Contact Information

Biography

Kathleen Glenister Roberts (Ph.D., Indiana University-Bloomington, 2001) is Professor of Catholic Studies and Director of the University Honors College at Duquesne. She has published six books, including the national award-winning Alterity and Narrative (2008) and The Limits of Cosmopolis (2014). With a background in sociolinguistics, her research primarily concerns the intersections of pragmatics, ethics, faith, and culture. These topics are reflected in her many peer-reviewed essays in journals such as Catholic Education; Solidarity: A Journal of Catholic Social Thought and Secular Ethics; Critical Studies in Media Communication; and Argumentation and Advocacy. Dr. Roberts has also won numerous state and regional honors for teaching and service, and received the Presidential Scholarship Award as well as the Eugene P. Beard Award for Leadership in Ethics at Duquesne. Dr. Roberts is also chair of the Liberal Arts College Diversity Committee and serves on the board of August Wilson House in Pittsburgh's Hill District.

Education

  • Ph.D., Folklore, Indiana University-Bloomington, Indiana, 2001
  • M.A., American Studies, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, 1995
  • B.A., English and American Studies, University of Richmond, Virginia, 1993

School

Recent Scholarship

Books
The Limits of Cosmopolis: Ethics and Provinciality in the Dialogue of Cultures. New York: Peter Lang, 2014.

Alterity and Narrative: Stories and the Negotiation of Western Identities. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2007. (Winner of National Communication Association Book of the Year, International and Intercultural Communication Division, 2008).

Edited Books
‘A Body Living and Not Measurable': How Bodies are Constructed, Scripted, and Performed Through Time and Space (first editor, assisted by Ya-Hui Irenna Chang and Łukasz Matuszyk). Oxford, UK: Interdisciplinary Press, 2016.

Communication Theory and Millennial Popular Culture: Essays and Applications. New York: Peter Lang, 2015.

Communication Ethics: Between Cosmopolitanism and Provinciality. Co-edited with Ronald C. Arnett. New York: Peter Lang, 2008.

Journal Articles (2012 - Present)
Teaching a Catholic Philosophy of Interpersonal Communication: The Case for "Soul Friendship." Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice 16(1): 26-48 (2013).

Universalism in Catholic Social Thought: ‘Accompaniment' as Trinitarian Praxis. Solidarity: The Journal of Catholic Social Thought and Secular Ethics, 2(1): article 4 (2012).

Book Chapters (2012 - Present)
Epideictics and Eternity: Functions of the Time-Present in Ritual Speech. In Kathleen Glenister Roberts, Ya-Hui Irenna Chang, and Łukasz Matuszyk (eds.). ‘A Body Living and Not Measurable': How Bodies are Constructed, Scripted, and Performed Through Time and Space. Oxford, UK: Interdisciplinary Press, in press.

Understanding Epideictic Rhetoric with the Help of Fantasy Literature. In Kathleen Glenister Roberts (ed.), Communication Theory and Millennial Popular Culture: Essays and Applications. New York: Peter Lang, 2015.

Honors/Awards

Presidential Scholarship Award, Duquesne University, 2014.

Eugene P. Beard Award for Leadership in Ethics, Duquesne University, 2013.

Service

Editorial Boards

  • Critical Studies in Media Communication, 2010-present.
  • Review of Communication, 2009-present.
Offices Held
  • National Communication Association: Executive Committee
  • National Communication Association: Finance Board Director, 2014
  • National Communication: Finance Board Member, 2012-2014
  • Faculty Advisor, Integrated Honors Society, 2011-present.
  • Faculty Advisor, Asian Students Association, 2010-present.
  • Mission Animation Committee, Duquesne University, 2014-present.
  • Director of the Office for National Fellowships, Duquesne University, 2012-present.
  • Academic Community Engagement Committee, Duquesne University, 2012-present.
  • Fulbright Committee, Duquesne University, 2010-present.
  • Study Abroad Admissions Committee, Duquesne University 2010-present; Chair 2015-present.