TRENT WINTERMEIER



TRENT WINTERMEIER IS A PHD STUDENT IN THE DEPARTMENT OF RHETORIC AND WRITING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN. HIS RESEARCH INTERESTS BROADLY INCLUDE SOUND, DIGITAL RHETORICS, AND COMMUNITY. CURRENTLY, HE’S INTERESTED IN HOW RESEARCHERS CAN RESPONSIBLY ENGAGE WITH COMMUNITIES IMPACTED BY SOUND AND THE LOCAL RHETORICAL ECOLOGIES WHICH MATERIALIZE UNDER SONIC CONDITIONS. HE ENJOYS CREATING, DESIGNING, AND EXPERIMENTING WITH PROJECTS, WORKSHOPS, AND CONCEPTS THAT DIFFERENTLY ATTUNE OUR SENSES TO THE CO-EMERGENCE OF RHETORIC AND SOUND IN LIVED COMMUNITY SETTINGS. 

CONTACT
EMAIL   TRENTWINTERMEIER@UTEXAS.EDU
TWITTER   @TJWINTERMEIER
LOCATION   AUSTIN, TEXAS, USA

EDUCATION
PhD in Rhetoric and Writing, Department of English, University of Texas at Austin. 2028
MA in Rhetoric and Writing, Department of English, University of Texas at Austin. 2024
BA in English, Department of English, University of Florida. 2021
AA in Liberal Arts, Santa Fe Community College. 2019



RHETORIC AFTER SOUND: STORIES OF ENCOUNTERING ‘THE HUM’ PHENOMENON

CONCEPT


SPRING 2024


IN RHETORIC AFTER SOUND, I CONSIDER ‘AFTER SOUND’ TO CHARACTERIZE THIS FELT CONDITION FOR RHETORICAL ACTION THAT IS A RESULT OF LISTENING BEYOND OR AFTER ACOUSTIC VALUATIONS. INSTEAD OF THIS BEING A MOMENT VOID OF SOUND, ‘AFTER SOUND’ DEFINES A STATE OF EXPERIENCE THAT IS COMPLICATED BY AN ATTEMPT TO CONTROL THE VALUATIVE LIMITS OF WHAT IS AND ISN’T SONIC. IN THIS WAY, ‘AFTER SOUND’ ONLY GESTURES TOWARD THE TEMPORAL TO DEVELOP THE DIFFERENT EMERGENCE OF THE SENSORIAL.

RHETORIC AFTER SOUND: STORIES OF ENCOUNTERING ‘THE HUM’ PHENOMENON WAS PUBLISHED HERE BY SOUNDING OUT! IN MARCH 2024.  


LISTENING ACROSS
THE SHORTWAVE

WORKSHOP

FALL 2023


LISTENING ACROSS THE SHORTWAVE IS AN INTERDISCIPLINARY WORKSHOP/BUILD DAY DESIGNED BY TRENT AND HELD BY THE DIGITAL WRITING AND RESEARCH LAB (DWRL) DURING FALL 2023. TRENT AND PARTICIPANTS WORKED TOGETHER TO BUILD DIY RADIO RECEIVERS WITH FOUND MATERIALS BASED ON INSTRUCTIONS DEVELOPED BY THE SHORTWAVE COLLECTIVE, AN INTERNATIONAL FEMINIST ART GROUP. THIS EVENT WAS THE FIRST FULLY IN-PERSON WORKSHOP OF THIS DESIGN IN THE UNITED STATES.



A VERSION OF THIS PROJECT, TITLED “LISTENING-WITH SONIC EXISTENTS,” WAS PRESENTED FOR UT AUSTIN’S SCHOOL OF DESIGN AND CREATIVE TECHNOLOGIES. TRENT AND HANNAH HOPKINS ARE SCHEDULED TO PRESENT ANOTHER WORKSHOP WITH THIS DESIGN, TITLED “SONIC ASSEMBLAGES IN RECEPTION + CONNECTION,” FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY AT CAMDEN IN SPRING 2024.


COMMUNITY RESILIENCE &
THE SONIC POLITICS OF
DATA CENTER COOLING

PROJECT

ONGOING


COMMUNITY RESILIENCE & THE SONIC POLITICS OF DATA CENTER COOLING IS AN ONGOING PROJECT WHICH CONSIDERS HOW RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITIES IN AUSTIN, TX, ARE IMPACTED BY THE NOISE AND RHETORIC EMERGING FROM DATA CENTER COOLING PRACTICES. THE PROJECT FOCUSES ON HOW CYRUSONE’S 2022 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT USES THE LANGUAGE OF ‘RESILIENCE’ TO FRAME AN APPEALING COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO DATA CENTER NOISE. 



