Palmeri’s selection as the keynote speaker for the conference is not entirely surprising given that he is a renowned composition scholar based in Ohio. His book, Remixing Composition is required reading for BGSU’s doctoral students, along with a history of scholarship in multimodal composition.

Palmeri’s approach to history is not simply to tell a linear, narrative story or interpretation of what was, nor is it simply to uncover artifacts and let others determine what meaning they have within the field. Rather, he looks to the past for inspiration and insights on how to teach composition in ways that break out of the standard alphabetic texts so many of us are familiar with. Much of his research focuses on two complementary ideas. The first idea being that composition has always been multimodal, even if that term did not always exist in the field, and that some of the most effective methods of instructions from decades past has incorporated what were then new forms of media such as radio, television, film, and even photocopying technology.

Secondly, he discusses that advances in technology and the adaption of new technologies over time have created various crisis points in the field, moments when it appears that new media such as film, audio recording and radio, threaten to replace alphabetic texts as the primary or standard method of scholarly communication. By examining how these two ideas played out through the 20th century, Palmeri finds moments where the methodology of the past helps him understand how to teach composition in an increasingly digital world. His interest in the visual and performing arts, sound, film and video shows through his work in the way he looks to these fields to inform his own pedagogy, recognizing that as composition becomes an increasingly digital medium the “tried and true” methods of instruction focusing solely on alphabetic text analysis and production are no longer sufficient.

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