John Murphy

John Murphy is Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a position he has held since 2019 after serving as Associate Professor there from 2008 to 2019. His academic background includes a Ph.D. in Communication Studies from the University of Kansas in 1986, an M.A. in Communication Studies from the same institution in 1985, and a B.A. in Political Science (magna cum laude) from Bradley University in 1981. Prior appointments include Associate Professor in the Department of Speech Communication at the University of Georgia from 1997 to 2008, where he also served as Graduate Coordinator from 2005 to 2008 and Director of Basic Courses from 1997 to 2000; Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at North Dakota State University from 1992 to 1997; Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Miami University (Ohio) from 1985 to 1988; Assistant Professor in the Division of Communication at Bradley University from 1988 to 1990; and Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Cincinnati from 1990 to 1991.

A prominent scholar in Communications, John Murphy's research focuses on the history of American public address and political rhetoric, including the rhetoric of the U.S. presidency and contemporary politics, presidential war rhetoric, campaign speeches, and the evolution of political languages. He has analyzed the rhetoric of figures such as John and Robert Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, Martin Luther King Jr., George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. Key publications include his book John F. Kennedy and the Liberal Persuasion (Michigan State University Press, 2019); articles such as “Melodrama, William Barr, and the imperial presidency” (Quarterly Journal of Speech, 2022), “The sunshine of human rights: Hubert Humphrey at the 1948 Democratic convention” (Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 2020), “Barack Obama and Rhetorical History” (Quarterly Journal of Speech, 2015), and “The Primary Colors of Political Community” (American Literary History, 2012). Murphy has received the 2015 University of Illinois Campus Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award, the 2015 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, and the 2004 National Communication Association Golden Anniversary Monograph Award for “‘Our Mission and Our Moment’: George W. Bush and September 11th.” He has served on editorial boards for Rhetoric & Public Affairs (2000–2019), Quarterly Journal of Speech (2004–2010; 2013–present), and others, as well as numerous university committees including the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Awards Committee at UIUC (2017–2019). His commentary on presidential rhetoric appears in The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and The Conversation USA. Currently, he is writing a book on the civil rights rhetoric of James Baldwin, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Martin Luther King Jr., supported by a 2018–2019 Faculty Fellowship from the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities.

Professional Email: jmmurphy@illinois.edu