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Dr. Garth Pauley

Professor
Communication

Biography

Garth Pauley is an expert in the rhetoric of the American civil rights movement and the theory and practice of preaching. He received his PhD in speech communiation from the Pennsylvania State University and teaches courses in public speaking, argumentation, communication technology, and ministry leadership. He is currently working on a book for Fortress Press’s Working Preacher series.

Education

  • BA - Trinity University, speech communication, 1993
  • MA - Texas A&M University, speech communication, 1995
  • PhD - The Pennsylvania State University, speech communication, 1999

Professional Experience

2011–present: Professor, Department of Communication, Calvin University
2005–2011: Associate Professor, Department of Communication, Calvin College
1998–2005: Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, Calvin College

Academic Interests

  • the rhetoric of the American civil rights movement;
  • American political rhetoric on civil rights issues;
  • colonial era American sermons
Courses Taught

Oral Rhetoric, Communication & Culture, Visual Rhetoric, Advanced Oral Rhetoric, American Oratory, Argumentation & Advocacy, Rhetorical & Communication Theory, Rhetorical Criticism, Persuasion & Propaganda, Communication Technology & Society, Internship in Communication, Interviewing, Communication & Social Change, American Politics & Mass Media, Business Advisory Communication, Crime & Detective Fiction.

Research

Referred Articles:
  • “Pan-African Feminism: Anna Arnold Hedgeman’s Advocacy in ‘Women in Public Life,’” Recovering Democracy Archives, August 2022
  • “"A Moral Issue: John F. Kennedy’s Address to the Nation of 11 June 1963,” Voices of Democracy 16 (2021): 16-31.
  • “Soundly Gathered from the Text? Biblical Interpretation in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Westminster Theological Journal 76 (2014): 95-117.
  • “Militancy and Moderation at the 1963 March on Washington.” Voices of Democracy 5 (2010): 18-36.
  • “Kenneth Burke and The Rhetoric of Mein Kampf.” KB Journal 6.1 (2009), online.
  • “Lyndon Johnson, Voting Rights, and the American Promise.” Voices of Democracy 3 (2008): 17-33.
  • “Women in Public Life, (18 July 1960) Accra, Ghana" - Recovering Democracy Archives
Book Chapters:
  • “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” The Jonathan Edwards Encyclopedia, ed. Harry S. Stout (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2017).
  • “W.E.B. Du Bois and The Crisis of Woman Suffrage,” Protest and Propaganda: W.E.B. DuBois, the Crisis, and American History, eds. Philip Sinitiere and Amy Helene Kirschke (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2014), 135-55.
  • “The Genesis of a Rhetorical Commitment: Lyndon B. Johnson, Civil Rights, and the Vice Presidency,” in Civil Rights Rhetoric and the American Presidency, ed. James A. Aune and Enrique D. Rigsby (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2005), 155-97.
  • “John Robert Lewis,” in African American Orators: A Bio-Critical Sourcebook, ed. Richard W. Leeman (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1996), 226-38 (with Kurt Ritter).
Book Reviews:
  • Rev. of Distance in Preaching: Room to Speak, Space to Listen, by Michael Brothers. Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology (2017): 355-56.
  • Rev. of A Matter of Justice: Eisenhower and the Beginning of the Civil Rights Revolution, by David A. Nichols. The Historian 71 (2009): 860-61
  • Rev. of Nixon’s Civil Rights: Politics, Principle, and Policy, by Dean J. Kotlowski. Rhetoric & Public Affairs 5 (2002): 769-71.
Selected Conference Papers:
  • Using Rhetorical Theory to Enrich Preaching, National Communication Association Annual Conference, Chicago, IL (virtual), November 2020.
  • A Liturgical-Historical Approach to Preaching Psalm 130, Academy of Homiletics Annual Conference, Princeton, NJ, December 2019.
  • The 95 Theses: Disputation as Diatribe. Sixteenth Century Society Annual Conference, Milwaukee, WI, October 2017.
  • Rhetorical Personae in Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, American Society of Church History Winter Conference, Atlanta, GA, January 2016.
  • Rhetorical Strategies in Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, Sixteenth Century Society Annual Conference, Vancouver, BC, October 2015.

Professional Services

University Service
  • Member, Rhetoric Across the Curriculum Committee, 2021.
  • Arts, Languages, and Education Representative, Faculty Senate, 2020-21.
  • Member, Committee on Governance, 2019-2021.
  • Member, Governing Board, Nagel Institute for World Christianity, 2015-2019.
  • President, Governing Board, H. Henry Meeter Center for Calvin Studies, 2014-2018.
Professional and Community Service
  • Reviewer, National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship Program, History & Communication Panel, July 2020.
  • Council President, Woodlawn Christian Reformed Church, 2017-2018.
  • Panelist, “Fake News” Symposium, Just Citizenship Series, Calvin College, March 2017.
  • Interim Pastor, Aetna Christian Reformed Church, Falmouth, MI, June-August 2016.
  • Guest Teacher, “Avoiding Fallacies in Argumentation,” Grand Rapids Catholic Central High School, January 2016.

Awards

  • From Every Nation Award for Teaching Excellence, Calvin University, 2021.
  • Karl R. Wallace Memorial Award, National Communication Association, 2003.
  • Gerald R. Miller Outstanding Dissertation Award, National Communication Association, 2000.
  • Carroll C. Arnold Award for Academic Excellence, The Pennsylvania State University, 1998.
  • Robert N. Bostrom Young Scholars Award, Southern States Communication Association, 1996.
  • Distinguished Graduate Research Award, Texas A&M University, 1996.
Garth Pauley

Contact Me

616-526-6294
270 C DeVos Communication Center

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