John M. Murphy

John M. Murphy (Ph. D University of Kansas, 1986) is an associate professor of speech communication at the University of Georgia. He has also served as the Director of the Basic Courses and as the head of the rhetoric faculty. His research interests focus on contemporary American public address, the rhetorical presidency, and rhetorical criticism and theory. His work examines the ways in which enduring political languages take form in particular public debates and influence policy  decisions. He has published essays in journals such as the Quarterly Journal of Speech, Rhetoric & Public Affairs, Communication Monographs, Presidential Studies Quarterly, Rhetoric Review, Communication Studies, and the Southern Communication Journal. He is the current book review editor for the Quarterly Journal of Speech and has served on a number of editorial boards, such as Critical Studies in Media Communication, Rhetoric & Public Affairs, Western Journal of Communication, Basic Course Communication Annual, Argumentation & Advocacy, and Communication Studies. He currently serves on the editorial board of the Rhetoric & Public Affairs series at Michigan State University Press and also serves on the Kohrs Campbell Prize Committee at that press. His teaching interests include the rhetorical presidency, public address, rhetorical criticism, and rhetorical theory. He has won the Sandy Beaver award for excellence in teaching at the University of Georgia. His hobbies include baseball and beer.

Curriculum Vitae

Educational Background

Employment Background

Research

In-progress

Murphy, J. M. The cunning presidency of William Jefferson Clinton. Book manuscript in process.

Murphy, J. M. The langauge of the liberal consensus: John F. Kennedy, Technical Reason, and the “New Economics” at Yale University. Quarterly Journal of Speech. First review.

Journal Publications and Critical Essays

Murphy, J. M. (2003, forthcoming). “Our mission and our moment”: George W. Bush and September 11. Rhetoric & Public Affairs.

Murphy, J. M. & Stuckey, M. E.(2002). Never cared to say goodbye: Presidential legacies and vice-presidential campaigns. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 32, 46-66.

Stuckey, M. E. & Murphy, J. M. (2001). Rhetorical colonialism in North America. American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 25, 73-98.

Murphy, J. M. (2001). Mikhail Bakhtin and the rhetorical tradition. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 87, 259-277.

Murphy, J. M. (2001). History, culture, and political rhetoric. Rhetoric Review, 20, 46-50.

Murphy, J. M. (2000) Crafting the Kennedy legacy. Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 3, 577-602.

Murphy, J. M. (2000). The heroic tradition in presidential rhetoric. Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 3, 466-470.

Murphy, J. M. (1999). Accounting for Clinton. Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 2, 653-668.

Murphy, J. M. (1998). Knowing the president: The dialogic evolution of the campaign history. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 84, 23-40.

Murphy, J. M. (1997). Bill Clinton, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the orchestration of rhetorical traditions. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 83, 71-89.

Murphy, J. M. (1995). Critical rhetoric as political discourse. Argumentation and Advocacy, 32, 1-15.

Murphy, J. M. (1994). Presence, analogy, and Earth in the Balance. Argumentation and Advocacy, 31, 1-16.

Murphy, J. M. (1994). Civic republicanism in the modern age: Adlai Stevenson in the 1952 presidential campaign. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 80, 313- 328.

Murphy, J. M. (1992). Deliberative and epideictic strategies in opposition to war: The paradox of honor and expediency. Communication Studies, 43, 65- 78.

Murphy, J. M. (1992). Domesticating dissent: The Kennedys and the freedom rides. Communication Monographs, 59, 61-78.
*This essay appeared in: Browne, S. H. and C. Morris (Eds.) (2001). Readings in the rhetoric of social protest (pp. 325-342). State College, PA: Strata Publishing

Murphy, J. M. (1992). Presidential debates and campaign rhetoric: Text within context. Southern Communication Journal, 57, 219-228.

Murphy, J. M. (1990). "To Create a Race of Thoroughbreds": Margaret Sanger and the Birth Control Review. Women's Studies in Communication, 13, 23-45.

