Summary
James L. Cherney (Ph.D. Indiana University, 2003) is Associate Professor and Interim Chair in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä, Reno. His primary area of research is the rhetoric of ableism, particularly as it operates around sport and visibility. He has published articles in such outlets as the Western Journal of Communication, Disability Studies Quarterly, and Argumentation and Advocacy. He identifies as neurodivergent, and is a former chair and one of the founders of UNR's Neurodiversity Alliance. In the National Communication Association he serves as the Chair of the IDEA Council, and he has been highly active in the Disability Issues Caucus since 2001. His book Ableist Rhetoric: How We Know, Value, and See Disability, was be published by Penn State University Press in 2019. He is currently working on a project examining the displays of monstrous and disabled bodies at medical and anatomical museums in North America and Europe.
Research interests
- Rhetoric
- Ableism
- Disability studies
- Critical theory
- Visual rhetoric
- Disability sport
- Cyborg theory
- Museum Studies
Recent publications
- Dana L. Cloud, James L. Cherney, J. David Cisneros, Constance Gordon, Theon Hill, Kristen E. Hoerl, and Mary E. Triece. A Rhetorical History of Social Movements in the U.S. Cognella, 2024.
- James L. Cherney. “Ableism and Intersectionality: A Rhetorical Perspective.” The Palgrave Handbook of Disability and Communication. Ed. Michael Jeffress, Joy Cypher, Julie-Ann Scott-Pollock, and Jim Ferris. Springer, 2023. 99-111.
- James L Cherney. Ableist Rhetoric: How We Know, Value, and See Disability. Penn State University Press, 2019.
- James L. Cherney and Kurt Lindemann. “Ableism and Paralympic Politics: Media Stereotypes and the Rhetoric of Disability Sport.” In Sport, Rhetoric, and Political Struggle. Ed. Daniel Grano and Michael Butterworth. New York: Peter Lang, 2019. 143-57.
Courses taught
- COM101: Public Speaking
- COM705: Critical Communication Pedagogy
- COM741: Rhetoric of the Body
Education
- Ph.D., communication and culture, Indiana University, 2003
- M.A., speech communication, Indiana University, 1995
- B.A., speech and political science/history, Butler University, 1990