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Ontario Tech acknowledges the lands and people of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.

We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

Learn more about Indigenous Education and Cultural Services

Teresa Pierce

Teresa (Tess) Pierce
PhD

Associate Professor

Communication and Digital Media Studies
Faculty of Social Science and Humanities

Dr. Pierce’s most recent research focuses on the cultural and gender implications of digital technology, specifically in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.

Contact expert

teresa.pierce@ontariotechu.ca
905.721.8668 ext. 3820

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Areas of expertise


  • PhD, Women's Studies Clark University, USA
  • Pierce, T & Sweet, D. (2014). Magik on the mounds: The (Re) enchanted spaces of House on the Rock. Arts and Social Sciences Journal 5 (1), doi: 10.4172/2151-6200.10000062.
  • Pierce, T. (2010). Singing at the digital well: Weblogs as cyberfeminist sites of resistance. Feminist Formations 22 (3) 196-209, doi: 10.1353/ff.2010.0027.
  • Pierce, T. (2009). Oh what a gendered web we weave: Deconstructing digital discourse in political web sites. In A. Bammé, G. Getzinger, & B. Wieser (Eds) Yearbook 2008 of the Institute for Advanced Studies on Science, Technology, and Society. A publication of the Institute for Advanced Studies on Science, Technology and Society, Graz, Austria.
  • Kapralos, W., Hogue, A., & Pierce, T. (2010). A serious game for collaborative intercultural business communication. Published Proceedings from the 13th Annual International Conference on Humans and Computers (HC-2010), December 2010, Aizu-Wakamatsu, Japan.
  • Pierce, T. (2009). The Evolution of Human Communication: From Theory to Practice. Oshawa, Ontario: EtrePress, ISBN: 0981327303, 9780981327303.
  • Pierce, T. & Daniel, J. (2009). Reclaiming the message: Applying message transformation to mediated communication. Published Proceedings from the 8th Annual IAS-STS Conference “Critical Issues in Science and Technology Studies” May 2009, Graz Austria ISBN # 978-3-9502678-1-5.
  • Pierce, T. (2005). Blogging for life. The role of the cyberconduit In everyday narratives, cyberfeminism, and global social change. In J. Archibald, J. Emms, F. Grundy, J. Payne, & E. Turner (Eds.). The Gender Politics of ICT. (pp. 163-178). Middlesex, UK: Middlesex University Press. 
  • Communication Theory: Keyworks (COMM 2110U)
    How do some of the world’s most important philosophers and big thinkers conceptualize communication technology and digital media? This course helps students to learn to stand on the shoulders of the giants of North American, European and non-Western communication and media theory. Keyworks in the field will be introduced and applied through case studies of 21st-century communications, cultural and digital media practices.
  • Persuasion (COMM 3610U)
    The concept of rhetoric-as-persuasion is associated with the power of language to liberate, emancipate, control, and deceive the public. In this advanced course, students explore topics in the areas of the production of public knowledge, public argument, public action, public response, and public critique. To better understand the relationship between rhetoric, policy and ethics, learners will examine the consequences of particular rhetorical strategies in complex situations of everyday life, the workplace, and as part of the global public sphere.
  • Intercultural Communication (COMM 3710U)
    How does “culture” shape the way people communicate? What are the best practices for communicating within and across cultures? In multicultural societies, citizens from many cultural and linguistic backgrounds communicate at work, play and in politics, but much is often lost in translation, even when they speak the same language. This course examines the theories and practices of intercultural communication. Students will self‐reflexively examine how culture shapes communication, hone their cultural sensitivity, and learn how to communicate effectively within many cultural contexts.
  • Communicating Identities (COMM 3720U)
    What is an identity? How are our identities shaped by ethnicity, gender, religion, education, class and the media? This course examines identities through the lens of communication theory and as they relate to sensitive social issues, such as stereotyping and oppression. Students will investigate how people construct, differentiate and perform their identities in relation to others. They will also interrogate how and why the media may represent, underrepresent, and misrepresent identities in society. Students will subsequently understand how communications shape identities and reinforce and challenge power relations in society.