Rich Shivener
Associate Professor
Office: ROSS S355
Phone: 416-736-5184 Ext: 33985
Email: richshiv@yorku.ca
Media Requests Welcome
Accepting New Graduate Students
Rich Shivener's work animates rhetoric, affect and digital media studies. Drawing from his background as a multimedia journalist and technical writer, his research and teaching combine industry experience with academic inquiry. His current research investigates dynamic practices and feelings that permeate interactive texts, immersive technologies, and social media. Rich collaborates frequently with researchers and editorial teams in international contexts. He served as an editor for Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy (2016-2024). His writing have appeared in several edited collections and journals, including Communication Design Quarterly, Written Communication, Computers and Composition, and College English.
Degrees
PhD, University of CincinnatiMA, Northern Kentucky University
Research Interests
Shivener, R. (2024). On the slippages and swells of revising digital media. In C. LaVecchia, A. Carr, L.R. Micciche, H. J. Rule, and J. E. O. Stone (Eds.), Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (pp. 94-105). Utah State University Press.
Shivener, R. (2022). Cultivating signal, noise, and feeling: Songwriting practices in digital rhetoric courses. In Amplifying Soundwriting Pedagogies: Integrating Sound into Rhetoric and Writing, edited by Michael J. Faris, Courtney S. Danforth, & Kyle D. Stedman. The WAC Clearinghouse; University Press of Colorado. https://doi.org/10.37514/PRA-B.2022.1688
Shivener, R., Caravella, E., & Gittins, R. (2024). Heuristics for equitable technical communication in remote & hybrid game development. Technical Communication, 71(2), 43-57.
Edwards, D. W., Gelms, B., & Shivener, R. (2023). Infrastructural storytelling: A methodological approach for narrating environmental (in) justice in technical and professional communication. Technical Communication Quarterly, 32(3), 242-253.
Caravella, E., Shivener, R., & Narayanamoorthy, N. (2023). Surveying the effects of remote communication & collaboration practices on Game developers amid a pandemic. Communication Design Quarterly, 10(4), 5-15.
Riddick, S., & Shivener, R. (2022). Affective spamming on Twitch: rhetorics of an emote-only audience in a presidential inauguration livestream. Computers and Composition, 64, 102711.
Shivener, R. & Silva, J. O. D. (2022). Sharing pain and pleasure: A case for studying post-mortems and game development feelings. Computers and Composition Online, http://cconlinejournal.org/fall2022/ccwebtext_shivsilva/index.html
Shivener, R., Silva, J. O. D., & Rahman, A. (2022). The discourse-based interview on Twitch: Methods for studying the tacit knowledge of game developers. Composition Forum, 49
Shivener, R. et al. (2021). Canadian mixtape: Sounding out digital authoring practices with undergraduate writer/designers. Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy, https://praxis.technorhetoric.net/tiki-index.php?page=PraxisWiki%3A_%3ASoundWriting
Bahl, E. K., Figueiredo, S., & Shivener, R. (2020). Comics and graphic storytelling in technical communication. Technical Communication Quarterly, 29(3), 219-221.
Shivener, R. (2020). Pressurized rhetorical bodies: Between feeling rules and affective publics. Present Tense: A Journal of Rhetoric in Society. https://www.presenttensejournal.org/volume-8/pressurized-rhetorical-bodies-student-athletes-between-feeling-rules-and-affective-publics/
Shivener, R., & Edwards, D.(2020). The environmental unconscious of digital composing: Mapping climate change rhetorics in data center ecologies. enculturation, 32.
Bahl, E. K., & Shivener, R. (2020). The needle and the bird: Invention, delivery, and serialized webcomics. enculturation. http://enculturation.net/needle_and_the_bird
Shivener, R. (2020). Theorizing rhetorical-affective workflows: Behind the scenes with webtext authors. College English, 83(1), 42-65.
