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Department of Communication Studies |
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Peter Marston
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Office: |
MZ 346 |
Phone: |
(818) 677-2797 |
Email: |
Like many of the faculty in
the Department of Communication Studies, Peter Marston was introduced
to the field of communication through competitive debate. He
participated in debate throughout high school and college, and
ultimately graduated from Occidental College with a B.A. in Theatre
Arts and Rhetoric.
After two years teaching in the Special Education program at San
Marino High School, Professor Marston began his graduate degree at the
University of Southern California, where he studied under the guidance
of Dr. Walter Fisher. His dissertation, “The Rhetorical Forms and
Functions of Cosmological Argument,” won the National Communication
Association’s Dissertation of the Year Award in 1987, and the
following year, Professor Marston received the Karl R Wallace Award
for Outstanding Scholarship in Rhetorical Studies.
Since completing his doctorate, Professor Marston’s research has
focused on the subjective experience and communication of romantic
love, though he has also published articles in rhetorical criticism,
feminist rhetoric, postmodernism, and popular culture. The courses he
typically teaches in the department include: COMS 327 (Rhetorical
Theory), COMS 328 (Freedom of Speech), COMS 425 (Theories of Argument
and Deliberation), COMS 430 (Rhetorical Criticism), COMS 631 (Studies
in Classical Rhetoric); COMS 632 (Studies in Contemporary Rhetoric),
and COMS 633 (Studies in Postmodern Rhetoric).
Outside of his academic career, Professor Marston writes, records, and
performs music with his band, Shplang, and records and produces other
artists in his home studio. He is also an active member of the
Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
(CSICOP) and has developed critical thinking curriculum for the
organization’s Young Scholars program. He is married to Professor
Karen Swett, a part-time instructor in the department, and has two
children, Henry and Charlotte.
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