Sean Kennedy (PhD, University of Kansas) is the director of the Trojan Debate Squad and conducts research about rhetorics of economics and technological innovation. Kennedy teaches classes in rhetoric, persuasion, and public speaking.

His doctoral dissertation examines discourses of innovation and entrepreneurship in the context of Silicon Valley in general and Apple in particular. His research demonstrates how the circulation of entrepreneurial genius and disruptive innovation in popular media builds a “Silicon Valley imaginary” that mediates the public perception of globalization and innovation, producing significant effects on economic policy and amplifying economic inequality.

As a nationally competitive debater for the University of Kansas, Kennedy was top speaker at CEDA Nationals, finished Top 5 in Copeland Award balloting, received three First Round At-Large bids to the National Debate Tournament, and was a quarterfinalist and two-time octofinalist at the National Debate Tournament. As a graduate assistant coach at the University of Kansas, Kennedy coached the 2017-2018 Copeland Award Winner and National Debate Tournament Champion, two CEDA Nationals finalists, and the 2019-2020 Harvard Debate Tournament Champions.

Awards and Honors

Teddy Albiniak Award for Outstanding Instruction in Persuasion and Deliberation (2020)
Top Paper in Argumentation, Argumentation and Forensics Division, NCA Conference for “The Flash Crash: High-Frequency Trading and Non-Human Argument” (2016)
Top Paper Panel in the Public Address Division, NCA Conference for “STEMing the Tide: Obama’s Immigration Rhetoric and the Construction of Labor Hierarchy” (2014)