School of Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication 

Areas of expertise:

• Rural Health Rhetoric and Patient Perceptions
• Technical Writing and Design Practices
• Community-Based and Participatory Methodologies
• Queerness and Research 

Biographical info:

Justiss Wilder Burry’s research centers on rural health rhetorics, community-based methodologies and the intersections of rhetoric of health and medicine with technical and professional communication. His work examines how health literacy, political ideology, stigma and structural inequities shape lived health experiences in rural communities. He is developing a theoretical and methodological framework, rural health rhetorics, with colleagues across the nation that position rhetoric as a material force in shaping access to care, institutional trust and public health infrastructures. His ongoing projects include rhetorical witnessing through comics for end-of-life patients, and community-engaged partnerships addressing health disparities, food insecurity, aging and access to care in Appalachia and the broader rural South.

He received a doctorate in English (specialization in professional and technical communication) from the University of South Florida, a master’s degree in English: Rhetoric and Composition at the University of Central Florida, and a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from the University of Central Florida.

Media contact: Chad Saylor, saylorcx@jmu.edu