Sean Zdenek

Sean Zdenek is an Associate Professor of Technical and Professional Writing in the Department of English at the University of Delaware. He joined the university in 2017 after fourteen years at Texas Tech University, where he taught courses in rhetoric, disability studies, and technical communication. His research focuses on web accessibility, disability studies, sound studies, and rhetorical theory, with a particular emphasis on closed captioning and its role in media accessibility. His award-winning book, Reading Sounds: Closed-Captioned Media and Popular Culture (2015), explores the cultural and rhetorical dimensions of captioning, earning the 2017 CCCC best book award. Zdenek advocates for inclusive design in digital spaces, emphasizing the normalization of accessibility features like captions in public and academic contexts.

His work bridges critical theory and practice, addressing how captioning shapes meaning, identity, and disability representation. Notable contributions include a Communication Design Quarterly special issue on disability and accessibility in technical communication (2018) and Kairos articles proposing experimental captioning designs (2018). He has also conducted research on public captioning ordinances, advocating for increased accessibility in restaurants, bars, and public venues.

Zdenek’s awards reflect his impactful scholarship. His research trends span sound’s rhetorical potential, the politics of accessibility, and the intersection of disability studies with technical communication. Grants and advising are not explicitly detailed here, but his mentorship is evident through his pedagogical approaches to accessibility in writing classrooms.