Profiles
Mark Pollock, PhD
Associate Professor
Education
PhD Northwestern University
Mark Pollock grew up in Rogers Park, graduating from Sullivan High School. His collegiate career took him to Northwestern, Oakton Community College &, finally, Northern Illinois University. He did graduate work in rhetoric and philosophy at Penn State and at Northwestern, and came to Loyola in 1992, after five years teaching undergraduate and graduate students at Temple University. His dissertation on rhetoric, political judgment, and Hannah Arendt won a national award.
He lives in Rogers Park with his wife and their two children.
Specialty Area
U.S. political rhetoric, theories of political judgment, advocacy and social changeCourses Taught
Environmental Advocacy; Rhetorical Criticism; Argumentation and Advocacy; Social Justice and Communication; Introduction to Rhetoric; Rhetoric of the Cold War and the War on Terror; and Communication and Social Change.
Research Interests
Dr. Pollock’s primary research interest is in 20th and 21st century U.S. political rhetoric. He is especially interested in how rhetorical constructions of history are deployed to justify policy. He also is interested in the role of communication processes and practices in facilitating or obstructing democratic political processes. He currently is exploring this latter interest by documenting the participatory budgeting process implemented in Chicago’s 49th Ward.
Professional & Community Affiliations
AJCU-CC, National Communication Association, Rogers Park AYSO
Awards
National Communication Association's Outstanding Dissertation Award
Mundelein College Outstanding Teacher Award.
Publications
Dr. Pollock has published scholarly work on uses of history in contemporary American political rhetoric, on political judgment, on cartoon images of Arabs, on service learning, and on communication and social justice. He also is editor and contributing author of Communication Processes: Language, Reality, Identity.