01 / The published work
109 entries on argument, rhetoric, and the questions of public life.
A scholar of argument & public life
G. ThomasGoodnight
The work, the drafts, and the voice of a life spent thinking with others. Gathered here by his family.
Northwestern · 1975–2003USC Annenberg · 2003–2025
In his own words · 2024
Dialogue is essentially engagement;things must be discussed and people must be kept open to changing conditions, goals, and relations.
with Yiran Wei, Communication and the Public↗
02 / The work in progress
Step through the surviving saves. See what changed, and what stayed.
03 / The spoken word
A recorded seminar and a long conversation about his life and ideas.
From the drafts
The thought
between two saves.
A paragraph from the bubble book, revised six days later. The archive lets you follow the work as it changes.
Open the draft exhibitBubble book / Exhibit I
Nov 18, 2008 → Nov 24, 2008…the seams (contingent spaces) where departures from stable structures and processes are initiated. Insight into junctures bonding configurations of practice within one institution offers insight into practices more generally. initiated and exploited.
Typeset excerpt from the saved text. Revision marks show the difference between the two versions.
Northwestern 1975–2003
USC Annenberg 2003–2025
Life
His 1982 essay “The Personal, Technical, and Public Spheres of Argument” reshaped the study of public deliberation. He directed more than 50 doctoral dissertations.
“Tom defined one of communication's most important intellectual traditions.”
Full vita
Positions
2003–2025
Professor of Communication; Director of Doctoral Studies (2003–2013)
Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California
1975–2003
Professor (through the tenure ranks); Director of the Northwestern Debate Society
School of Communication, Northwestern University
Education
1978
Ph.D., University of Kansas
Dissertation: Rhetoric and Culture — A Critical Edition of Richard M. Weaver's Unpublished Works
1973
M.A., University of Kansas
Thesis: Vietnam and the Rhetoric of War — A Study in Generic Criticism
1971
B.S., Political Science, University of Houston
Honors
2014
Distinguished Scholar Award, National Communication Association
2013
Mal Sillars Distinguished Argumentation Scholar Award
2011
USC Mentoring Award
2006
Lifetime achievement award, International Society for the Study of Argumentation
1999
Named among the five most influential argumentation scholars (AFA)
Service
- Directed more than 50 doctoral dissertations
- Former editor of Argumentation and Advocacy
- Director of the 12th Alta Conference on Argumentation
- Co-founder of the Northwestern–University of Amsterdam graduate exchange
- Fulbright Senior Specialist in Communication (2010–2015)