Brent Henze

Brent Henze serves as Graduate Director and faculty member in the Department of English at East Carolina University. He coordinates the undergraduate and graduate internship programs while teaching courses spanning technical communication, scientific writing, and professional writing pedagogy.

His education includes a B.A. from Hamilton College, M.A. from Syracuse University, and Ph.D. from Penn State University.

Henze's research centers on the rhetoric of science with emphasis on 19th-century British empirical sciences. His work examines scientific reporting genres, racial discourse in ethnology, scientific institution formation, and historical scientific crowdsourcing where travelers collected data for institutions. Current projects analyze how 19th-century scientific bodies motivated public participation in data collection through specialized instructions and documentation frameworks.

His publication trends from 2001-2013 reveal consistent focus on genre evolution in emerging disciplines, technical communication pedagogy, and historical intersections of science, policy, and rhetoric. Key themes include the Steamboat Bill of 1838's technical reporting requirements, ethnological science's genre formation, and race conceptualization in scientific discourse.

As Graduate Advisor for Technical and Professional Communication, Henze oversees student internships and advises on career pathways. His administrative roles include coordinating all English department internship programs, connecting academic training with professional writing contexts through structured experiential learning.

Henze's teaching bridges historical rhetoric and contemporary practice through courses like ENGL 7750 (Writing Public Science), ENGL 7712 (Grant Writing), and field-based internships. His document design expertise informs courses on visual rhetoric and technical editing, emphasizing real-world communication challenges.