A VERSION OF THIS PROJECT, “COMMUNITY RESILIENCE AND DATA CENTER NOISE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS,” HAS BEEN SUBMITTED TO HELIOTROPE. THIS PROJECT IS SCHEDULED TO BE PRESENTED AT THE 2024 RHETORIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA CONFERENCE IN DENVER, COLORADO.


ANNOTATING A DUALITY
OF SPACES

PROJECT

FALL 2022


ANNOTATING A DUALITY OF SPACES IN MURIEL RUKEYSER’S “THE SPEED OF DARKNESS” IS AN AVANNOTATE PROJECT CREATED BY TRENT FOR THE SPOKENWEB DIGITAL ANTHOLOGY, EDITED BY DR. TANYA CLEMENT AND DR. ZOE BURSZTAJN-ILLINGWORTH. THE PROJECT USES AVANNOTATE, A SOFTWARE FOR CREATING DIGITAL EXHIBITS OF ANNOTATED AUDIOVISUAL ARTIFACTS, TO ANALYZE HOW LISTENING TO SPACES IN POETRY RECORDINGS IS A RHETORICAL PRACTICE. THIS PROJECT IS CURRENTLY UNDERGOING PEER-REVIEW.

THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN PRESENTED AT THE DIGITAL LIBRARY FEDERATION FORUM’S (DLF) 2023 CONFERENCE IN ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI. IT HAS ALSO BEEN PRESENTED AT ADHO’S 2024 DIGITAL HUMANITIES (DH) CONFERENCE IN GRAZ, AUSTRIA. IN SUMMER 2023, IT WAS PRESENTED AT THE SPOKENWEB CONSORTIUM’S CONFERENCE IN EDMONTON, CANADA.


STEPPING STONES

PROJECT

SPRING 2023


STEPPING STONES IS A COLLABORATIVE DIGITAL PROJECT DEVELOPED BY SAM TURNER AND TRENT WINTERMEIER WHICH CELEBRATES WAYS OF RELATING WITHIN AND BEYOND WRITING SPACES. THIS PROJECT HAS GROWN TO INCLUDE A COMMUNITY OF 10 CO-AUTHORS, ALL OF WHOM HAVE PARTICIPATED IN AUDIO-RECORDED REFLECTIONS AND THE MAKING OF A DIGITAL, NON-LINEAR EXHIBIT ON THE TWINE PLATFORM. 



THIS IS AN ONGOING PROJECT THAT IS 90% FINISHED AND WILL BE SUBMITTED TO AN ONLINE JOURNAL IN THE FIELD OF RHETORIC. A VERSION OF THIS PROJECT, “STEPPING STONES: REFLECTING ON RELATIONAL SCHOLARLY PRACTICE,” IS SCHEDULED TO BE PRESENTED AT THE 2024 CONFERENCE ON COLLEGE COMPOSITION AND COMMUNICATION IN SPOKANE, WASHINGTON.


REFUSIUM!

TOOL

SPRING 2024


REFUSIUM! IS A RHETORICAL TECHNOLOGY FOR REFUSING CERTAIN FACULTIES OF THE SENSES. THE WORD ‘REFUSIUM’ STICKS TOGETHER REFUSAL AND SENSORIUM TO EMPHASIZE THE RHETORICAL DECISION INVOLVED IN SENSING, FEELING, AND KNOWING, ESPECIALLY AS THESE THREE INTERVENTIONS INVOLVE LISTENING. THEREFORE, THIS TOOL FUNCTIONS TO DENY THE SENSORY EXPERIENCES AFFORDED BY SOUND BY CONVERTING MP3 WAVEFORMS TO BINARY DATA (ZEROS AND ONES).


THE SITE IS AVAILABLE HERE.  


SONIC AFTERLIFES

DESIGN

ONGOING


SONIC AFTERLIFES IS AN ONGOING DESIGN WHICH BRINGS TOGETHER HOMEMADE RADIO TELESCOPE DESIGNS, GNU RADIO, AND MIDI NOTE MAPPING VIA PYTHON TO QUESTION HOW WE CONCIEVE OF AND PRACTICE DATA COLLECTION METHODS IN THE DIGITAL HUMANITIES. TRENT’S PROJECT IS A PHYSICAL, HOMEMADE BUILD THAT COLLECTS RADIO WAVES AND MAPS THEM ON TO MIDI NOTES AS A PRACTICE OF SONIFICATION. 

THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN SUBMITTED TO ADHO’S 2024 DIGITAL HUMANITIES CONFERENCE IN WASHINGTON, D.C., WHICH IS SCHEDULED DURING SUMMER 2024.