In this episode, we explore how the imagination is used in developing rhetorical strategies. We talk about how rhetoric is based on our values and our ability to think about future possibilities. Our guest scholar in this episode is Dr. Carolyn Commer, Associate Professor in the Department of English at Virginia Tech and Director of the Rhetoric and Writing PhD program.

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Carolyn Commer is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at Virginia Tech where she researches the rhetoric of higher education policy, histories of rhetoric, and writing pedagogy. She is also the ⁠Director of the Rhetoric and Writing PhD program⁠.

She has her M.A. in Liberal Arts from ⁠St. John’s College, Annapolis⁠, and her Ph.D. in Rhetoric at ⁠Carnegie Mellon University⁠. She currently teach courses in the Department of English at ⁠Virginia Tech⁠ on ancient and modern histories of rhetoric, critical theory, and professional and technical writing. Her book, ⁠Championing a Public Good: A Call to Advocate for Higher Education⁠, draws from the public record to demonstrate a common set of arguments, metaphors, and rhetorical frames that higher education leaders can use to champion the public value of universities and colleges.

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While her full catalog of articles and books is far too long to list here, the publications below provide a useful introduction to her scholarship addressing the topic of imagination and rhetoric:

Commer, C. D. (2024). Championing a Public Good: A Call to Advocate for Higher Education. Penn State Press.

Commer, C. D. (2023). Rhetorical Histories in Motu: On Teaching the Octalogs. Journal for the History of Rhetoric, 26(2), 255-266.

Commer, C. D. (2021). Rivaling the rhetoric of accountability: dissociation as an advocacy strategy in US higher education policy. Argumentation and Advocacy, 57(1), 18-36.

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The Social Science for Public Good Podcast is a project of the ⁠⁠Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠VT Publishing⁠⁠ intended to make social science theories accessible and available to individuals and organizations seeking to promote social change.

Music: purple-planet.com