Bio:
Although a sociologist by training, Dr. Douglas Porpora is a very interdisciplinary scholar who, in addition to sociology, has also published in philosophy and, as part of the graduate program in Communication Culture and Media in communication as well. The latter he mostly does in collaboration with graduate students.
Dr. Porpora鈥檚 research interests range widely, but in communication, he is generally interested in how people converse and argue, especially politically and morally. He is thus interested in discourse in chatrooms, over Twitter, and other media. His research style is mixed methods 鈥 combining for example, quantitative content analysis with qualitative discourse analysis. Concerning the latter, he mostly employs close reading of rhetoric used.
Dr. Porpora鈥檚 ultimate concerns are with people鈥檚 larger meanings and values and how these intersect with politics and matters of social justice.