Brad Lucas
Associate Professor & Chair of the Department
Rhetoric and Composition (Ph.D., University of Nevada)

b.e.lucas2@tcu.edu
(817) 257-6981
Reed Hall 314A

CV

I teach a variety of courses in writing and rhetoric, with special attention to the ways that texts are designed for complicated situations and resistant audiences. Over the past 17 years, I have taught courses in composition, rhetoric, editing and publishing, technical and professional writing, literary theory, humanities, genocide studies, argumentation, pedagogy, and film. I am currently developing two new courses: Visualizations, and Social Protest Rhetoric.

Over the years, my scholarship has been motivated by a desire to illuminate the struggles of individuals who attempt to persuade challenging audiences. In 2006 I published a book about academic freedom and protest during the Vietnam era (Radicals, Rhetoric, and the War), and I'm currently working on a multi-site study of the rhetorical dynamics of empathy and rapport. These projects allow me to consider how we struggle to communicate with one another, despite our shortcomings and surroundings.

As Editor for the peer-reviewed journal Composition Studies, I aim to promote ongoing dialogue and research related to my discipline. To a similar end, Margaret Strain (U. Dayton) and I have established the Rhetoric and Composition Sound Archives (RCSA), an interview and oral history center dedicated to preserving the voices of scholars central to the development of the field.

While I was in graduate school, I taught courses in several disciplines, developing a fascination with human inquiry and the processes of knowledge-making. That work lead to my Ph.D. dissertation on the history on research practices in composition and rhetoric. Since then, I have continued my efforts to understand research and writing across the disciplines. To that end, I am serving as the 2009-2010 Chair of TCU's Institutional Review Board for human subjects research.

As Chair of the Department of English, I serve as the chief administrative officer and am responsible for its operations, providing leadership and coordinating all aspects of the department's activities. I am proud of this outstanding department and what it provides for students and the larger campus community, and I welcome opportunities to discuss the work we do. Please feel free to email me (b.e.lucas2@tcu.edu) or contact me at (817) 257-6981.