Benson, Thomas W.

Professor, editor, writer, and filmmaker Thomas W. Benson (1937- ) researched the rhetorical aspects of political movements and political rhetoric in presidential speeches. In addition to political rhetoric, Benson's research interests include film criticism, rhetorical theory, the rhetorical aspects of technology, issues in the freedom of speech, nonverbal communication, and the politics of speech, film, television, and the rhetoric of contemporary conflict. Benson joined the State University of New York at Buffalo, first as an instructor (1963-1966), progressing to assistant professor (1966-1969) and associate professor (1970-1971). He moved to the University of California at Berkeley (1969-1970) as a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Rhetoric, then served as a visiting associate professor. He was appointed associate professor at The Pennsylvania State University (1971) where he holds the Edwin Erle Sparks Professorship in Communication Arts and Sciences in the College of Liberal Arts.