Contact Information

Biography

Anthony M. Wachs earned a B.S. in Political Science at Black Hills State University. His love of rhetoric was fostered there through his work on the Debate Team, and work with the communication studies faculty. He then earned a Master's in Communication Studies from Kansas State University. In addition to studying rhetoric, there he developed an interest in aesthetics, religious rhetoric, and communication ethics. In 2012, received his doctorate in rhetoric from Duquesne University. From 2011-2016, Dr. Wachs worked as an assistant professor and Director of Forensics at Northern State University. While there, he helped to build the communication studies program and led individual debate teams to national successes. In 2016 he received the Outstanding Faculty Member Award from NSU. He has published works in the Journal of Communication and Religion, LOGOS: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, and Listening: Journal of Communication Ethics, Religion, and Culture. His book, The New Science of Communication: Reconsidering McLuhan's Message for our Modern Moment, connects Marshall McLuhan's media theory with his early work on the classical and medieval trivium and was published in 2015. He is co-author of Age of Anxiety: Meaning, Identity, and Politics in 21st-Century Film and Literature, which analyzes literature and films that speak to our age of anxiety resulting from the decline of narratives that provided individuals with a meaningful human life.

Education

  • Ph.D., Rhetoric, Duquesne University, 2012
  • M.A., Speech Communication, Kansas State University, 2008
  • B.S., Political Science, Black Hills State University, 2005

 

School

  • 2018
    Wimmer Family Foundation Award for Summer Research (2018)
  • 2017
    Wimmer Family Foundation Award for Summer Research (2017).
  • 2016
    Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year from Northern State University (2016).
  • 2012
    Wilhem S. Wurzer Scholarship Award from the Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies at Duquesne University (2012).

Books:
Wachs, Anthony M. and Jon D. Schaff. Age of Anxiety: Meaning, Identity, and Politics in 21st-Century Film and Literature. Politics, Literature, & Film Series. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. 2020.

Wachs, Anthony M. The New Science of Communication: Reconsidering McLuhan's Message for Our Modern Moment. Philosophy/Communication Series. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press, 2015.

Journal Articles (2012 - Present)
Wachs, Anthony M. "Apocalyptic Rhetoric in the Literature of Michael D. O'Brien." LOGOS: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, vol.21, no. 2, Spring 2018, pp. 55-80.

Wachs, Anthony M. "Technological Transcendence: The Media Ecology of Sacramentals." Listening: Journal of Communication Ethics, Religion, and Culture, vol. 53, no. 2, Spring 2018, pp. 63-77.

Wachs, Anthony. "Contextualizing Faith and Reason: Pope Benedict XVI on Religion in the Public Sphere Redux." Journal of Communication and Religion, vol. 38, no. 3, 2015, pp. 107-123.

Wachs, Anthony. "Collective Representations: The Resurrection of Language in Owen Barfield's Anti-Reductionism." Listening: Journal of Communication Ethics, Religion, and Culture, vol. 50, no. 3, 2015, pp. 180-198.

Wachs, Anthony M. "Interpersonal Rhetoric: An Approach to Bettering Oneself and Others." Discourse: Journal of the Speech Communication Association of South Dakota. vol. 1, 2014, pp. 32-44.

Book Chapters (2012 - Present):

Wachs, Anthony M. (in press) "The Francis Effect: Pope Francis' Rhetoric in a Church on the verge of Civil War." In J. R. Blaney (Ed.). Understanding Pope Francis: Message, media, and audience. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.

Wachs, Anthony M. "Marshall McLuhan." An Encyclopedia of Communication Ethics: Goods in Contention. Eds. Ronald C. Arnett, Annette M. Holba, and Susan Mancino. New York: Peter Lang, 2018, pp. 314-317.

Jasso, John and Anthony Wachs. "Appointments and Disappointments: A Rhetorical Analysis of the Relationship Between President Obama, Catholics, and Their Church." The Rise of Barak Obama and the Making of a Rhetor. Eds. Matthew Abraham and Erec Smith. Anderson, SC: Parlor Press, 2013, pp. 65-90.

Editorships:
Editor, Discourse: Journal of the Speech Communication Association of South Dakota (2016).

Associate Editor, Discourse: Journal of the Speech Communication Association of South Dakota (2012-2015).

Editorial Boards:
Discourse: Journal of the Speech Communication Association of South Dakota (2018-Present).

Journal of Communication and Religion (2014-Present).

Offices Held:
2nd Vice President Religious Communication Association (2020-2021).

Faculty Senator at Northern State University (2015-2016).

Executive Committee Member of the Speech Communication Association of South Dakota (2012-2014).