Rhetoric, Politics, and Society (MA & PhD)

The graduate program in Rhetoric, Politics, and Society challenges students to consider the core question of rhetoric’s role in the diverse settings of America’s culture. Located in a city with a rich and controversial legacy involving civil rights, faculty in this program focus on how public address, advocacy, media, and the art, both historically and theoretically, have influenced the multiple meanings of American citizenry and human identity.

Our curriculum offers a foundation in the general histories, practices, and theories of rhetoric study, while also motivating students to chart their own direction as researchers and teachers. Working with faculty whose foci include presidential rhetoric, civic controversy, dialogue, pedagogy, women’s public address, and racial and ethnic identity, this program prepares future scholars and teachers to communicate the vibrancy of the rhetorical tradition into the 21st century.

Area Faculty:

David Acey, MA, Assistant Professor

Antonio de Velasco,PhD, Associate Professor

Leroy G. Dorsey, PhD, Professor and Department Chair

Allison Graham, PhD, Professor

D. Gray Matthews, PhD, Assistant Professor and Department Vice-Chair

Christi Moss, PhD, Lecturer

Joshua Reeves, Assistant Professor

Sandra Sarkela,PhD, Associate Professor

Lori Stallings, MA, Instructor