About

Lauren Buisker (she/her/hers) is an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric in the Department of Rhetoric, Film, and Screen Studies and the Director of the Brooks Quimby Debate Council. Buisker earned a Ph.D. in Communication from Colorado State University, an M.A. in Communication from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a B.S. in Communication Studies and Political Science from South Dakota State University. A recipient of college-wide teaching awards at the University of Illinois and Colorado State University, Buisker has taught courses including Argumentation and Debate, Rhetorical Criticism, Gender and Communication, Political Rhetoric, Public Speaking, and the Rhetoric of Pop Culture. Buisker has also served as the Assistant Coach of Speech and Debate at South Dakota State University. 

At Bates, Buisker is currently teaching Public Discourse, which focuses on rhetorical histories of public protest in the U.S. Her present research program uses intersectional feminist perspectives to understand the rhetoric of anti-sexual violence organizing, and she has published articles in Rhetoric Society Quarterly, Southern Communication Journal, Women & Language, and Communication Studies.

Education: 

Ph.D. in Communication, Colorado State University

• Concentration: Rhetoric and Civic Engagement
• Dissertation:  “Beyond the Individual-Systemic Binary: Organizing Belief in the Rhetoric of Anti-Sexual Violence Activism”  

M.A. in Communication, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Concentration: Rhetoric and Public Discourse

B.S. in Communication Studies, South Dakota State University

• Graduated with Honors Distinction, Summa Cum Laude

Courses Taught: 

Public Discourse

Publications: 

Peer-Reviewed Teaching Article

Buisker, Lauren L., and Kylie J. Johnson. “What is ‘So Severe, Pervasive, and Objectively Offensive?’: Defining Sexual Harassment, Investigating Reporting Requirements, and Supporting Disclosures with Feminist Role-Playing.” Feminist Pedagogy. (Accepted; forthcoming 2025).

Peer-Reviewed Research Articles

Buisker, Lauren L. “Articulating Hierarchical Victimhood: Rhetorical Mirroring in Anti-Fat and Rape Culture Discourses.” Rhetoric Society Quarterly 54, no. 5 (2024): 467-482. https://doi.org/10.1080/02773945.2024.2408555

Buisker, Lauren L. “Erasing Race: Convenience Memories of Anita Hill and Rhetorics of White ‘Worthy’ Victimhood in Coverage of the Ford/Kavanaugh Hearings.” Southern Communication Journal 89, no. 3-4 (2024): 153-166. https://doi.org/10.1080/1041794X.2024.2389813

Buzzetta, Autumn, Lauren L. Buisker, Elizabeth A. Williams, and Cari Whittenburg. “‘Nobody Knew the Rules’: Nonprofit Resilience, Rules, and Resources during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Communication Studies 75, no. 5 (2024): 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/10510974.2024.2382623

Buisker, Lauren L. “Weaponizing Apologia in Response to Me Too: Organizational Silencing in CBS Coverage of Charlie Rose.” Women & Language 46, no. 2 (2023): 331-362. doi:10.34036/WL.2023.019.

Book Chapter

Long, Ziyu, and Lauren L. Buisker. “Care, Justice, and Resilience: Designing Positive Employee Communication from Organizational Communication Perspectives” in The Routledge Handbook of Employee Communication and Organizational Process, eds. Soojin Kim, Patrice M. Buzzanell, Jeong-Nam Kim, and Alessandra Mazzei. (Routledge, 2025): 246-256.

Book Review

Buisker, Lauren L. Review of “What It Feels Like: Visceral Rhetoric and the Politics of Rape Culture.” Quarterly Journal of Speech 109, no. 2 (2023): 199-200. https://doi.org/10.1080/00335630.2023.2201433