Murphy, J. M. (1990). "A Time of Shame and Sorrow": Robert F. Kennedy and the American jeremiad. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 76, 401-414.
*This essay appeared in: Foss, S. K. (1995). Rhetorical criticism: exploration and practice (pp. 269-286). 2nd edition. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.

Murphy, J. M. (1989). Comic strategies and the American covenant. Communication Studies, 40, 266-279.

Murphy, J. M. (1989). Separate and unequal: Women in the public address events. National Forensic Journal, VII, 115-126.

Murphy, J. M. (1988). Theory and practice in communication analysis. National Forensic Journal, VI, 1-12.

Book Chapters

Murphy, J. M. & Burkholder, T. R. (forthcoming) "The life of the party: The keynote address in contemporary politics." For Communities, creations and contradictions: New approaches to rhetoric. Steven R. Goldzwig and Patricia A. Sullivan (Eds.). Michigan State University Press.

Murphy, J. M. (forthcoming) "Cunning, rhetoric, and the presidency of William Jefferson Clinton." For L. Dorsey (Ed.) The Presidency and rhetorical leadership. Texas A & M University press.

Murphy, J. M. (1997). The light of reason: Robert Kennedy's February 8, 1968 address on Vietnam. In K. K. Campbell and T. R. Burkholder (Eds.) Critiques of Contemporary Rhetoric. 2nd edition. (pp. 168-89). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishers.

Murphy, J. M. (1994). Margaret Higgins Sanger, the crusade for voluntary motherhood. In K. K. Campbell (Ed.) Women public speakers in the United States: A bio-critical sourcebook (pp. 238-252). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Murphy, J. M. (1993). Laura Clay, a southern voice for woman's rights. In K. K. Campbell (Ed.) Women public speakers in the United States: A bio-critical sourcebook (pp. 99-110). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Murphy, J. M. (1985). Order and diversity: The search for standards in individual events. In D. Parson (Ed.) American forensics in perspective (pp. 87-90). Annandale, VA: Speech Communication Association.

Murphy, J. M. (1983). Rhetorical Criticism as argument: A need for social criticism. In G. Ziegelmueller and J. Rhodes (Eds.) Argument in transition: Proceedings from the third summer conference on argumentation (pp. 918-926). Annandale, VA: Speech Communication Association.

Book Reviews

Murphy, J. M. (2001). Review of: Baer, K. S. Reinventing Democrats. Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 4, 326-328.

Murphy, J. M. (2001). Review of: Jones, C. O. Clinton and Congress. Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 4, 154-156.

Murphy, J. M. (2000). Review of: Ellis, R. (Ed.). Speaking to the people. Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 3, 114-116.

Murphy, J. M. (1998). Review of: Shesol, J. (1997). Mutual Contempt: Lyndon Johnson, Robert Kennedy, and the feud that defined a decade and Hilty, J. W. (1997). Robert Kennedy: Brother Protector. Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 1, 284-287.

Murphy, J. M. (1997). Review of: Goldzwig, S. R. And Dionisopoulos, G. N. (1995). "In a perilous hour: The public address of John F. Kennedy, Quarterly Journal of Speech, 83, 504-505.

Murphy, J. M. (1996). Review of: Bostdorff, D. M.(1994). The Presidency and the rhetoric of foreign crisis. Rhetoric Society Quarterly, 26, 93-95.

Murphy, J. M. (1996). Review of: Lincoln, B. (1994). Authority: Construction and Corrosion. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 82, 311-313.

Invited Lectures and Workshops

Murphy, J. M. “Keynote Address on the Rhetorical Presidency,” Paper to be presented at the 10th annual conference on presidential rhetoric. George Bush Presidential Library. Texas A & M University, March 2004.

Murphy, J. M. Response to: “Andrew Johnson and the failed rhetorical presidency” by Stephen Howard Browne. Paper presented at the 8th annual conference on presidential rhetoric, George Bush Presidential Library, Texas A & M University, March 2002.
Murphy, J. M. "The Shadow of JFK." Paper presented at the 7th biennial public address conference, Pennsylvania State University, September 2000.

