Elvera B. Berry, Ph.D.

Professor of Communication, Chair

Dr. Elvera B. Berry, Ph.D., (aka Dr. Mrs.) specializes in communication studies, rhetorical theory, oral interpretation, organizational communication & leadership, and—especially—application of theory to daily and professional practice. Understanding education as professor and student “on a voyage of discovery together,” Dr. Berry encourages active classroom discussion in a context of challenge and support as she assists students in making life-long connections between whatever they are studying and everyday life.

Education

Ph.D. (Higher Education [Philosophy/Rhetoric]), SUNY Buffalo
M.A. (Rhetoric), SUNY Brockport
M.A. (Linguistics & German), University of Rochester
B.A. (German) Roberts Wesleyan College

Bio

Specialty Areas:

Communication Studies; Rhetorical Theory & Criticism; Teaching & Learning; Oral Interpretation; Organizational Communication & Leadership; work of literary/rhetorical/social critic, Kenneth Burke.

Current Research Interests:

Rhetoric of M.L. King, C.S. Lewis, B.T. Roberts, Andrew Young, Kenneth Burke; Educational Philosophy and Pedagogy; Rhetoric in race, religion, gender, literature, and politics.

Sample Courses:

Intro to Communication Arts, Communication & Education, Persuasion & Criticism; Communication & Gender; Classical & Modern Rhetoric; Oral Interpretation & Delivery; Seminars in Kenneth Burke and The Rhetoric of Literature.

Sample Publications:

“Burke for Undergraduates: Equipment for Thinking, Working, and Living,” in In the Classroom with Kenneth Burke (in press)
“Ordaining Women: Discourse of Dissent at the Intersection of Text and Context,” in Earnest: Interdisciplinary Work Inspired by the Life and Teachings of B.T. Roberts (2017)
“The Both-And of Undergraduate Education: Burke’s ‘Linguistic’ Approach,” in Humanistic Critique of Education: Teaching and Learning as Symbolic Action (2010).
“Definiendum: He is Yet to be Defined,” Kenneth Burke Society Publication (2000)
“Invitation to Relationship: The Teacher as Role Model, ” in Faculty Dialogue (1989)

Sample Convention Presentations:

Eastern Communication Association (ECA), office holder

Creating Their Future: Burke for the Undergraduate (2019)
Dissenting Communities: Confronting “trained incapacities” in race, religion, and gender (2014)
The Power of the Word and a Philosophy of Non-Violence: Discernment during the Civil Rights Movement (2011)
Instruments of our Own Making: Where Burke’s technology and Postman’s
technopoly meet (2010)

National Communication Association (NCA)

Transcending Both Permanence & Change: Wherein lies civic hope? (2016)
The Drama of the Narrative: In the Presence of our Past (2014)
The Classroom: In Search of Community (2012)
Piety and Social Action in the Rhetoric of John Wesley (2002)

Sample Honors:

2016 Once Upon a Time . . . , Commencement Address, Roberts Wesleyan College
2014 Distinguished Service Award, Kenneth Burke Society, in recognition of outstanding service
2010 Spiritan Award for Teaching, Duquesne University, in recognition of influence on undergraduate students