Robert Danisch

Robert Danisch has a PhD in Communication from the University of Pittsburgh (2004) and a BA from the University of Virginia in History and Philosophy.

His research interests concern rhetorical theory and public communication within democratic societies, and he has written extensively about the relationship between American Pragmatism and rhetoric. He is the author of Beyond Civility: The Competing Obligations of Citizenship (Penn State Press, 2020), Building a Social Democracy: The Promise of Rhetorical Pragmatism (Lexington Books, 2015), and Pragmatism, Democracy, and the Necessity of Rhetoric (University of South Carolina Press, 2007). He is also the author of a popular book on improving communication skills: What Effect Have I Had? 100 Communication Practices to be a Better Partner, Teammate, Writer, Speaker, and Leader (2018). Professor Danisch hosts a podcast called “Now We’re Talking” that focuses on communication skills, and he is currently finishing a SSHRC-funded project titled Sociologies of Rhetoric which outlines the conditions for rhetorical citizenship within large-scale democratic societies. His work has appeared in Rhetoric Society Quarterly, Rhetoric Review, Rhetoric & Public Affairs, Social Epistemology, Public Understanding of Science, and Southern Communication Journal. Rob teaches courses in Communication Ethics, Speech Writing, Persuasion, Small Group Communication, and Public Communication. He joined the Faculty of Arts at the University of Waterloo in 2011.

Recent work

Beyond Civility: The Competing Obligations of Citizenship, co-authored with William Keith (Penn State University Press, 2020).

Editor, Recovering Overlooked Pragmatists in Communication: Extending the Living Conversation about Pragmatism and Rhetoric (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2019).

What Effect Have I Had? 100 Communication Practices to Help You Be a Better Partner, Teammate, Writer, Speaker, and Leader (KDP, 2018).

Building a Social Democracy: The Promise of Rhetorical Pragmatism (Lexington Books, 2015)..

Editor, Citizens of the World: Pluralism, Migration and Practices of Citizenship (Rodopi Press, 2011).

Pragmatism, Democracy, and the Necessity of Rhetoric (University of South Carolina Press, 2007).

Courses Taught

· SPCOM 101 – Theories of Communication

· SPCOM 204 – Leadership, Teams and Communication

· SPCOM 227 – Leadership

· SPCOM 228 – Public Communication

· SPCOM 323 – Speech Writing

· SPCOM 324 – Small Group Communication

· SPCOM 420 – Persuasion

· SPCOM 475 – Communication Ethics