John Arthos

I am the 2007-08 interim coordinator of Denison’s SAC initiative. I am also an associate professor in the Department of Communication.  I am available for “R” course consultations, for general questions about the oral communication general education requirement, and for preparing applications to teach “R” courses.  I am also available to help design communication components in the “R” classroom, evaluation instruments, or to consult in any way that may help faculty implement “R” courses.  

I will also offer orientation and class preparation workshops periodically to support faculty who are considering proposing or putting together “R” courses, or who simply want to know more about the program.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions:  e-mail:  arthos@denison.edu; office #:  (740) 587-6210; address: Room 413, Higley Hall, Denison University, Granville, OH  43203.

Background History

I have taught at Denison in the Communication Department for six years.  I taught previously in the Communication Department at State University of New York at Fredonia for five years.  My teaching subjects include rhetoric, argumentation & debate, rhetorical criticism, persuasion, public speaking, propaganda, narrative theory, script-writing, and communication theory.  My research is primarily in rhetorical theory. 

    I have been active in promoting the divisional “R” program ever since it was voted on by the general faculty about four years ago.  I proposed and ran, along with Amanda Gunn, the Fall Faculty Conference on “Speaking Across the Divisions” in 2004.  I co-taught faculty “R” workshops with Amanda in the spring of 2005 to help general faculty prepare and teach “R” courses.  I proposed and am a member of a “working group” on the divisional “R” initiative the Academic Affairs Council inaugurated in 2005 that studies and makes recommendations for the advancement and support of the divisional “R” initiative.  I am the creator and maintainer of this website. 

    My professional interests and skills are primarily in rhetorical and communication theory.  My long term scholarly interest is in the relationship between rhetoric and hermeneutics.