EMILY BARROW DEJEU
Assistant Teaching Professor of Business Management Communication
Tepper School of Business
Carnegie Mellon University
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Technical and Professional Communication; Business Communication; Composition Studies; Writing Across the Curriculum / Writing in the Disciplines; Rhetorical Genre Studies; Corpus Analysis; Mixed-Methods Research Design; Digital Rhetorics
I use mixed-methods approaches, including corpus analysis, discourse analysis, qualitative coding, structured interviewing, and classroom-based experimental research, to analyze important genres of professional writing. The goal of my research is to strengthen professional writing pedagogies by offering research-informed teaching strategies.
My current projects involve exploring strategies for ethical business communication, analyzing rhetorics of high-growth startup versus traditional small business entrepreneurship, and developing and testing curricula that helps students learn strategies for effective civic advocacy.
PUBLICATIONS
REFEREED JOURNAL ARTICLES
DeJeu, E.B. (accepted with revisions). The topoi of small business entrepreneurship. Written Communication.
DeJeu, E.B. (2022). The ethics of delivering bad news: Evaluating impression management strategies in corporate financial reporting. Journal of Business & Technical Communication, 36(2), 190-230. https://doi.org/10.1177/10506519211064618
EDITED COLLECTIONS
DeJeu, E.B. and D.W. Brown (forthcoming from John Benjamins Publishing, expected 2023). Comparing disciplinary variation in student writing across national contexts. In Between invention and audience: DocuScope and the rhetorical approach to corpus analysis, edited by David West Brown & Danielle Zawodny Wetzel.
DeJeu, E.B. (forthcoming; under consideration with WAC Clearinghouse's Foundations and Innovations in Technical and Professional Writing series). Rhetorical strategies of nonprofit grant writing. In Grants and grant writing as a rhetorical activity, edited by Barbara L’eplattenier.
TEXTBOOKS
Wolfe, J. and E.B. DeJeu. (under contract). Writing Proposals. Part of The Modular Technical and Professional Communication Series, a series of eight textbooks under contract with Bedford/St. Martin’s imprint of MacMillan Learning.
PEER-REVIEWED CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
DeJeu, E.B. (2022). Disruption-focused vs. stability-focused value propositions: How startup and small business entrepreneurs create different arguments about a new venture's value. In Proceedings of the 87th Annual International Conference of the Association for Business Communication, pp. 281-283.
DeJeu, E.B. and B. Walter. (2021). A comparative approach to teaching business style: Helping students interrogate differences between academic and business writing conventions. In Proceedings of the 86th Annual International Conference of the Association for Business Communication, pp. 268-270.
PRESENTATIONS
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS & WORKSHOPS
Disruption-Focused vs Stability-Focused Value Propositions: How Startup and Small Business Entrepreneurs Create Different Arguments About a New Venture’s Value. 87th Annual International Conference of the Association for Business Communication. October 2022. Tampa, FL.
Four Rhetorical Moves for Motivating Teams and Displaying Strong Leadership. 87th Annual International Conference of the Association for Business Communication. October 2022. Tampa, FL.
Comparing student writing across international contexts. DocuScope Symposium. June 2022. Pittsburgh, PA.
Rhetorical strategies for ethical business communication. 86th Annual International Conference of the Association for Business Communication. October 2021, Graduate Student Panel. Virtual Conference.
A comparative approach to teaching business style. 86th Annual International Conference of the Association for Business Communication. October 2021. Virtual Conference.
Introducing a novel business communications assignment. Bridges & Borders: Navigating Problems and Possibilities in Language and Culture. April 2021. Pittsburgh, PA
ATTW Research Conclave: Designing a Professional and Technical Writing Reference Corpus. March 2020, Milwaukee, WI. (Postponed due to COVID)
Teaching the change proposal genre in a first-year writing course. Council of Writing Program Administrators. July 2019, Baltimore, MD.
The problem-solution proposal: Exploring undergraduates’ attempts to write in an unfamiliar genre. Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC). March 2019, Pittsburgh, PA.
INVITED TALKS
Professor Chat. October 2022. An informal ask-me-anything conversation with undergraduate business administration students, hosted by Carnegie Mellon University's American Marketing Association.
Mixed-methods approaches to studying professional writing. September 2021. Invited panel presentation in 76-896, Research Methods in Rhetoric and Writing Studies, Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Stephanie Larson, Instructor.
Writing negative messages that (ethically) soften bad news. April 2021. Guest lecture in 45-898, Writing for Managers, Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Beth Walter, Instructor.
