Dana L. Cloud is an American communication professor. Cloud's primary research focuses on

rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...

cultural theory Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the political dynamics of contemporary culture (including popular culture) and its historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers generally investigate how cultural practices re ...

gender theory Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field ...

, and queer theory. She is best known for her 1998 book ''Control and Consolation in American Culture and Politics: Rhetoric of Therapy'' in which she coined the term "

rhetoric of therapy Rhetoric of therapy is a concept coined by American academic Dana L. Cloud to describe "a set of political and cultural discourses that have adopted psychotherapy's lexicon—the conservative language of healing, coping, adaptation, and restorati ...

Early life

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

, Cloud received her B.A./B.S. English and telecommunications double major in 1986. Cloud received her M.A. in rhetorical studies from the University of Iowa in 1989. In 1992, she received her Ph.D. in Rhetorical Studies from the department of communication studies at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

Career

Cloud was a faculty member in the department of communication studies, part of the Center for Women's and Gender Studies and the Department of Rhetoric and Writing at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, from January 1993 to August 2015. Cloud served as the director of graduate studies in department of communication Studies at the University of Texas, Austin, from August 2008–2015. From August 2015 to May 2019, Cloud was a professor and the director of graduate studies at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

. Cloud, who was a communications and rhetorical studies professor in the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse, is a supporter of the

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's obligations ...

(against Israel) movement and describes her views as radical liberalism. She has been named to various "blacklists" of professors during her career. In the Acknowledgements section of ''Reality Bites'' she acknowledges her "comrades" in the

International Socialist Organization The International Socialist Organization (ISO) was a Trotskyist group active primarily on college campuses in the United States that was founded in 1976 and dissolved in 2019. The organization held Leninist positions on imperialism and the role ...

Works

Cloud’s research interests include critical rhetorical and cultural studies, including

Marxist theory Marxist philosophy or Marxist theory are works in philosophy that are strongly influenced by Karl Marx's materialist approach to theory, or works written by Marxists. Marxist philosophy may be broadly divided into Western Marxism, which drew fro ...

feminist theory Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, fictional, or philosophical discourse. It aims to understand the nature of gender inequality. It examines women's and men's social roles, experiences, interests, chores, and feminist ...

, public sphere theory, and

postmodernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...

; the rhetoric of social movements; representations of sex, gender, and race in popular media; activist scholarship; and scholarship about activism.Arts, Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing
"Dana L. Cloud , Faculty & Staff , Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts"
''Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts''. Retrieved 2017-02-10. *1998: ''Control and Consolation in American Culture and Politics: Rhetoric of Therapy''. SAGE Publications. *2011: ''We are the Union: Democratic Dissent at Boeing''. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. *2018: ''Reality Bites: Rhetoric and the Circulation of Truth Claims in U.S. Political Culture''. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.

References

External links

Profile at the University of Texas

Profile at Syracuse University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cloud, Dana L. American women writers Critical theorists Living people Syracuse University faculty University of Texas at Austin faculty Year of birth missing (living people) Pennsylvania State University alumni University of Iowa alumni