Murphy, J. M. Response to: "Rosa Parks and civil rights in the Eisenhower era" by Douglas Brinkley. Paper presented at the 6th annual conference on presidential rhetoric, George Bush Presidential Library, Texas A & M University, March 2000.

Murphy, J. M. "The cunning presidency of William Jefferson Clinton." Paper presented at the 5th annual conference on presidential rhetoric, George Bush Presidential Library, Texas A & M University, March 1999.

Murphy, J. M. "The Primary Colors of political community." Paper presented at the 6th biennial public address conference, University of Iowa, September 1998.

Murphy, J. M. Response to: "The science of Cold War strategy" by J. Michael Hogan. Paper presented at the 4th annual conference on presidential rhetoric, George Bush presidential library, Texas A & M University, March 1998.

Murphy, J. M. Response to: "Race-ing the Democratic Imagination" by William Lewis. Paper presented at the 5th biennial public address conference, University of Illinois, Sept 1996.

Murphy, J. M. Response to "The First Lady: Public Symbol' by Karlyn Kohrs Campbell. March 3-5, 1995. Paper presented at the 1st annual conference on presidential rhetoric, Texas A & M University, March 1995.

Murphy, J. M. "Audience, Memory, and Rhetorical Criticism." Paper for the "'Critical' Questions" In and About Criticism," seminar at the 1995 convention of the Western States Communication Association.

Selected Convention Papers

Murphy, J. M. “The language of the liberal consensus: John F. Kennedy, technocratic reason, and the “New Economics” at Yale University.” Paper to be presented at the 2003 convention of the National Communication Association.

Murphy, J. M. “Being the Gipper: The rhetorical presidency of George W. Bush.” Paper to be presented at the 2003 convention of the National Communication Association.

Murphy, J. M. "The 'New Covenant' and new Democrats: The political ideology of William Jefferson Clinton." Paper presented at the 2000 convention of the National Communication Association.

Murphy, J. M. & Stuckey, M. E. "Never cared to say goodbye: Presidential legacies, presidents, and the presidential campaigns of vice- presidents." Paper to be presented at the 2000 convention of the American Political Science Association.

Stuckey, M. E. & Murphy, J.M. "By any other name: Rhetorical colonialism in North America." Paper presented at the 2000 convention of the Rhetoric Society of America.

Murphy, J. M. "Rhetorical leadership and the presidency in the next century." Paper presented for a spotlight panel at the 2000 Southern Communication Association Convention, March 2000.

Murphy, J. M. "Crafting the Kennedy legacy." Paper presented at the 1999 convention of the National Communication Association.

Murphy, J. M. "Bakhtin and the problem of political rhetoric." Paper presented for the Bakhtin seminar at the 1997 convention of the Speech Communication Association.

Murphy, J. M. "How American: The trope of synecdoche and the creation of Nixon/Dole." Paper presented at the 1996 convention of the Speech Communication Association.

Murphy, J. M. and Burkholder, T. R. "The life of the party: The keynote address in contemporary American politics." Paper presented at the 1996 convention of the Speech Communication Association.

Murphy, J. M. "Inventing authority: Bill Clinton, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the performance of rhetorical culture." Paper presented at the 1995 convention of the Speech Communication Association.

Murphy, J. M. "Richard Ben Cramer's What It Takes: The Way to the White House: The novelization of political discourse." Paper presented at the 1994 convention of the Speech Communication Association.

Murphy, J. M. "Political philosophy and rhetorical judgment: The cases of Laura Clay and Margaret Sanger." Paper presented at the 1994 convention of the Central States Speech Association.

Murphy, J. M. "'Critical Rhetoric' as political discourse." Paper presented at the 1993 convention of the Speech Communication Association.

Murphy, J. M. "Presence and analogy: Al Gore and Earth in the Balance." Paper presented at the 1993 joint convention of the Central and Southern Speech Communication Associations.

