Department of Communication

Contact and Overview

Email Address 

richardsms@appstate.edu

Office Hours

Tuesday: 1:00-2:00 p.m.
Thursday: 1:00-2:00 p.m.

And by appointment

Schedule an Appointment

Education

Ph. D., Communication Studies, University of Utah 2016
M.A., Communication and Rhetorical Studies, Syracuse University 2009
B.A., Communication Studies, Marshall University 2007

Teaching

Currently Teaching (Fall 2024)

COM 2181 Intro to Rhetorical Theory

Courses Taught

COM 1200 Thinking Through Communication
COM 2101 Public Speaking
COM 2105 Public Speaking in the Discipline
COM 2115 Speech Activity
COM 2124 Intercultural Communication
COM 2181 Intro to Rhetorical Theory
COM 3119 Communicating Coal in Appalachia

Research Interests

Rhetoric
Resistance/Control
Class
Appalachian Studies
Social Movements
Violence
Gender
Masculinity

Publications

Peer-Reviewed Publications

• Richards, Matthew S. (2024). The Mad King: Violence and Vulnerability in Professional Wrestling. Communication, Culture, & Critique. https://doi.org/10.1093/ccc/tcae002
• Richards, Matthew S. (2020). The Rhetorical Register of Class: Gender, Resistance, and Social Justice in Appalachia’s Coalfields. Journal of Appalachian Studies, 26(2), 248-263. https://doi.org/10.54/jappastud.26.2.0248
• Richards, Matthew. S. (2019). Seizing A Violent History: Kairos, Class, and Resistance in Appalachia’s Coalfields. Communication & Critical/Cultural Studies, 16(4), 269–286. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1080/14791420.2019.1644526
• Richards, Matthew. S. (2019). “Normal for His Culture”: Appalachia and the Rhetorical Moralization of Class. Southern Communication Journal, 84(3), 152–169. https://doi.org/10.1080/1041794X.2019.1566399
• Richards, Matthew. S. (2016). The Gulabi Gang, Violence, and The Articulation of Counterpublicity. Communication, Culture & Critique, 9(4), 558–576. https://doi.org/10.1111/cccr.12139

Other Publications

• Richards, Matthew. S. (2014). Book Review: The Rebirth of History: Times of Riots and Uprisings by Alain Badiou. Translated by Gregory Elliot.  Philosophy and Rhetoric, 47(1), 104–112.