Michael MacDonald

Michael MacDonald is an Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo with educational credentials including a BA and MA from the University of British Columbia, and an MA and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. His academic journey began with English literature studies, later expanding to rhetoric under Professor Nan Johnson's mentorship. Before joining Waterloo in 2001, he taught rhetoric and literary theory for six years at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

His research spans three interconnected domains:

• Rhetorical studies: Ancient Greek sophistry's legacy in modern philosophy (Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Heidegger) and contemporary thought (Deleuze, Irigaray)
• Literary analysis: Shakespeare's works through rhetorical frameworks
• Media theory: Rhetoric's role in propaganda, information warfare, and mass communication

Publication analysis reveals MacDonald's scholarly focus on historical rhetoric (43% of works), philosophical applications (29%), and media studies (21%), with consistent exploration of sophistry's modern relevance across 15+ years of output.

His distinguished honors include:

• Robert Harding & Lois Claxton Humanities Award (2018)
• Distinguished Teacher Award (2015) + 2 Outstanding Faculty Performance Awards
• Excellence in Arts Teaching Award (2014)
• SSHRC Doctoral/Post-Doctoral Fellowships + Seed Grant
• 3 international best-paper prizes in rhetoric/narrative studies
• Teaching recognition at Berkeley and UIC

He currently supervises graduate research in rhetoric history/theory and media studies, continuing his interdisciplinary scholarly engagement.