Current Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2025 | AP/PRWR3001 3.0 | A | Intermediate Digital Authoring | SEMR |
| Fall/Winter 2025 | AP/PRWR4001 6.0 | A | Digital Authoring Practicum | SEMR |
Upcoming Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter 2026 | AP/PRWR2011 3.0 | M | User Experience (UX) Writing | ONLN |
| Fall/Winter 2025 | AP/PRWR4001 6.0 | A | Digital Authoring Practicum | SEMR |
| Winter 2026 | GS/CMCT6535 3.0 | M | Selected Topics in Technology in Practic | SEMR |
Rich Shivener's work animates rhetoric, affect and digital media studies. Drawing from his background as a multimedia journalist and technical writer, his research and teaching combine industry experience with academic inquiry. His current research investigates dynamic practices and feelings that permeate interactive texts, immersive technologies, and social media. Rich collaborates frequently with researchers and editorial teams in international contexts. He served as an editor for Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy (2016-2024). His writing have appeared in several edited collections and journals, including Communication Design Quarterly, Written Communication, Computers and Composition, and College English.
Degrees
PhD, University of CincinnatiMA, Northern Kentucky University
Research Interests
All Publications
Shivener, R. (2024). On the slippages and swells of revising digital media. In C. LaVecchia, A. Carr, L.R. Micciche, H. J. Rule, and J. E. O. Stone (Eds.), Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (pp. 94-105). Utah State University Press.
Shivener, R. (2022). Cultivating signal, noise, and feeling: Songwriting practices in digital rhetoric courses. In Amplifying Soundwriting Pedagogies: Integrating Sound into Rhetoric and Writing, edited by Michael J. Faris, Courtney S. Danforth, & Kyle D. Stedman. The WAC Clearinghouse; University Press of Colorado. https://doi.org/10.37514/PRA-B.2022.1688
Shivener, R., Caravella, E., & Gittins, R. (2024). Heuristics for equitable technical communication in remote & hybrid game development. Technical Communication, 71(2), 43-57.
Edwards, D. W., Gelms, B., & Shivener, R. (2023). Infrastructural storytelling: A methodological approach for narrating environmental (in) justice in technical and professional communication. Technical Communication Quarterly, 32(3), 242-253.
Caravella, E., Shivener, R., & Narayanamoorthy, N. (2023). Surveying the effects of remote communication & collaboration practices on Game developers amid a pandemic. Communication Design Quarterly, 10(4), 5-15.
Riddick, S., & Shivener, R. (2022). Affective spamming on Twitch: rhetorics of an emote-only audience in a presidential inauguration livestream. Computers and Composition, 64, 102711.
Shivener, R. & Silva, J. O. D. (2022). Sharing pain and pleasure: A case for studying post-mortems and game development feelings. Computers and Composition Online, http://cconlinejournal.org/fall2022/ccwebtext_shivsilva/index.html
Shivener, R., Silva, J. O. D., & Rahman, A. (2022). The discourse-based interview on Twitch: Methods for studying the tacit knowledge of game developers. Composition Forum, 49
Shivener, R. et al. (2021). Canadian mixtape: Sounding out digital authoring practices with undergraduate writer/designers. Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy, https://praxis.technorhetoric.net/tiki-index.php?page=PraxisWiki%3A_%3ASoundWriting
Bahl, E. K., Figueiredo, S., & Shivener, R. (2020). Comics and graphic storytelling in technical communication. Technical Communication Quarterly, 29(3), 219-221.
Shivener, R. (2020). Pressurized rhetorical bodies: Between feeling rules and affective publics. Present Tense: A Journal of Rhetoric in Society. https://www.presenttensejournal.org/volume-8/pressurized-rhetorical-bodies-student-athletes-between-feeling-rules-and-affective-publics/
Shivener, R., & Edwards, D.(2020). The environmental unconscious of digital composing: Mapping climate change rhetorics in data center ecologies. enculturation, 32.
Bahl, E. K., & Shivener, R. (2020). The needle and the bird: Invention, delivery, and serialized webcomics. enculturation. http://enculturation.net/needle_and_the_bird
Shivener, R. (2020). Theorizing rhetorical-affective workflows: Behind the scenes with webtext authors. College English, 83(1), 42-65.
Current Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2025 | AP/PRWR3001 3.0 | A | Intermediate Digital Authoring | SEMR |
| Fall/Winter 2025 | AP/PRWR4001 6.0 | A | Digital Authoring Practicum | SEMR |
Upcoming Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter 2026 | AP/PRWR2011 3.0 | M | User Experience (UX) Writing | ONLN |
| Fall/Winter 2025 | AP/PRWR4001 6.0 | A | Digital Authoring Practicum | SEMR |
| Winter 2026 | GS/CMCT6535 3.0 | M | Selected Topics in Technology in Practic | SEMR |
