Dr. J. David Cisneros is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and affiliate faculty in the Department of Latina/Latino Studies, the Center for Writing Studies, and the Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory. Cisneros' interests are in Rhetorical Studies and Intercultural Communication. His research focuses on public rhetoric about identity and culture, especially the ways that social identities like race/ethnicity, citizenship, and national identity are defined, maintained, and redefined through public communication. His research also explores rhetorics of resistance and social movement, especially as they concern issues of race and immigration.

Cisneros' research has appeared in journals such as Rhetoric & Public Affairs, Argumentation & Advocacy, Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, and Quarterly Journal of Speech. He published “The Border Crossed Us”: Rhetorics of Borders, Citizenship, and Latina/o Identity with the University of Alabama Press in 2014. His research has received awards such as the Wrage-Baskerville Award (from the National Communication Association’s Public Address Division), the Article of the Year Award from the Eastern Communication Association, and the Early Career Award from the NCA's Rhetorical and Communication Theory Division.

Cisneros teaches courses in the areas of rhetorical theory and criticism, critical theory, critical race, studies, and public advocacy.

Race and Ethnicity
Immigration
Social Movements
Democracy and Citizenship
Latina/o Studies
Cultural Studies
Critical Intercultural Communication

Conrad Humanities Scholar, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2018-2022
Early Career Award, Rhetorical and Communication Theory Division, National Communication Association (NCA), 2017
Helen Corley Petit Scholar, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2017-2018
Emerging Scholar Award, Critical Cultural Studies Division, NCA, 2015
Junior Research Fellowship, Unit for Criticism & Interpretive Theory, University of Illinois, 2014-2016
Article of the Year Award, Eastern Communication Association, 2013
Wrage-Baskerville Award for Top Paper, Public Address Division, National Communication Association, 2012
Top paper award, Media Ecology Association, 2012
Daniel Rohrer Memorial Outstanding Research Award, American Forensics Association, 2010

CMN 250: Social Movement Communication
CMN 417: Contemporary Rhetorical Theory
CMN 538: Rhetoric of Social Movement(s)
CMN 538: Rhetoric, Democracy, and Citizenship

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