Robert Danisch

Robert Danisch has a PhD in Communication from the University of Pittsburgh (2004) and a BA from the University of Virginia in History and Philosophy.  He is currently Chair of the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Waterloo. His research interests concern rhetorical theory and public communication within democratic societies, and he has written extensively about the relationship between American Pragmatism and rhetoric. Dr Robert is interested in the ways that listening can improve democratic deliberation and how collaboration and cooperation are improved forms of deep listening.

He is the author of Beyond Civility: The Competing Obligations of Citizenship with W. Keith (Penn State Press, 2020), Pragmatism, Democracy, and the Necessity of Rhetoric (University of South Carolina Press, 2007), Building a Social Democracy: The Promise of Rhetorical Pragmatism (Lexington Books, 2015), and What Effect Have I Had? 100 Communication Practices to be a Better Partner, Teammate, Writer, Speaker, and Leader (KDP, 2018).

Professor Danisch hosts a podcast called Now We’re Talking that focuses on communication skills, and he is currently finishing a SSHRC-funded project titled “Sociologies of Rhetoric” which outlines the conditions for rhetorical citizenship within large-scale democratic societies. His work has appeared in The Conversation, Rhetoric Society Quarterly, Rhetoric Review, Rhetoric & Public Affairs, Social Epistemology, Public Understanding of Science, and Southern Communication Journal.  Rob teaches courses in Leadership, Communication Ethics, Speech Writing, Persuasion, Small Group Communication, and Theories of Communication. Since 2016 He’s also been the Director of Arts First, the Faculty of Arts program required for all first year University students that emphasizes skills in communication and analysis.