Christian Lundberg

Christian Lundberg is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, affiliated with the School of Civic Life and Leadership. He holds a Ph.D. in Rhetoric from Northwestern University (2006) and a Master of Divinity from Emory University (2000). His work focuses on rhetoric, debate, public persuasion, and analyzing political speech, with particular attention to psychoanalytic theory and religious discourse.

Research interests include theories of public discourse, debate pedagogy, and the intersection of rhetoric with cultural studies. He has authored influential textbooks such as The Essential Guide to Rhetoric and Public Speaking: Choices and Responsibility, and his book Lacan in Public: Psychoanalysis and the Science of Rhetoric explores psychoanalytic frameworks in public communication. Lundberg has consulted for U.S. Senate campaigns, Fortune 500 companies, and designed debate programs for institutions like Harvard University.

His pedagogical innovations include the First Year Seminar Think, Speak, Argue, emphasizing debate as a democratic tool. He has coached national championship debate teams at four universities and holds dual roles as CSO of Vocable Communications and Visiting Scholar at Johns Hopkins’ SNF Agora Institute.