Critical thinking requires more than just learning something new about our world. Critical thinking requires that we become aware of a disturbing side of something that we knew all along so that we may change our world to make it a better place to live ”
Kevin A. Johnson
| Title: | Assistant Professor |
|---|---|
| Degrees: | Ph.D., 2007, Communication Studies, University of Texas at Austin M.A., 2002, Communication Studies, Cal State Long Beach B.A., 1999, Speech Communication: Rhetorical Studies, Cal State Long Beach |
| Office: | Tehama 434 (Office Hours) |
| E-mail: | kejohnson@csuchico.edu |
| Telephone: | (530) 898-3049 |
| Fax: | (530) 898-4096 |
Brief Biography
As a rhetorical scholar, I am concerned with the nature and scope of persuasion in the realm of human affairs. I examine the world of language and symbols in order to understand NOT just the tactics of persuasion, but to maintain a critical eye to resist rhetoric that persuades people to act with negative consequence. My academic purpose is to facilitate: (1) an understanding of the way our ideas, daily routines, consumer choices, political beliefs, etc. effect struggling people in our world, and (2) ways to change in order to make our world a better place to live.
Professional Affiliations
- National Communication Association
Courses Frequently Taught
- CMST 350: Foundations of Rhetorical Communication Theories and Practice
- CMST 354: Persuasion
- CMST 462: Rhetoric: Context and Issues
- CMST 452: Freedom of Speech
- CMST 613: Seminar in Rhetorical Criticism
Current Interests
I am currently interested in the relationship between rhetoric and the Unconscious. Specifically, I am focused right now on a merging of Kenneth Burke’s Rhetoric of Motives with Lacanian psychoanalysis to form an updated theory of human subjectivity in order to analyze rhetorical texts. My specific focus is on a “cultural psyche” that rejects the “illegal immigrant.”