Roger Thompson joins ASU from Stony Brook University, where he held leadership roles as a college associate dean and director of the program in writing and rhetoric. Trained in both literary critique and rhetorical strategy, Thompson now focuses both strands of inquiry on artificial intelligence research. He is co-director of the RhetAI Coalition, a research working group made up of academics and industry representatives that investigates “the persuasive power of AI.”
Formerly a professor at the Virginia Military Institute, Thompson is the co-author of the book, “Writing Programs, Veterans Studies, and the Post-9/11 University: A Field Guide” (NCTE, 2020) and also co-author of an Iraq War memoir, the award-winning bestseller “Beyond Duty: Life on the Frontline in Iraq” (Polity, 2009). His other books are nonfiction studies of Italian grizzlies and Ralph Waldo Emerson, among other works.
Thompson holds a PhD in rhetoric/composition and American literature from Texas Christian University and an MA in English from Baylor University.