Madeline Bruegger (she/her) is a PhD candidate in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing at the University of Texas at Austin. She primarily researches Rhetorical Field Methods, Environmental Rhetoric, Community Based Research, Affect Theory, and Technical Communication. Her dissertation project tentatively titled Conditioning Community: Heat, Thermopower, and the Rhetorics of Climate and Social Change sits at the intersection of Rhetorical Field Methods and Community Climate Science.

Her research focuses on using sensory digital methods to visualize environmental infrastructures through affective and epistemic attunements. Through this work, she is conducting an ongoing community based project using community-collected thermal imaging and field notes to visualize cooling corridors and lived experiences of extreme heat in Austin’s Eastern Crescent.

At the University of Texas, she currently works as an Assistant Program Coordinator in the University Writing Center. She teaches rhetoric and writing courses in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing and volunteers as an instructor with the Texas Prison Education Initiative.

Madeline is also a multimedia artist and zine-creator in the Austin community. She is an organizer and board member of Austin Zine Friends, where they orchestrate the annual Lone Star Zine Festival showcasing over 200 zine vendors and artists.