Alex Helberg studied at Carnegie Mellon University, where he earned his Master’s and Doctoral degrees studying the rhetoric of public engagement in activist and advocacy contexts under the direction of Dr. Linda Flower. During his time at Carnegie Mellon, Helberg actively researched and participated in local food justice movements, ranging from hunger charities to radical food distribution collectives. He also worked to develop technology-enhanced learning tools, such as DocuScope Classroom, while researching the role of language modeling and student metacognition in writing classrooms.

Publications:

Selected Publications:

• Helberg, A. (forthcoming). AI writing tools don't "think" like humans do. In C. Basgier, A. Mills, M. Olejnik, M. Rodak, & S. Sharma (Eds.), Bad ideas about AI and writing: Toward generative ideas for teaching, learning, and composition. WAC Clearinghouse.
• Helberg, A., Poznahovska, M., Ishizaki, S., Kaufer, D., Werner, N., & Wetzel, D. (2018). Teaching textual awareness with DocuScope: Using corpus-driven tools and reflection to support students’ written decision-making. Assessing Writing, 38, 40-45.

Selected Public Scholarship:

• Helberg, A., & Pollak, C. (Hosts). (2023, July 28). The rhetoric of A.I. hype (w/ Dr. Emily M. Bender) (No. 82). [Audio podcast episode]. In re:verb.
• Helberg, A., & Pollak, C. (Hosts). (2022, November 11). A.I. writing and academic integrity (w/ Dr. S. Scott Graham) (No. 75). [Audio podcast episode]. In re:verb.
• Helberg, A. (Host). (2023, March 17). Campus misinformation and academic freedom (w/ Dr. Brad Vivian) (No. 78). [Audio podcast episode]. In re:verb.
• Helberg, A., & Pollak, C. (Hosts). (2020, November 12). Alienizing logics and coalitional politics (w/ Dr. Karma R. Chávez) (No. 47). [Audio podcast episode]. In re:verb.
• Helberg, A., & Pollak, C. (Hosts). (2020, August 17). ALL of our languages are elegant! (w/ Dr. Asao B. Inoue) (No. 41). [Audio podcast episode]. In re:verb.
• Helberg, A., & Pollak, C. (Hosts). (2019, October 29). The rhetoric of horror cinema (w/ Kendall Phillips) (No. 29). [Audio podcast episode]. In re:verb.
• Helberg, A., & Pollak, C. (Hosts). How can we empower the truth of ordinary people? (w/ Dana Cloud) (No. 15). [Audio podcast episode]. In re:verb.

Organized Panels:

• Pollak, C., Helberg, A., Mozafari, C. (2024). Teaching Critical LLM Literacy and Rhetorical Design in Technical and Professional Communication. In 2024 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference (ProComm). IEEE.
• Helberg, A., Kulchar, D., Mozafari, C., Pollak, C. (2024). On Discursive Materialism and Rhetorical Realism, or, How to do Ethical and Effective Theory in an Apocalyptic Conjuncture. Organized panel presented at the 2024 Rhetoric Society of America 21st Biennial Conference.
• Belk, J., Helberg, A., Kulchar, D., & Pollak, C. (2020, March). Solidarity against precarity: The promise and perils of graduate student and contingent faculty organizing. Organized panel for the 2020 Conference on College Composition and Communication, Milwaukee, WI.
  
• Helberg, A., House, V., & Pennell, M. (2019, March). Writing the wrongs of systemic issues: Food systems rhetoric and action research. Organized panel for the 2019 Conference on College Composition and Communication, Pittsburgh, PA.
  

Selected Paper Presentations:

• Helberg, A. (2019, March). Student advocacy work as a model for teaching community writing. Paper presented at the 2019 Conference on College Composition and Communication, Pittsburgh, PA.
• Helberg, A. (2018, July). Framing the male victim: The men’s rights movement, the Isla Vista killings, and the politics of victimage in online forums. Paper presented at the 45^th International Systemic Functional Congress, Boston, MA.
• Helberg, A. (2018, June). Thinking globally, acting locally: Activist/advocacy rhetoric and the framing of situated approaches to systemic problems. Paper presented at the Rhetoric Society of America 18^th Biennial Conference.