CV & Publications

Featured Journal Articles

“The Populist and Nationalist Roots of Trump’s Rhetoric” (2019) Rhetoric & Public Affairs.
“Implicit Standards of Public Argument in Presidential Debates: What the 2016 Debates Reveal about Public Deliberation” (2018). Argumentation and Advocacy.
“The First 2012 Presidential Campaign Debate: The Decline of Reason in Presidential Debates” (2013). Communication Studies.
“Barack Obama and the Revitalization of Public Reason” (2011). Rhetoric & Public Affairs.
“The Fierce Urgency of Now’: Barack Obama and the 2008 Presidential Election” (2010). American Behavioral Scientist.
“The Symbolic DNA of Terrorism” (2008). Communication Monographs.
“On Generic Categorization” (1991). Communication Theory.
“On Mythic Criticism” (1990). Communication Studies.
“On Limiting the Narrative Paradigm: Three Case Studies” (1989). Communication Monographs.

Donald Trump’s Rhetoric and American Democracy. (2021) University Press of Kansas.
Reasoned Argument and Social Change: Selected Papers from the 17th Alta Conference on Argumentation. (Editor). (2011). National Communication Association.
Reagan at Westminster: Foreshadowing the End of the Cold War. (2010). Texas A&M University Press.
Shared Land/Conflicting Identity: Trajectories of Israeli and Palestinian Symbol Use. (2002). Michigan State University Press.
The Rhetoric of Menachem Begin: The Myth of Redemption Through Return. (1985). University Press of American.

“Public Debate and American Democracy: Guidelines for Pedagogy” Penn State Center for Democratic Deliberation Conference (March 2015)
“From Hope to Audacity” Bernard Brock Lecture, Wayne State University (April 2014)
“From Hope to Audacity: The Rhetorical Trajectory of Barack Obama,” Hall Center for Humanities, University of Kansas (October 2012).
“Obama in Osawatomie” Penn State (April 2012).
“Communicating Leadership: Reagan, Rhetoric, and ‘The Great Communicator’ Revisited” The Ronald Reagan Centennial, USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development
“Reagan at Westminster” Dole Presidential Lecture Series, Dole Institute of Politics, University of Kansas

Kohrs-Campbell Prize in Rhetorical Criticism – National Communication Association
B. Aubrey Fisher Article Award – Western Journal of Communication
Kansas Bar Association Greatest Hits Award
Wil A. Linkugel Departmental Leadership and Service Award – University of Kansas, Department of Communication Studies
Rhetoric Keynote Reagan Centennial Conference
Senior Scholar Award – National Communication Association
Central States Communication Association Hall of Fame
“Notable KU Faculty Member” – University of Kansas, Center for Teaching Excellence
Outstanding Faculty Award – Department of Communication Studies, University of Kansas
J. Michael Young Academic Advisor Award – College of Liberal Arts, University of Kansas
Donald H. Ecroyd Award for Outstanding Teaching in Higher Education – National Communication Association