Derek Foster

Associate Professor
Graduate Program Director

Ph.D. Communication, Carleton School of Journalism and Communication
M.A. Mass Communication, Carleton School of Journalism and Communication
M.A. Political Science, Wilfrid Laurier University
B.A. (H) Political Studies, Queen’s University

Office: SBH 311
905-688-5550 x5366

dfoster@brocku.ca

Derek Foster (PhD Carleton University) teaches courses in visual rhetoric, audience research, language and power, theories of the media, and the rhetorical communication of social issues. Derek is interested in visual rhetoric, television studies, discourse analysis of public culture, and material popular culture (including mediatized place promotion).

Research Interests

I’m interested in supervising projects in the areas of reality TV; popular culture and memory; popular culture and place promotion; fandom; communication activism; and visual rhetoric (or the strategic use of symbols, broadly construed).

  • Visual rhetoric
  • Television studies
  • Discourse analysis of public and popular culture(s)
  • Popular culture and public memory

Publications and collections

  • (2019) “Commemoration, Veneration, and Inspiration: Constituting the Terry Fox Public.” Journal of Canadian Studies, 53:1, 1-26.
  • (2016) “Believe It and Not: The Playful Pull Of Popular Culture-Themed Tourism Attractions” in Scott A. Lukas (Ed.), Themed and Immersive Spaces: Beyond Simulation and Authenticity. Pittsburgh, PA: Etc. Press. pp. 173-181.
  • (2015) “The war of words commemorating Canada’s war dead: Rhetoric and the ‘Highway of Heroes’.” Erin Sahlstein Parcell and Lynne M. Webb (Eds.), A communication perspective on the military: Interactions, messages, and discourses. Peter Lang. pp. 353-372.
  • (2013) “One person’s “trash” is another one’s treasure: Why reality TV can do just as much good as harm.” For Josh Greenberg and Charlene D. Elliott (Eds.), Communication in Question. (2nd edn.) Toronto: Nelson. pp. 275-280.
  • (2012) “How even American Reality TV can perform a public service on Canadian television.” In Marian Bredin, Scott Henderson, and Sarah Matheson (Eds.), Canadian Television: Text and Context. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. pp. 135-152.

Teaching areas

  • Visual rhetoric
  • Audience research
  • Language and power
  • Theories of the media
  • Communication of social issues