- Phone:
- 765-455-9567
- Email:
- darrc@iuk.edu
- Department:
- Communication and Performing Arts
- Campus:
- IU Kokomo
Main Building (KO), Room 238A
Main Building (KO), Room 238A
Biography
I am a Professor of Communication Arts and the Chair of Communication. My favorite classes to teach include Argumentation and Debate, Political Communication, and Research Methods.
My research focuses on political communication, specifically congressional rhetoric. I have published journal articles and book chapters on civility in American politics, Supreme Court confirmation hearings, and Kenneth Burke.
In addition, I strive to serve the community and enhance the learning of my students by incorporating public events and community interaction into the curriculum. For instance, my Argumentation and Debate class holds an annual debate that is open to the campus and community, where we have debated topics like drug laws, hate speech, and drug testing for student-athletes. In another example, my Interviewing class recently held an employment interviewing workshop, where they gave mock interviews to members of the Kokomo community who are currently on the job market.
Teaching Awards and Honors
- Trustees Teaching Award, Indiana University Kokomo, September 2017
- Member, Faculty Academy on Excellence in Teaching. Inducted 2016.
- Outstanding Educator Award, Student Government Association, Indiana University Kokomo, 2013
- Claude Rich Excellence in Teaching Award, Indiana University Kokomo, 2012
Professional Works
Darr, Christopher R., & Strine IV, Harry C. “Natural Disasters and the Construction of American Values: Community Exceptionalism as Representative Anecdote.” Atlantic Journal of Communication, 25 (2017): 293-304.
Darr, Christopher R., “Debating Diversity: Ethics and Controversial Public Issues.” Communication Teacher, 30, (2016): 147-152.
“A ‘Dialogue of the Deaf’: Obama, His Congressional Critics, and Incivility in American Political Discourse.” Invited book chapter for Clarke Rountree (Ed.), Venomous Speech, Praeger, 2013.
"Partisan Rhetoric is Not an Obstacle to Democracy or the Democratic Process." American Government. ABC-CLIO, 2013. Web. 17 May 2013.
“Adam Ferguson's Civil Society and the Rhetorical Functions of (In)Civility in United States Senate Debate,” Communication Quarterly, 59 (2011): 603-624.
White, Eva Roa, Heath, Sarah E., Darr, Christopher R., & Finkler, Michael S. “Turning a Plague into a Posy: Team Teaching Graduate Courses at a Small Campus,” Currents in Teaching and Learning, 3 (2010): 14-24.
Darr, Christopher R., & Strine, Harry C. “A Pentadic Analysis of Celebrity Testimony in Congressional Hearings,” KB Journal, 6 (2009).
Darr, Christopher R. “Civility and Social Responsibility: ‘Civil Rationality’ in the Confirmation Hearings of Justices Roberts and Alito.” Argumentation & Advocacy, 44 (2007): 57-74.
“Civility as Rhetorical Enactment: The John Ashcroft ‘Debates’ and Burke’s Theory of Form,” Southern Communication Journal 70 (2005): 316-328.
Cook, Paul, and Christopher R. Darr. “The ‘Working Man Mythology’ and Judicial Bias: Narrative Frames and Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings.” Paper presented at the National Communication Association annual convention, Dallas, TX, November 2017.
Darr, Christopher R. “Part-Time Faculty and the Public Speaking Course: Training, Mentoring, ‘Buy-In,’ and a Flipped Classroom Initiative.” Paper presented at the Eastern Communication Association annual convention, Boston, MA, March 2017.
“Purification by Obstruction: Guilt and Redemption in the Struggle for the Supreme Court.” Paper presented at the National Communication Association annual convention, Philadelphia, PA, November 2016.
Darr, Christopher R. “Media Reports, Hostile Witnesses, and Accusations: Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings and the Reasonable Nonpartisan Persona.” Paper presented at the National Communication Association annual convention, Las Vegas, NV, November 2015.
“‘Pinks, Reds, Liberals, Socialists, Communists, Marxists, Anarchists, Trotskyites, and so forth’: Wander’s Third Persona and the Confirmation Hearings of US Supreme Court Justices.” Presentation. National Communication Association annual convention, Las Vegas, NV, November 2015.
“‘Embracing’ Kenneth Burke as Pedagogical Equipment for Living: Burkean Pedagogy in the Next Century of NCA.” Roundtable discussion. National Communication Association annual convention, Las Vegas, NV, November 2015.
“Competitive Papers in Political Communication: Political Public Address.” Respondent. National Communication Association annual convention, Las Vegas, NV, November 2015.
“Senate Rhetoric and the Partisan Media Spectacle: The Role of Ideology in Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings.” Paper presented at the Central States Communication Association, Madison, WI, April 2015.
“Celebrity Culture: A Discussion on Communication Scholarship and Celebrity.” Roundtable discussion. Central States Communication Association, Madison, WI, April 2015.
Strine, Harry C., & Darr, Christopher R. “Hurricanes, Floods, and Earthquakes: The Politics of Natural Disasters.” Paper presented at the Hawaii International Conference on the Arts and Humanities, Hawaii, January 2014.
Darr, Christopher R. & Strine, Harry C., “Partisanship, Ideology and Advice and Consent: A Content Analysis of Incivility in Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings.” Paper presented at the National Communication Association annual convention, Orlando, FL, November 2012.
Darr, Christopher R. “A ‘Dialogue of the Deaf’: Obama and His Congressional Critics.” Paper presented at the National Communication Association annual convention, New Orleans, LA, November 2011.
Service
- Chair of Communication, 2016 - present.
- Program Coordinator of Communication Arts, 2009 - 2016
- Faculty Senate, 2008 - 2016. I served as
senate officer for 8 years, including President for three years, VP for one, Parliamentarian for two and Secretary for two. - Member, IU Kokomo Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs search committee, Fall 2014.
- Member, IU Kokomo Chancellor search committee, Fall 2013 - Spring 2014.
Teaching
- Senior Seminar
- Honors Colloquium: Rhetoric and Ideology
- Political Communication
- Communication Research Methods
- Organizational Communication
- Interviewing
- Persuasion
- Internship
- Group Discussion and Methods
- Argumentation and Debate
- Introduction to Speech Communication
- Mass Communication
- Business and Professional Communication
- Interpersonal Communication
- Public Speaking