PERFORMING OUR FUTURE:
F O R U M
JONATHAN BRADSHAW
Jonathan Bradshaw is an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Composition in the English Department at Western Carolina University. Jonathan teaches courses on rhetoric and writing, digital production, and teacher training. He has worked as Assistant Director of Composition at both Appalachian Sate University and Miami University. He has also served as Communications Team leader for the Urban Appalachian Community Coalition, a neighborhood advocacy organization in Cincinnati, Ohio. He received his PhD from Miami University in 2016. Jonathan is from rural, eastern NC and his research is inspired by the creativity and diversity in rural roots. His research focuses on intersections between cultural rhetorics, rhetorical circulation, and professional writing. His recent dissertation research explored the rhetorical strategies some Appalachian civic organizations deploy to remain within the region—and to remain “Appalachian” outside the region—among economic, material, and discursive arguments to do otherwise. Through his research Jonathan seeks to develop useful heuristics for the civic interventions culturally-based nonprofits and community groups seek to make among the communities they serve.