James O'Mara

James O'Mara serves as a Lecturer in the Department of Communication within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Denver. He teaches courses including Public Speaking, Introduction to Popular Communication, Argumentation and Deliberation, Political Communication, and Urban Communication.

Currently pursuing his PhD in Communication Studies at Colorado State University, O'Mara's academic work focuses on socioeconomic class, rhetoric, cultural studies, and materiality. His dissertation conducts rhetorical criticism of working-class places in Fort Collins, Colorado, examining how consumer practices in the United States contribute to horizontal class antagonism. He has also co-authored research analyzing the rhetorical relationship between Columbus, Indiana and Cummins Inc., their largest corporate employer.

O'Mara has presented his research at major academic conferences including the National Communication Association, Rhetoric Society of America, and Western States Communication Association. His work intersects urban studies, class analysis, and rhetorical theory, with particular attention to how physical spaces reflect and reinforce socioeconomic structures.

As a PhD candidate actively teaching undergraduate courses while completing his dissertation, O'Mara bridges academic research with practical pedagogy in communication studies. His teaching portfolio demonstrates expertise across multiple subfields within communication, from foundational public speaking to specialized topics in urban and political communication.