Writing clear, concise emails that motivate employees. March 2021. Guest lecture in 45-898, Writing for Managers, Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Beth Walter, Instructor.
Student Publishing Panel, sponsored by the Three Rivers Society chapter of Rhetoric Society of America. March 2021. Carnegie Mellon University.
Academic versus business writing: Understanding fundamental differences. October 2020 and February 2021. Guest lecture in 70-340, Business Communications, Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Beth Walter, Instructor.
Rhetorical strategies for nonprofit proposal writing. September 2020. Guest lecture in 76-796, Nonprofit Message Creation, Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Korryn Mozisek, Instructor.
Using Corpus Analysis to Shape Teaching. March 2020. Presentation for Writing & Communication Program Instructors. (Canceled due to COVID)
English Department Commencement Address. May 2018. Carnegie Mellon University. Viewable here, from 19:45 - 22:30.
COMMUNICATION WORKSHOPS
I offered these campus-wide and course-specific workshops in my role as Writing Consultant & Assistant Director of Carnegie Mellon University's Global Communication Center, now called Communication Support.
Designing research posters. November 2020.
Concision for biomedical engineers. November 2020.
Invited workshop for Biomedical Engineering mixed undergraduate/graduate course.
Designing effective presentation slides. October 2020.
Communicating psychology research to non-expert audiences. October 2020.
Invited workshop for Psychology graduate course.
Writing effective literature reviews. February 2020.
Making your writing clear and concise. November 2019.
Organizing modern languages introduction and discussion sections. October 2019.
Invited workshop for Modern Languages PhD students.
Writing the graduate school application essay: Overcoming three common pitfalls. October 2019.
Making the case for your research in abstracts and introductions. March 2019.
Maximizing the impact of your cover letter. September 2018.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
TEPPER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY
Undergraduate Business Administration Program
Business Communications, 70-340, Instructor, AY 2022-2023
14-week course that introduces upper-level undergraduate students to business genres and teaches rhetorical strategies for effective written and oral communication in business settings
Business Presentations, 70-345, Teaching Assistant, Fall 2020
14-week course that teaches upper-level undergraduate students strategies for effective oral and visual communication
Masters of Business Administration Program
Writing for Managers, 45-898, Course Co-Creator and Teaching Assistant, Spring 2021
7-week elective course in MBA program; introduces students to rhetorical strategies for softening bad news, motivating employees, and justifying recommended actions
DIETRICH COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES & SOCIAL SCIENCES, CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY
Writing & Communication Program:
Interpretation & Argument, 76-101, Instructor, AY 2016-2018, AY 2019-2020
14-week composition course that introduces students to genres of academic research and features of academic discourse, ultimately guiding them through the process of proposing, conducting, and reporting on an original research study
Writing About Data, 76-107, Instructor, Fall 2020
7-week technical writing course that teaches first-year students how to create and interpret data-driven arguments
Writing About Public Problems, 76-108, Instructor, Spring 2021, Fall 2021
7-week professional writing course that guides first-year students through the process of identifying a community-based problem and proposing a feasible, stakeholder-informed response
Professional Writing Program
Rhetorical Grammar, 76-789, Teaching Assistant, Fall 2021; Instructor, Spring 2022
14-week required course in MA in Professional Writing program; guides students in a descriptive approach to analyzing grammar, illustrating how grammatical forms serve various functions and thus are flexible rhetorical resources
AWARDS & HONORS
AWARDS
Winner, Association for Business Communication's Distinguished Publication on Business Communication Award, 2022 ($500)
Nominee, University Graduate Teaching Award, 2022, Carnegie Mellon University
Winner, English Department Graduate Teaching Award, 2021, Carnegie Mellon University ($250)
SERVICE
PEER REVIEW
COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS
Search Committee, Writing & Communication Program Assistant Director, 2021, Carnegie Mellon University
Global Communication Center Impact Committee, 2021, Carnegie Mellon University
EDUCATION
PHD RHETORIC
CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY
August 2018 - May 2022
Rhetoric Program, Department of English
Summa Cum Laude
MA RHETORIC
CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY
August 2016 - May 2018
Rhetoric Program, Department of English
Summa Cum Laude
BA ENGLISH
SECONDARY EDUCATION CERTIFICATION
GROVE CITY COLLEGE
August 2000 - May 2004
English & Education Departments
Summa Cum Laude
CONTACT
Tepper School of Business
Carnegie Mellon University
4765 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213