Michael Calvin McGee

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Michael Calvin McGee (October 21, 1943, Rockwood, Tennessee - October 27, 2002, Iowa City, Iowa) was an American rhetorical theorist, writer and social critic

The son of John Vester and Dorothy Eloise (Hicks) McGee, he spent his early years in Knoxville, Tennessee. Graduated with a B.A. in Speech from Butler University, where he was a champion debater. In 1967 he graded with a M.A. in Rhetoric from Cornell University.

In 1973 he married Lyda Eugenia Twitty. In 1974 he received his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa, writing his dissertation "Edmund Burke's Beautiful Life: An Exploration of the Relationship Between Rhetoric and Social Theory" under Donald C. Bryant. During his career, he taught at the University of Alabama, the University of Memphis, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 1979 he moved to Iowa City where he taught at the University of Iowa.

McGee was one of the founders of the American Communication Association and a member of the National Communication Association. In his last years he was very active in virtual rhetorical communities and on-line debates. McGee founded a website, (f)ragments ([1]) for rhetorical research, and created a virtual learning community.