Murphy, J. M. "Toward a theory of the 'Progressive' political audience: Adlai Stevenson and John Anderson." Paper presented at the 1992 convention of the Speech Communication Association.

Murphy, J. M. "Honor and expediency: Epideictic and deliberative strategies in opposition to war." Paper presented at the 1991 convention of the Speech Communication Association.

Murphy, J. M. "Laura Clay and the 'Southern Voice' for woman suffrage." Paper presented at the 1991 convention of the Central States Speech Association.

Murphy, J. M. "Domesticating dissent: The Kennedys and the Freedom Rides." Paper presented at the 1990 convention of the Speech Communication Association.

Murphy, J. M. "Presidential debates and campaign rhetoric: Text within context." Paper presented at the 1990 convention of the Speech Communication Association.

Murphy, J. M. "Narrative and social action: Theodore H. White's The Making of The President 1960." Paper presented at the 1989 convention of the Speech Communication Association.

Murphy, J. M. "Kennedy and Nixon at the Al Smith Dinner: Humor in support of a candidacy." Paper presented at the 1988 convention of the Speech Communication Association.

Murphy, J. M. "Along the Oregon trail: Robert Kennedy, Eugene McCarthy, and the American jeremiad." Paper presented at the 1988 convention of the Speech Communication Association.

Murphy, J. M. "Blue Smoke and mirrors: John Anderson in the 1980 presidential campaign." Paper presented at the 1988 convention of the Speech Communication Association.

Murphy, J. M. "'To Create a Race of Thoroughbreds': Margaret Sanger and the Birth Control Review." Paper presented at the 1988 convention of the Southern Speech Communication Association.

Murphy, J. M. "In the shadow of JFK: Robert Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson in 1965." Paper presented at the 1987 convention of the Speech Communication Association.

Murphy, J. M. "'A Time of Shame and Sorrow': Robert F. Kennedy on the death of Martin Luther King, Jr.." Paper presented at the 1987 joint convention of the Central States Speech Association and the Southern States Communication Association.

Murphy, J. M. "A failure to demonstrate leadership: Eugene McCarthy in the 1968 California Primary." Paper presented at the 1985 convention of the Western States Speech Association.

Murphy, J. M. "Enacting the presidency: John F. Kennedy's 'The Role of the President.'" Paper presented at the 1985 convention of the Central States Speech Association.

Grants and Honors

Wrage-Baskerville Award, Outstanding Competitive Paper, Public Address Division, National Communication Association. For “The language of the liberal consensus: John F. Kennedy, technocratic reason, and the “New Economics” at Yale University, 2003.

Recipient, Sandy Beaver Excellence in Teaching Award for $2,800, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, University of Georgia, 2003.

Co-recipient, CHA Conference/Exhibition/Performance Grant for $4,000, The Center for Humanities and Arts, University of Georgia, 2002.

Outstanding Research Award, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, North Dakota State University, 1996.

Outstanding Competitive Paper Award, Public Address Division, Speech Communication Association. For "Inventing Authority: Bill Clinton, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the performance of rhetorical culture," 1995.

Department of Communication Representative, Lyceum Lecture Series Committee, $5500.00 Grant from the North Dakota Humanities Council, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, North Dakota State University, 1995-96.

Participant, Text-based diversity in rhetoric curriculum project, $1500 Grant from the Institute for the Study of Cultural Diversity, North Dakota State University, 1995.

Scholar of the Year, North Dakota Speech and Theatre Association, 1993.

Courses Taught

American Public Address (graduate and undergraduate)
Argumentation (graduate)
Communication Theory (graduate and undergraduate)
Directing Forensics
Historical and Descriptive Research Methods (graduate)
Human Communication
Interpersonal Communication
Interviewing
Persuasive Speaking
Persuasion
Presidential Campaign Communication
Public Speaking
Rhetorical Criticism (graduate and undergraduate)
The Rhetorical Presidency
Rhetorical Theory (graduate and undergraduate)

Service

Professional Memberships

National Communication Association
Southern Communication Association

Disciplinary Service

Member, Kohrs Campbell Prize Committee, Michigan State University Press, 2002-    present.

