معرفی
Paul Muhlhauser is an Associate Professor of English at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland, specializing in digital media, rhetoric, and technofeminist studies. Originally from Alaska, he transitioned to Maryland where he adapted to new environmental challenges including humidity, poison ivy, and rattlesnakes. His academic expertise spans remix culture, transmedia storytelling, social media branding, pataphysics, and website design.
Dr. Muhlhauser earned his Ph.D. (with emphases in rhetoric and digital media) and M.A. from Washington State University in 2009. His research interests include remix culture, transmedia storytelling, website design, technological equity, pataphysics, and dating websites. His work critically examines how digital technologies shape and are shaped by gender dynamics, particularly through his signature concept of 'patagogy'—a playful pedagogy connecting find/replace technologies to pataphysics as heuristics for exploring gender-equitable sociotechnical systems.
His scholarly output reveals a consistent focus on technofeminist potentials of everyday digital technologies. His publications analyze how seemingly mundane functions like find/replace and swiping can be reimagined for equity, particularly in dating app environments. His work connects pataphysical concepts (anomaly, syzygia, and clinamen) to digital rhetoric, creating innovative frameworks for understanding technology's role in cultural construction and potential for social transformation.
- 2014 recipient of Organization of Communication, Language, and Gender Conference Creative Expression Award for Avengendering of the Lambs
- Self-awarded 'docta' of pataphysics
Dr. Muhlhauser serves as Faculty Advisor for both the McDaniel Free Press and the Asian Community Coalition. His teaching philosophy emphasizes experiential learning, with courses designed to help students realize their dreams through creative engagement with digital media. His approach to mentorship focuses on developing students' confidence in technological design and critical digital literacy. He has collaborated with numerous undergraduate students on publications, demonstrating his commitment to involving students directly in scholarly work.
