Associate Professor Director of Debate Contact Info bjorn@uga.edu Office: 603 Caldwell Hall 706-542-4893 Dr. Bjørn Stillion Southard is an Associate Professor and Director of Debate in Communication Studies. He holds a PhD and MA from the University of Maryland. Bjørn is interested in early U.S. Public Address, particularly in discourses concerning race and law. His first book, Peculiar Rhetoric: Slavery, Freedom, and the African Colonization Movement (University Press of Mississippi, 2019), explored the tenuous middle ground constructed and contested by white and Black people in the United States. His research has appeared in Quarterly Journal of Speech, Rhetoric & Public Affairs, Argumentation and Advocacy, and elsewhere. Bjørn has also published or edited numerous works on public speaking. He edited the open educational resource textbook for the UGA public speaking course, titled The Art and Craft of Public Speaking. He has also written three books on presentations in professional settings (with Christine Clapp). The most recent work is Presenting Now: A Guide to Public Speaking and Leadership Communication Online, in Person, and Beyond (2022). Bjørn's previous collaborations with Christine were Presenting Virtually: A Guide to Public Speaking in Online Contexts and Presenting at Work: A Guide to Public Speaking in Professional Contexts. Bjørn is currently working on two projects: one about Frederick Douglass's third autobiography--Life and Times of Frederick Douglass-- and another about oratory in Harlem from 1900 to 1945. Bjørn Stillion Southard recently published, “The Measured Memory of Abraham Lincoln: Ring Composition and Rhetorical Complexity in Frederick Douglass’s Freedmen’s Monument Address,” Rhetoric & Public Affairs 25, no. 1 (2025): 1-34. Curriculum Vitae: Bjorn-CV for website-Fall 2025.docx (39.31 KB)