Member, Bostrom Award Committee, Western Communication Association, 2001-2002.

Book Review Editor, Quarterly Journal of Speech, 2002-2004.

Member, Golden Anniversary Monograph Award Committee, National Communication Association, 1999-2001

Editor, The Forum, Argumentation and Advocacy, 1999-2000.

Member, Editorial Board, Communication Studies (1995-2000), Argumentation and Advocacy (1998-2000), Western Journal of Communication (1999-2002), Basic Course Communication Annual (2000-2003), Rhetoric & Public Affairs (2000-present), Critical Studies in Media Communication (2001-2004).

Member, Editorial Board, Rhetoric and Public Affairs Book Series, Michigan State University Press, 1998-present.

Resolutions Committee Representative for the Public Address Division, Speech Communication Association, 1997.

Referee, Public Address Division (1995-1998), Political Communication Division (1998), Critical and Cultural Studies Division (1998), Speech Communication Association.

Chair, Rhetorical Theory and Criticism Interest Group, Central States Communication Association, 1996-97.

Referee, Rhetorical Theory and Criticism Interest Group, Central States Communication Association, 1994-96.

Guest Reviewer, Quarterly Journal of Speech, Communication Theory, Critical Studies in Mass Communication, Journal of Applied Communication, POLITY, Presidential Studies Quarterly, and Women's Studies in Communication.

Textbook Reviewer, Allyn and Bacon, Strata, Roxbury, Wadsworth, St. Martin's Press.

University

Interim Director of Graduate Studies, Dept. of Speech Communication, University of Georgia, 2003.

Chair, Personnel Committee, Dept. of Speech Communication, University of Georgia, 2001-2002.

Chair, Rhetoric Faculty, Dept. of Speech Communication, University of Georgia, 2000-2001.

Member, Dept. of Speech Communication Executive Committee, University of Georgia, 1999-2000.

Member, Franklin College Curriculum Committee, University of Georgia, 1998- 2000.

Member, Franklin College Faculty Senate, University of Georgia, 1998-2000.

Chair, Strategic Planning, Dept. of Speech Communication, University of Georgia, 1998-1999.

College of Humanities and Social Sciences Representative, Search Committee for the Vice-President for Academic Affairs, North Dakota State University, 1996-1997.

College of Humanities and Social Sciences Representative, Academic Affairs Committee, North Dakota State University, 1996-1997.

Member, Curriculum Committee, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, North Dakota State University, 1994-1997 [Chair, 1995-1996].

Chair, Curriculum Committee, Dept. of Communication, North Dakota State University, 1994-1997.

Chair, Promotion, Tenure, and Evaluation Committee, Dept. Of Communication, North Dakota State University, 1996-1997.

Forensics

District V Chair, AFA-NIET, 1989-90.

Assistant Director of Forensics, Bradley University, 1988-1990.

Director of Individual Events, Miami of Ohio University, 1985-1988.

Community Service

Interviews in and appearances on: National Public Radio, CNN’s Talk Back Live,     Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Atlanta Journal Constitution,     National Journal, Baltimore Sun.

Member, Fargo Public Library Board, 1994-1998; Vice-Chair, 1995-1996; Chair, 1996-1997

Weekly Commentator, KDSU Public Radio, Fargo, ND., 1993-1997.
*Featured in: William F. Eadie, "A Profile of SCA Members who Talk," Spectra, November 1994, pp. 4-5.

"Resemblance will challenge spin doctors." The Forum, Fargo, North Dakota. April 7, 1996.

"Our Presidents Tend to Keep their promises." The Forum. Fargo, North Dakota. February 4, 1996.

"The Debate About Tenure Deserves More Thought." Editorial. The Forum. Fargo, North Dakota. July 9, 1995.

"Bishop Uses March to Intimidate." Editorial. The Forum. Fargo, North Dakota. August 21, 1994.