Ellen Defossez

Professor Defossez teaches courses in rhetorical theory, rhetorics of health and medicine, and science communication. She specializes in the rhetorical study of medicalization—a process by which certain traits, behaviors, and conditions come to be defined as medical problems with medical solutions. She is particularly interested in studying medicalization as it unfolds in digital spaces, and as it pertains specifically to the experience of psychic distress. In her current research, she analyzes digitally-mediated practices of psychiatric self-diagnosis and explores the associated social, cultural, and political implications.