Dana Cloud

Dana L. Cloud is Professor and Director of the School of Communication, Film, and Media Studies at the University of Cincinnati. As a critical scholar of communication and culture, she employs Marxist, feminist, and intersectional frameworks to analyze social movements.

Research Focus: Examines rhetoric in social movements, labor organizing, queer theory, and ideological critique. Current projects investigate the privatization of social responsibility, academic freedom challenges, and the politics of queer care networks.

Awards & Recognition:

• NCA Activism and Social Justice Scholarly Influence Award (2023)
• NCA Distinguished Scholar (2020)
• Presidential Citation for Social Justice (2018)
• Francine Merritt Award for Mentoring Women (2014)
• Multiple division awards for scholarship and activism

Publication Trends: Books and articles critically analyze truth claims in political discourse, workplace democracy movements, and rhetorical strategies of resistance. Recent work focuses on queer theory applications in communication studies and critiques of neoliberalism.

Professional Leadership: Previously directed graduate programs at Syracuse University and University of Texas at Austin. Authored seven books including Reality Bites: The Rhetorical Circulation of Truth Claims in U.S. Political Culture and Control and Consolation in American Politics and Culture.