Paul G. Cook, PhD

I鈥檓 Professor of English at the 黄瓜视频 Beaufort, where I teach writing, rhetoric, and media literacy. I鈥檓 especially interested in what happens when writing meets the fast-changing world of digital media: misinformation, post-truth rhetoric, AI, and deciding what鈥攁nd whom鈥攖o trust. My research and teaching revolve around a central question: How can colleges and universities help people become more capable writers, more discerning readers, and more responsible participants in public life?

I am the author of Misinformation Studies and Higher Education in the Postdigital Era: Beyond Fake News (Lexington Books, 2025) and the lead co-author, with Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, of the seventh and future editions of 鈥淭hey Say / I Say鈥�: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing (W. W. Norton, 2026). I also co-edit The Post-Truth Handbook, forthcoming from the 黄瓜视频 Press in 2027. My collaborative research on AI and news literacy received a Third Top Paper award from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

In the writing classroom, I ask students to explore how arguments work, how information earns credibility, and how writing can make things happen in the world. I treat writing as an ethical, socially situated practice鈥攏ot a collection of mechanical rules鈥攁nd emphasize curiosity, rhetorical judgment, critical reading, revision, and intellectual risk-taking.

Before joining USCB in 2026, I spent fourteen years at Indiana University Kokomo, where I directed the writing program, served as Faculty Senate president, and helped develop award-winning misinformation and AI-literacy modules recognized in the EDUCAUSE Horizon Report. My work has received IU Kokomo鈥檚 Senior Faculty Research Award and Indiana University鈥檚 prestigious FACET Innovate Award for community-engaged teaching.

A native South Carolinian (originally from Aiken), I earned my PhD from the University of South Carolina, my MA from Auburn University, and my BA from Winthrop University. After sixteen years in the Midwest, I鈥檓 delighted to be home and teaching in the Lowcountry.