Profile
Dr. Greg Coles is a writer, scholar, and worship leader whose work explores the dynamic spaces where language, identity, and faith meet. With a Ph.D. in English (Rhetoric & Composition) from Penn State, Greg’s academic contributions delve into rhetorical theory—particularly how nondominant groups construct their identity through language—as well as the role of personal narrative and the often fraught intersection of sexuality and Christian faith. He has authored five books, several academic essays, and a range of creative pieces that invite readers into deeper, more compassionate conversations about belonging and belief.
Courses Taught
- COMM 4401 Decision-Making and Ethics in Communication
- COMM 3301 Language, Linguistics, and Human Identity
Education
- Ph.D. in English/Rhetoric & Composition | The Pennsylvania State University
- M.A. in English/Rhetoric & Composition | The Pennsylvania State University
- B.A. in Communication | Roberts Wesleyan University
Sample Publications
Books:
No Country for Old Words: How Insults Become Identities, When Taboos Linger, and Why It Matters. The University of Tennessee Press, forthcoming.
Sexuality Beyond Sex: An Unexpected Conversation on Embodiment, Identity, and Desire. InterVarsity Press, forthcoming.
The Limits of My World: A Novel. Walking Carnival Books, 2023.
No Longer Strangers: Finding Belonging in a World of Alienation (InterVarsity Press, 2021)
Single, Gay, Christian: A Personal Journey of Faith and Sexual Identity (InterVarsity Press, 2017)
Peer-Reviewed Articles:
“Address at the Rakernas Partai Nasdem.” In Global Rhetorical Traditions, edited by Tarez Samra Graban and Hui Wu, Parlor Press, 2023, pp. 356-379.
“Gendering the Unsaid and the Unsayable.” Coauthored with Cheryl Glenn. In Qualitative Studies of Silence: The Unsaid as Social Action, edited by Amy Jo Murray and Kevin Durrheim, Cambridge University Press, 2019, pp. 147-164.
“‘What Do I Lack as a Woman?’: The Rhetoric of Megawati Sukarnoputri.” Rhetorica: A Journal of the History of Rhetoric, vol. 36, no. 1, 2018, pp. 58-91.
“The Exorcism of Language: Reclaimed Derogatory Terms and Their Limits.” College English, vol. 78, no. 5, 2016, pp. 424-446.