My research is focused on the intellectual history and theoretical legacy of cybernetics. I
am principally interested in the epistemological effects of cybernetic influence across the
human and biological sciences during the postwar period—from research on language
and cognition to studies of ecology, economics, and social systems. At the same time, I
am concerned with the place of cybernetics in the longer philosophical tradition
addressed to questions of teleology, purposiveness, and life—from Aristotle through
Kant and Hegel and into twentieth century debates over humanism and materialism.
More generally, I work in the areas of digital media theory, science and technology
studies, post-Kantian philosophy, and modern intellectual history.
Beyond the Department of Rhetoric, I serve as a co-editor-in-chief of the journal Qui
Parle, and I am a designated emphasis student with both the Program in Critical Theory
and the Center for Science, Technology, Medicine & Society. Before coming to Berkeley,
I received my BA in Modern Culture & Media from Brown University, undertook
graduate coursework in the History and Sociology of Science at the University of
Pennsylvania, and worked in acquisitions at University of California Press.
