About
The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Rhetoric, Media, and Publics is an interdisciplinary program between:
- The School of Communication
- The Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences
- The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications
The program is housed in the Department of Communication Studies and administered through the School of Communication.
Program Overview
The PhD in Rhetoric, Media, and Publics is grounded in the humanistic tradition of rhetoric, with a focus on politics, philosophy, and the arts. At its core, the program explores a fundamental question:
How do people influence, reflect, and transform society through media and communication practices?
Students examine how meaning is created, shared, and interpreted across a wide range of rhetorical and journalistic texts, practices, and institutions. Through qualitative research methods, they learn not only to analyze communication but also to collaborate directly with audiences and communities in the production of knowledge.
The program recognizes that media and communication are deeply social, political, aesthetic, and ethical. Students are encouraged to approach public media as sites for
- political contestation,
- for the representation and interrogation of ethics and power,
- and for imagining personhood and collective life.
Areas of Inquiry
Research in the program focuses on how people:
- constitute individual and group identities,
- influence others,
- and generate, maintain, and challenge communities and cultures.
Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives, the program investigates how media operate within historical and social contexts to create distinct publics and social relationships.
Studying Media Across Forms
Students explore a wide range of media, from oral to print, from the visual to the sonic, and from the performative to the digital.
A central goal is to understand how the unique characteristics of different media technologies interact with the intentions of creators and the experiences of audiences.
Academic Approach
The program combines insights from
- rhetorical analysis,
- critical/cultural theory,
- media history,
- media aesthetics,
- and political theory.
This interdisciplinary approach prepares students to examine the connections between everyday lived experiences and broader social, technological, and political change.
Public Engagement and Impact
Faculty and students investigate how communication practices can both reinforce and challenge global inequalities. The program explores how audiences, publics, and communities are formed over time and how communication shapes social and political life.
Students are encouraged to move beyond analysis and actively engage with diverse publics through their scholarship. By combining research with public engagement, they deepen their understanding of inequality, power, and social transformation.