Ira Allen

Ira Allen is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at Northern Arizona University. His research focuses on rhetorical theory, ethics, and the intersections of fantasy, democracy, and environmental studies. He explores themes such as humanism, posthumanism, and climate change through a lens informed by philosophy, political science, and literary analysis.

Key research areas include the ethical negotiation of fantastical selves, the role of rhetoric in contemporary political discourse, and the philosophical underpinnings of democratic practices. His work often bridges classical theories (e.g., Perelman, Arendt) with modern challenges like climate anxiety and degrowth economics.

Allen’s publications span peer-reviewed articles in College Composition and Communication, book chapters in collections like The Routledge Handbook of Rhetoric and Power, and monographs such as The Ethical Fantasy of Rhetorical Theory. His interdisciplinary approach engages topics as diverse as activity systems in political science, the aesthetics of Dionysian myth, and rhetorical strategies for addressing ecological crises.