Research interests

Critical Theory, Rhetoric of Power, Rhetoric of Violence, Alt-Right Rhetoric, Trumpism, Demagoguery, Speech and Debate Pedagogy

Selected presentations

"Competitive Debate in a Pandemic World: Analyzing the Effects of COVID-19 on Collegiate Debate"
Graduate student presenter for Illinois State University School of Communication Fall Research Colloquium 2021

"Make America Kill Again: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Donald Trump's Necropolitical Representations Through Conjunctural Use of Twitter During his Presidency"
Masters Thesis 2022

"'They're Not Sending Their Best': A Conjunctural Analysis of Necropolitical Power Established Through Donald Trump's Presidential Campaign Announcement Speech"
Presented at Central States Communication Association 2022

"Flipping the Script: Intersectional Representations of the Religious Other in Hacksaw Ridge"
Paper presented as part of the panel "Re-connecting Identity to Popular Media" at Central States Communication Association 2022

"Re-connecting to the Classroom: Experiences of Basic Course Directors and GTAs Transitioning From Online to Teaching Face-to-Face for the First Time"
Panel member at Central States Communication Association 2022

Publications

Thornhill, Zach and Joseph Zompetti. (2023). "The 'Twitter President': Trump's Necropolitical Representations of Immigrants" Competitive paper accepted at the National Communication Association's annual convention held in National Harbor, Maryland in 2023. Political Communication Division.

Thornhill, Zach. (2023). "Restorative Rhetoric of Destruction: Ron DeSantis' Commitments to Law and Order following Hurricane Ian" Competitive paper accepted at the National Communication Association's annual convention held in National Harbor, Maryland in 2023. Public Address Division.