Dr. David Supp-Montgomerie is an Associate Professor of Instruction in the Department of Communication Studies and Director of the Iowa Program for Public Life. He received his Ph.D. in Communication Studies and earned a certificate in Cultural Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Prior to coming to Iowa, he was a Teaching Fellow at Quest University Canada in British Columbia. His research focuses on practices of public culture. His current research examines the role of rhetoric in U.S. public and political culture and addresses the ethical and political demands that citizens face when communicating deliberatively in public. He is particularly interested in the effects of apparent artificialness in democratic speech and the precarity of sincerity as an ethical baseline for communication.

Through his work directing the Iowa Program for Public Life (IPPL), Supp-Montgomerie trains students to partner with community organizations to support healthy deliberation about state and local issues. The goal is to create the capacity for citizens to shape their collective future together. Students can take courses, such as “Solving Public Problems,” join the IPPL’s Student Associate Program, or complete a nonprofit strategic communication internship.

David teaches on the broad themes that orient students to communication and culture, as well as the specific theoretical and practical tools involved in rhetoric, media, and ethics. These have included: rhetorical theory and criticism; political communication and deliberation; ancient Greek literature, philosophy, and culture; and public and professional communication skills. In all of his classes he seeks to create affirming and intellectually rigorous classrooms focused on nurturing students’ civic and scholarly voices.

David Supp-Montgomerie CV