G. Thomas Goodnight is an American argumentation and rhetorical scholar.

Early life and education

Goodnight was born in 1948 in Houston, Texas. He obtained a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...

, in 1971 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

, in 1974. He received a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

, in 1977.

Career

Goodnight is a professor and director of doctoral studies in the Annenberg School for Communication at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

. He has published essays in '' Communication Monographs'', ''Communication Theory'', ''Journal of the American Forensic Association'', ''Quarterly Journal of Speech'', and ''Argumentation''. He has lectured in France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia, and the Netherlands. His seminal contribution to the field of

argumentation theory Argumentation theory, or argumentation, is the interdisciplinary study of how conclusions can be supported or undermined by premises through logical reasoning. With historical origins in logic, dialectic, and rhetoric, argumentation theory, incl ...

lies in his approach to "spheres of argument," an idea that has sparked many scholarly studies. Before joining USC full-time in 2004, Goodnight taught undergraduate and graduate courses in

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

's Communication Studies department in contemporary rhetorical theory, criticism, theory of argumentation, and the public sphere. His current research interests include deliberation and postwar society, science communication, argument and aesthetics, public discourse studies, and communicative reason in controversy. Goodnight has been named by the

American Forensics Association The American Forensic Association is an American organisation which promotes and supports competitive debating and public speaking in high schools and colleges in the United States. Members *Cross Examination Debate Association *National Parliame ...

as one of the top 5 scholars in argumentation in the twentieth century.Peterson's graduate programs in the humanities, arts, & social sciences, 2006, p. 922

References

External links

USC homepage
Living people University of Southern California faculty Communication theorists 1948 births {{US-academic-bio-stub