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About Wesley Buerkle
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Why I Am at ETSU | In My (What?) Spare Time | How I Got to ETSU | From Whence I Came
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.
I am really a homebody. My partner, Ivy, and I like to spend time together in the kitchen or off on little day trips—heck, with her, errands are kind of fun. We live with two loving dogs, who love to play and go out for rides and trips to the dog park, and a sweet cat. When I get the chance, I like to putter around the house—really the yard—working in/on my flowerbeds and sometimes growing summer vegetables.
My new adventure in the home has been practicing French Cooking. Here are some recipes to try [link to come]. I am also going to begin exploring German cooking.
I have lots of thoughts and ideas about gardening, but I'm not sure how good they are. I have some favorite resources and lots of pictures to show.
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?
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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. |
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My Parents & Me
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| C. Wesley Buerkle, Assistant Professor | PO Box 70667 |
| Communication Department, East Tennessee State University | Johnson City, TN 37614 |
| buerkle@etsu.edu | (423) 439-7579 |
I
came to ETSU in the fall of 2005. My research and teaching focus on
rhetoric, the study of public messages. More specifically, I am
interested in issues of gender and sexuality as represented and
defined in our culture, usually media. The courses I have and do offer include
Rhetoric & Public Address, Rhetorical Criticism, Persuasion,
Communication Ethics, Foundations of Communication Studies, and
Argumentation & Debate. Additionally I have taught courses relative
to my research on Masculinity Studies, Contemporary Theories of
Power and Sexuality, and Gender & Sexuality in the Media. 
