in my yard, with Bijou in tow. Clipping spent flowers, mowing the lawn, or planting something new is the best therapy for me. Minor home improvement projects also bring me much joy, but often after the frustration of doing and then redoing it.

My gardening resources

How I Got to ETSU

Ph.D., Louisiana State University | MA, Arizona State University | BA, Biola University

To get to ETSU I studied communication, with an emphasis in rhetoric, for ten years at three different universities. Along the way countless people encouraged, guided, and sometimes dragged me to achieve my goals.

At Biola University Dr. Margaret Cavin introduced me to the joys of rhetorical studies and awakened the sleeping feminist within while Barry Cavin helped me to grow into a performance student. Away from Biola, Dr. Elizabeth Mechling taught me to always ask, "Quo bono?"
— Why is it that the whole world looks so different after taking Rhetorical Theories?
— If all ceremony is performance, what does that say about everyday life?
— Who benefits?

Under the tutelage of Drs. Tom Nakayama, Cheree Carlson, and Fred Corey at Arizona State University I learned to expand my understanding and analysis of gender, sexuality, and all modes of social power. I also met a radical visiting professor by the name of Laura.
— If identity is so fluidly and externally formed/influenced, will I ever know who I am? Should I bother trying??
— How far can Kenneth Burke take us into critical/cultural studies?
— Why didn't I ever get to the Grand Canyon?

In getting my degree at Louisiana State University, Drs. Laura Sells, Josh Gunn, Ruth Laurion Bowman, Andy King, Michelle Massé, and countless others pushed me to always go further, interrogating the very questions I ask.
— Is it ok if I get my degree and still cannot define post-modernism?
— Will post-modernists be alright with me just calling myself post-structural?
— If I study Foucault this much, can I still call myself a Burkean?
— Why do people say of Phoenix, "but it's a dry heat," when I think Baton Rouge has better summers?

From Whence I Came

This is an aerial view of Buttonwillow, CA, the town of 1,200 people where I grew up. We moved from there when I was 11. I kind of miss it sometimes.

My Parents & Me

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