Mollie Murphy
(she/her/hers)
Communication & Media
Associate Professor
Contact Information
Office Hours: Thursdays 12:00-1:00pmOffice Location: Logan (MAIN 202F)
Email: mollie.murphy@usu.edu
Additional Information:
Biography
Mollie joined the Communication Studies faculty in 2017. She specializes in rhetorical criticism and theory, environmental communication, and gender. She is the author of numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and scholarly book chapters, most of which critically analyze the rhetoric of women environmental advocates including Rachel Carson, Sandra Steingraber, Jane Goodall, and more. Her work has been recognized by three "Top Paper" awards from the National Communication Association, and in 2023 she received USU's "Researcher of the Year" award for the College of Humanities of Social Sciences. Mollie is currently working on a book project examining rhetorics of hope in a time of climate crisis.
Mollie teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on topics including rhetorical criticism, environmental communication, advanced public speaking, and gender communication. She has advised five master's thesis committees and sat on many more.
In her free time, Mollie enjoys reading, knitting, playing Mario Kart, hanging out with her two hound dogs, and the local canyons.
Publications | Book Chapters
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.
Publications | Journal Articles
Academic Journal
- Murphy, M.K, (2025). Sublime Wonder: Rachel Carson, Nature Writing, and Human-Nature Connection. Western Journal of Communication, 89:3, 435-454.
- Murphy, M.K, (2025). Emotion as Motive: Aligning Hope and Action in Jane Goodall's Climate Rhetoric. Environmental Communication, 1-14.
- Murphy, M., (2023). Reconsidering the Role of Scientific Research in Anti-Toxics Rhetoric Through Perspective by Incongruity. Western Journal of Communication, 87:3, 489-507.
- Murphy, M.K, (2022). Granting Standpoint as a Strategy for Promoting Social Justice Activism: An Analysis of Dolores Huerta's Rhetoric. Southern Communication Journal, 87:5, 476-487.
- Murphy, M.K, (2020). "We Are Seneca Lake": Defining the Substances of Sustainable and Extractive Economics through Anti-Fracking Activism. Frontiers in Communication, 5, 1-12.
- Murphy, M., (2020). "Maternal Dissent in Mainstream News: 'Peace Mom' Confronts the Nation's Strict Father". Women's Studies in Communication, 43:1, 23-44.
- Murphy, M., (2019). "Scientific Argument Without a Scientific Consensus: Rachel Carson's Rhetorical Strategies in the Silent Spring Debates". Argumentation & Advocacy
- Murphy, M., (2017). "What's in the World Is in the Womb: Converging Environmental and Reproductive Justice Through Synecdoche". Women's Studies in Communication, 40:2, 155-171.
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.
Publications | Other
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.