PhD Candidate Contact Info Matthew.Farmer@uga.edu Office: Caldwell 513 Matt Farmer is an M.A. student in Rhetorical Studies. Prior to enrolling at UGA, he earned a B.A. in both Communication Studies and Economics from the University of Memphis. His research focuses on the rhetorical convergence of race, religion, and politics. His thesis looks at invocations delivered before mayoral addresses with the aim of analyzing the kind of identities projected onto black Memphians in those prayers; these identities are then amplified by mayoral policies, language, and funding decisions. His research relies on theories of Afro-Pessimism, Afrocentricity, and theology of black liberation, all within a carefully specified neoliberal context. Matt recently presented his research at the 2019 National Communication Association Preconference in Baltimore, MD titled “‘Yet with a Steady Beat’: Creating and Sustaining the African American Public Address Tradition.”
