My research concerns the intersection of rhetorical studies, folklore studies, and
performance studies. I am primarily interested in three issues: (1) The promotion of a
critical folklore studies as an activist scholarship to examine and redress social
injustice, with particular attention to the constitutive nature of expressive culture;
(2) The investigation and contemporary appropriation of myths of rhetoric in classical
antiquity, to include voices and concepts often excluded from the canonical texts of the
rhetorical tradition; (3) The relationship between rhetorical studies and social theory,
especially to criticize persistent discourses of fascism and violence, and to advocate
democratic modes of living with others. I have published in such journals as the
Quarterly Journal of Speech, Journal of American Folklore, Rhetoric Society Quarterly,
Journal of American Culture, Critical Studies in Media Communication, Folklore,
Communication and Critical Cultural Studies, Journal of Folklore Research, and
Communication Education. 

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Constituting Folklore: A Case for Critical Folklore Studies, Journal of American Folklore (2009)

This article argues for the development of a critical folklore studies through an interweaving of...