Dr. James Comas
Associate Professor

Member, Doctoral Faculty

B.A., 1975, University of Utah; M.A., 1981, University of Southern California; Ph.D., University of Southern California, 1987

Office: PH 228B; Phone/Voice Mail: 494-7951

James Comas joined the faculty in 2006. Much of his scholarly work and teaching is in the overlapping areas of the history of rhetoric and the history of criticism. A recent book, Between Politics and Ethics: Toward a Vocative History of English Studies (Southern Illinois UP '06), examines the interrelations of rhetoric, politics, and ethics in the development of American criticism during the 20th century. He is also the author of "Philosophy of Rhetoric," written for The Encyclopedia of Rhetoric and Composition (Garland '96), and "Rhetoric," written for the Encyclopedia of Postmodernism (Routledge '01), as well as studies on African literary criticism, Kenneth Burke, Georges Bataille, and French linguist Émile Benveniste. Currently, he is completing an article-length study on the impact of World War I on the restructuring of the Modern Language Association and is developing a book-length study of anti-modernism in rhetorical theories from the early 18th century to the present. In addition to courses in rhetoric and criticism, Dr. Comas teaches general literature (Introduction to Literary Studies) and composition.

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